August 1, 2012 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S5865 

not freed. Instead, the Bytyqi brothers 

were transported to an Interior Ministry training camp in eastern Serbia, 

where they were brutally executed and 

buried in a mass grave with 75 other 

ethnic Albanians from Kosovo. Two 

years later, after the fall of the 

Milosevic regime, their bodies were recovered and repatriated to the United 

States for burial. 

Ylli, Agron and Mehmet were never 

given a fair and public trial, an opportunity to defend themselves, or any 

semblance of due process. Their postconflict, extrajudicial killing was coldblooded murder. 

In the last decade Serbia has made a 

remarkable recovery from the 

Milosevic era. I saw this myself last 

year when I visited Belgrade. This 

progress, however, has not sufficiently 

infiltrated the Interior Ministry, affording protection to those who participated in the Bytyqi murders and 

other egregious Milosevic-era crimes. 

Nobody has been held accountable for 

the Bytyqi murders. Those in command 

of the camp and the forces operating 

there have never been charged. 

The same situation applies to the 

April 1999 murder of prominent journalist and editor Slavko Curuvija, who 

testified before the Helsinki Commission on the abuses of the Milosevic regime just months before. There needs 

to be justice in each of these cases, but 

together with other unresolved cases 

they symbolize the lack of transparency and reform in Serbia’s Interior 

Ministry to this day. Combined with 

continued denials of what transpired 

under Milosevic in the 1990s, including 

the 1995 genocide at Srebrenica in 

neighboring Bosnia, these cases show 

that Serbia has not completely put an 

ugly era in its past behind it. For that 

reason, not only does the surviving 

Bytyqi family in New York, as well as 

the friends and family of Slavko 

Curuvija, still need to have the satisfaction of justice. The people of Serbia 

need to see justice triumph in their 

country as well. 

I want to thank the U.S. Mission to 

the OSCE in Vienna, which under the 

leadership of Ambassador Ian Kelly 

continues to move the Helsinki process 

forward, for recently raising the 

Bytyqi murders and calling for justice. 

I also want to commend the nominee 

for U.S. Ambassador to Serbia, Michael 

David Kirby, for responding to my 

question on the Bytyqi and Curuvija 

cases at his Foreign Relations Committee hearing by expressing his commitment, if confirmed, to make justice 

in these cases a priority matter. On 

this anniversary of the Helsinki Final 

Act, I join their call for justice. 

f 

TRIBUTE TO JOEL BOUSMAN 

Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, I rise to 

speak on behalf of Joel Bousman who 

will be inducted into the Wyoming Agriculture Hall of Fame later this 

month at the 100th Wyoming State 

Fair. Since 1992, Wyoming has recognized the individuals each year who 

have made substantial contributions to 

agriculture in our State. This year I 

have the honor of presenting this 

award to Joel with my colleague Senator BARRASSO. 

Joel Bousman is a fourth generation 

rancher and operator of Eastfork Livestock in Boulder, WY. Actively involved in the Wyoming Stock Growers 

Association, he is admired for his leadership in the State’s livestock industry. Having served as regional vice 

president of the Wyoming Stock Growers and president of the Green River 

Valley Cattleman’s Association, Joel is 

a determined advocate and defender of 

agriculture. 

Wyoming ranchers are known nationwide for their stewardship and Joel 

leads by example with his own operation and when grazing on public lands. 

In 2003, he was presented with the Wyoming Stock Growers Environmental 

Stewardship Award and was most recently presented with the 2011 Guardian of the Range Award. Bousman’s 

nomination letter reads, ‘‘He was a pioneer in initiating grazing monitoring 

that is conducted jointly by the federal 

land agencies and the grazing permittees.’’ To this day, he remains active in 

promoting joint efforts to improve 

grazing and wildlife habitat on Wyoming’s working lands. 

Wyoming Agriculture Hall of Fame 

Award recipients are also expected to 

serve their communities and Joel has 

been no exception as the chairman of 

the Sublette County Board of County 

Commissioners. Joel has not only 

served his community as a commissioner but has regularly come to Washington to bring his message before congressional committees and directly to 

Members. Wyoming Governor Matt 

Mead writes that Joel is, ‘‘a proven 

leader who is well respected in all circles—from the halls of Congress to the 

Wyoming Capitol and from the 

Sublette County Building to a constituent’s kitchen table.’’ 

I am proud to have the opportunity 

to recognize Joel’s achievements with 

Senator BARRASSO as a 2012 inductee 

into the Wyoming Agriculture Hall of 

Fame. Wyoming and its public lands 

are well served by his lasting and continuing contributions to our State. 

f 

TRIBUTE TO GENE HARDY 

Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, during Wyoming’s State Fair, Senator 

ENZI and I will have the honor of inducting Gene Hardy into the Wyoming 

Agriculture Hall of Fame. 

Wyoming ranchers care for the land 

because it cares for them and their 

families. The Hardy Ranch tradition 

began in 1920 when Gene’s father homesteaded in Converse County, WY. By 

the 1930s, the Hardy family was producing both cattle and sheep. Gene 

Hardy is a third generation rancher 

continuing the family business of 

multi-species livestock production. Additionally, he balances wildlife and energy production on the Hardy Ranch. 

Balancing the ranch’s resources has led 

Gene to also be an industry leader in 

terms of multiple use land management. 

Mr. President, innovative is a word 

that describes Gene. He has organized 

his livestock operation to improve production utilizing land management 

through aerial monitoring. As a pilot, 

he has been flying planes for 50 years 

over the Hardy Ranch with the result 

being profitable livestock production 

and sustainable grazing. Furthermore, 

he has focused on innovation through 

superior genetics to produce quality 

livestock. 

Gene is committed to the livestock 

industry. He works tirelessly to help 

his fellow producers. Previously, Gene 

served as president of the Wyoming 

Wool Growers Association and on 

boards for the Wyoming Stock Growers 

Association. However, his involvement 

does not stop there. He is still actively 

involved in many local, State, and national agricultural organizations. Currently, Gene serves as the chairman of 

the American Sheep Industry Association’s Predator Management Committee. Gene’s dedication and leadership will help ensure the success of the 

industry for future generations of 

agriculturalists. 

As my friend Bryce Reece, executivevice president of the Wyoming Wool 

Growers Association, remarked, ‘‘We 

need a lot more Gene Hardy’s in this 

world.’’ 

Mr. President, I ask my colleagues to 

join me and Senator ENZI in congratulating Gene Hardy, 2012 inductee into 

the Wyoming Agriculture Hall of 

Fame. Wyoming lands and livestock 

are better because of his service. 

f 

ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS 

REMEMBERING MARY LOUISE 

RASMUSON 

∑ Mr. BEGICH. Mr. President, I wish to 

recognize the passing of one of Alaska’s 

most endeared philanthropists, Mary 

Louise Rasmuson. Mrs. Rasmuson died 

on July 30, 2012, at her home in Anchorage, AK. Mary Louise Rasmuson was a 

beloved Alaska pioneer who saw opportunity in every challenge. She was generous in spirit and deed, and through 

her family foundation made Alaska a 

much stronger and vibrant state. 

Intelligent. Diplomatic. Principled 

and ethical. Gentle but firm. Mrs. 

Rasmuson spent her life breaking barriers, challenging conventions, and 

seeking to improve opportunities for 

those around her. 

She was a trailblazer for women and 

left her mark across the country and 

the State of Alaska through her leadership, philanthropy, and the family 

foundation that she helped lead with 

her late husband Elmer. 

Selected from the initial pool of 

30,000 applicants for the new Women’s 

Army Corp-WAC she rose quickly 


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