[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 8]
[House]
[Page 10410]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




         SERBIAN GOVERNMENT MUST STEP UP AND DO THE RIGHT THING

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New 
York (Mr. Zeldin) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. ZELDIN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to discuss my resolution, H. 
Con. Res 30.
  In July of 1999, three brothers--Ylli, 25 years old; Agron, 23 years 
old; and Mehmet Bytyqi, 21 years old--who were born in the United 
States and resided in Hampton Bays, New York, went overseas towards the 
end of the Kosovo war to fight mass war crimes aimed to eradicate the 
civilian Albanian population from Kosovo.
  These three men left the comfort and safety of their homes in the 
U.S. to embark on a civilian humanitarian mission. They were trying to 
stop abroad those horrific crimes against humanity. During that 
civilian humanitarian mission, they were arrested after accidentally 
crossing into Serbian-controlled territory.
  Two weeks later, they were given a judicial order of release. 
Instead, the brutal execution of these men followed shortly after, and 
it was not until 2001, 2 years later, that their remains were found in 
a mass grave.
  While Serbian authorities have investigated the deaths of the 
brothers, there have been no charges brought against those responsible 
for those murders. Moreover, the main suspect remains a prominent 
member of the governing political party.
  Today we remember Ylli, Agron, and Mehmet, who were senselessly and 
brutally murdered 18 years ago.
  Since taking office over 2 years ago, I have been committed to 
helping the Bytyqi family receive the justice they have long deserved. 
I have been in contact with the family as we work to resolve this.
  In the last Congress, I introduced H. Con. Res. 51, calling for 
justice to be served in these horrible murders, and imploring the 
Serbian Government to make it a priority that this must be properly 
investigated and that those suspects be prosecuted to the fullest 
extent of the law. I am proud to have reintroduced this legislation in 
the 115th Congress as H. Con. Res. 20.
  It is absolutely reprehensible that, despite many promises by Serbian 
officials to resolve this case, no individual has ever been found 
guilty of this horrible crime, nor of any crimes associated with the 
deaths of these innocent Americans.
  It is the responsibility of the Serbian Government to resolve this 
case, and my resolution notes that progress into this investigation 
should remain a significant factor which determines the further 
development of U.S.-Serbian relations. Their inaction on finding and 
prosecuting those responsible is an insult not only to the memory of 
Ylli, Agron, Mehmet, and the Bytyqi family, but to every American.
  The Bytyqi brothers gave their lives to fight injustice. It is now 
upon us to return this favor and deliver justice for their family. 
Those responsible for these unspeakable acts against our citizens must 
face the law. It is vital that the Serbian Government steps up and does 
what is right. Eighteen years later, it is time we put an end to this 
sad story.

                          ____________________