[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 3]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 4120-4121]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




          ANNIVERSARY OF DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE OF KOSOVO

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. GARY C. PETERS

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, February 12, 2009

  Mr. PETERS. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the first 
anniversary of the declaration of independence of the Republic of 
Kosovo. February 17, 2008 brought an important measure of clarity and 
vision to the future of Kosovo--and indeed the entire region--with the 
resounding declaration by the Kosovar people that Kosovo is an 
independent republic.
  Almost one year to the day, members and supporters of Michigan's 
Albanian community will gather on February 15 at St. Paul's Catholic 
Church in Rochester Hills, Michigan to commemorate and celebrate the 
first anniversary of Kosovo's independence. On that day, I will join 
Dom Anton Kqira and Honorary General Counsel to Albania Ekrem Bardha, 
and hundreds more to commemorate this historic occasion.
  There, we will honor and recognize the determination and perseverance 
of the Kosovar people, who under the special leadership of President 
Ibrahim Rugova forged a path for their own future. We will honor and 
recognize our own community leaders in Michigan, including Dom Kqira 
and Counsel General Bardha, who tirelessly pressed for official action 
to address the crisis in Kosovo and we will honor and recognize those 
leaders of our own country, President William J. Clinton, Secretary of 
State Madeleine Albright and General Wesley Clark (Ret.) among others, 
who took the action in March of 1999 that laid the foundation for 
Kosovo independence. Finally, we will honor and recognize the countless 
members of the Albanian Diaspora community who provided shelter, 
material and moral support to the nearly 800,000 displaced Kosovars 
during the crisis.
  Madam Speaker, as we mark this occasion of the first anniversary of 
the independence of Kosovo we hold much hope for the future of an 
independent Kosovo. But, with sober recognition of the work yet ahead, 
we stand fully committed to meeting every challenge.

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