[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 9]
[Senate]
[Pages 12200-12201]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                     COMMENDING REPUBLIC OF CROATIA

  Mr. COVERDELL. I ask unanimous consent that the Senate now proceed to 
the immediate consideration of Calendar 593, House concurrent 
resolution 251.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the concurrent 
resolution by title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 251) commending the 
     Republic of Croatia for the conduct of its parliamentary and 
     Presidential election.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
concurrent resolution, which had been reported from the Committee on 
Foreign Relations, with an amendment and an amendment to the preamble, 
as follows:
  [The parts of the resolution intended to be stricken are shown in 
boldface brackets and the parts of the resolution intended to be 
inserted are shown in italic.]


[[Page 12201]]

       Whereas the fourth Croatian parliamentary elections, held 
     on January 3, 2000, marked Croatia's progress toward meeting 
     its commitments as a participating state of the Organization 
     on Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and as a member 
     of the Council of Europe;
       Whereas Croatia's third presidential elections were 
     conducted smoothly and professionally and concluded on 
     February 7, 2000, with the [landslide] election of Stipe 
     Mesic as the new President of the Republic of Croatia;
       Whereas the free and fair elections in Croatia, and the 
     following peaceful and orderly transfer of power from the old 
     government to the new, is an example of democracy to the 
     people of other nations in the region and a major 
     contribution to the democratic development of southeastern 
     Europe; and
       Whereas the people of Croatia have made clear that they 
     want Croatia to take its rightful place in the family of 
     European democracies and to develop a closer and more 
     constructive relationship with the Euro-Atlantic community of 
     democratic nations: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 
     concurring), [That it is the sense of Congress that--
       [(1) the people of the Republic of Croatia are to be 
     congratulated on the successful elections and the outgoing 
     Government of Croatia is to be commended for the democratic 
     standards with which it managed the elections;
       [(2) the United States should support the efforts of the 
     new Government of Croatia to increase its work on refugee 
     return, privatization reform, media reform, and further 
     cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for 
     Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) to set an example to other countries 
     in the region;
       [(3) the Congress strongly supports Croatia's commitment to 
     western democratic standards and will give its full support 
     to the new Government of Croatia to fully implement 
     democratic reforms; and
       [(4) the United States continues to promote Croatian-
     American economic, political, and military relations and 
     recognizes Croatia as a loyal partner in south central 
     Europe.
       [(5) taking into consideration Croatia's contributions as a 
     committed partner in the region, the Congress recommends 
     establishing strategic partnership with the Republic of 
     Croatia and supports its membership in the North Atlantic 
     Treaty Organization's Partnership for Peace program and its 
     accession into the World Trade Organization.]
     That it is the sense of Congress that--
       (1) the people of the Republic of Croatia are to be 
     congratulated on the successful elections and the outgoing 
     Government of Croatia is to be commended for the democratic 
     standards with which it managed the elections;
       (2) the United States should support the efforts of the new 
     Government of Croatia to increase its work on refugee return, 
     privatization reform, media reform, and further cooperation 
     with the International Criminal Tribunal for Former 
     Yugoslavia (ICTY) to set an example to other countries in the 
     region;
       (3) Congress strongly supports Croatia's commitment to 
     western democratic standards and will give its full support 
     to the new Government of Croatia to fully implement 
     democratic reforms; and
       (4) the United States continues to promote Croatian-
     American economic, political, and military relations and 
     recognizes Croatia as a loyal partner in south central 
     Europe.
  Mr. COVERDELL. I ask unanimous consent that the committee amendment 
be agreed to.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The committee amendment was agreed to.
  Mr. COVERDELL. I ask unanimous consent that the resolution, as 
amended, be agreed to, the amendment to the preamble be agreed to, and 
the preamble, as amended, be agreed to, the motion to reconsider be 
laid upon the table, and any statements relating to this resolution be 
printed in the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 251), as amended, was agreed 
to.
  The preamble, as amended, was agreed to.

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