[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 14]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 19465-19466]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      REMEMBERING THE FALL OF ZEPA

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, July 27, 2009

  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Madam Speaker, on Saturday July 25 Bosnians 
commemorated the fourteenth anniversary of the tragic fall of Zepa. The 
town of Zepa was one of the six United Nations-declared safe havens in 
Bosnia during the war of aggression from 1992 to 1995. In May 1993, a 
United Nations Security Council resolution held out to this town in 
eastern Bosnia the promise of protection from the forces of Republika 
Srpska. In Zepa the local residents, people from the surrounding area, 
and refugees from other cities and towns gathered to be shielded from 
Serbian aggression.
  But, Madam Speaker, the men, women, and children seeking refuge in 
Zepa were not shielded. The forces of Republika Srpska, who had laid 
siege to Zepa in the summer of 1992, were not impressed by UN safe 
havens, and neither the UN nor anyone else was committed to defending 
the safe havens. On July 25, 1995, the forces of Republika Srpska 
overpowered Zepa's defenders and began to occupy the town.
  In July Avdo Palic, colonel of the Bosnian government force defending 
Zepa, performed a hero's work in evacuating as many civilians as he 
could, despite operating under constant shelling and the threat of 
starvation from the forces of Republika Srpska. Palic participated in 
negotiations which resulted in the safe evacuation of approximately 
5,000 Bosnian civilians. On July 27 Palic traveled to the UN Protection 
Force Compound, in order to secure the evacuation of Zepa's remaining 
inhabitants: he has not been seen since and his fate is still unknown.
  Madam Speaker, looking back on the tragedy of Zepa, we remember the 
loss of countless innocent lives. Our government cannot give back to 
the survivors the precious lives of the family members and friends of 
the people of Zepa, Srebrenica, Sarajevo, Bihac, Gorazde, and Tuzla, 
but it can support their pursuit of justice. Our government must do 
everything it can to discover the fate of Avdo Palic and the other men 
and women who went missing in the genocide committed against the 
Bosnian people. To be sure, we must continue to look for Ratko Mladic 
and other criminals and genocideurs, but we must not forget their 
victims and their need for closure.

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