[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 14]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 19336]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 JULY 25, 1995 MASSACRE IN ZEPA, BOSNIA

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. ANDRE CARSON

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, July 24, 2009

  Mr. CARSON of Illinois. Madam Speaker, tomorrow, the international 
community will remember a tragic day in the genocide that ravaged 
Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. For over three years, the 
town of Zepa, Bosnia remained under siege by the Republika Srpska, 
despite being named a safe haven for Bosnians by the United Nations 
Security Council.
  Over this period, innocent Zepa residents lived under constant 
threat, both of the near constant artillery fire and from the rampant 
starvation and disease that arose from squalid living conditions. 
Thousands lost their lives and countless others were injured during the 
three year siege until finally, on July 25, 1995, the town fell to 
paramilitary forces and the remaining residents were killed or 
forcefully expelled from their homes.
  On this heartbreaking anniversary, it is clear that atrocities and 
genocide should never be permitted to continue unfettered. In 
remembering the innocent victims of Zepa, I believe that the United 
States, together with the United Nations and our allies around the 
world, must reaffirm its commitment to ceaselessly pursue the 
perpetrators of these terrible war crimes. The international community 
must come together to not only remember the innocent victims of this 
massacre, but to also redouble its pursuit of lasting peace and 
security in some of the world's most volatile regions.

                          ____________________