IV

105TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. CON. RES. 315

Expressing the sense of the Congress condemning the atrocities by Serbian

police and military forces against Albanians in Kosova and urging that

blocked assets of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro) under control of the United States and other governments

be used to compensate the Albanians in Kosova for losses suffered

through Serbian police and military action.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

AUGUST 3, 1998

Mr. LANTOS (for himself, Mr. GILMAN, Mr. ROHRABACHER, Mr. ENGEL, Mrs.

KELLY, and Mr. MORAN of Virginia) submitted the following concurrent

resolution; which was referred to the Committee on International Relations

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

Expressing the sense of the Congress condemning the atrocities by Serbian police and military forces against Albanians in Kosova and urging that blocked assets of the

Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro)

under control of the United States and other governments be used to compensate the Albanians in Kosova

for losses suffered through Serbian police and military

action.

Whereas the ethnic Albanian population of the province of

Kosova, which makes up the overwhelming majority of

the population of that area, has been denied internation-
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ally recognized human rights and political rights, including the protection of life, freedom of speech, freedom of

assembly, and freedom of the press;

Whereas Serbian police and military forces have engaged in

brutal suppression of the Albanian people, and the number of Serbian police and military forces which have been

deployed in Kosova is estimated at some 50,000 men;

Whereas human rights groups have reported and documented

instances of Serbian forces conducting abductions and

summary executions of innocent ethnic Albanian civilians

in reprisal killings that are similar to those conducted by

Nazi forces during World War II and are similar to the

ethnic cleansing which was carried out by ethnic Serbian

troops in Bosnia;

Whereas Serbian forces have indiscriminately shelled and

burned villages, reducing them to rubble, in order to

drive out the ethnic Albanian inhabitants, inflicting heavy

material losses upon the ethnic Albanians in Kosova;

Whereas hundreds of ethnic Albanians, including women and

children, have been killed and over two hundred thousand

ethnic Albanians have been forced to flee and have become refugees as a result of this Serbian military action;

Whereas the stubborn denial of human rights and policical

rights to the ethnic Albanian majority in Kosova by the

Government of Serbia has been the major factor in the

radicalization of the political situation in the province

and made the prospects of a peaceful resolution of the

conflict there difficult if not impossible; and

Whereas the United States and the governments of other

countries have blocked the assets of the Federal Republic
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of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro): Now therefore,

be it

1 Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate

2 concurring), That the Congress—

3 (1) deeply deplores and strongly condemns the

4 appalling loss of life and the extensive destruction of

5 property, in Kosova that is the consequence of the

6 brutal actions of Serbian police and military forces

7 against the ethnic Albanian population of the prov8 ince;

9 (2) believes that the government of Serbia is

10 primarily responsible for the loss of life and destruc11 tion of property, and thus Serbia should bear the

12 principal burden of providing compensation for the

13 loss of life and for the costs of rebuilding areas

14 which its forces have devastated;

15 (3) urges the President and officials he des16 ignates to work with the Congress to draft legisla17 tion and regulations which will permit ethnic Alba18 nians from Kosova who have suffered as a con19 sequence of the brutal actions of Serbian police and

20 military forces in Kosova to make claims against the

21 assets of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia

22 and Montenegro) which are in the control of the

23 United States or which have been blocked by action

24 of the United States Government, and in drafting
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1 this legislation and regulations special consideration

2 should be given to the circumstances of the Govern3 ment of the Republic of Montenegro and to persons

4 located in and organized under the laws of the re5 public of Montenegro;

6 (4) urges the President and the Secretary of

7 State to urge all other counties to follow this same

8 policy to permit claims by ethnic Albanians who have

9 suffered as a consequence of the brutal actions of

10 Serbian police and military forces in Kosova to make

11 claims against the assets of the Federal Republic of

12 Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro) which are in

13 the control of the respective country; and

14 (5) requests that a copy of this resolution be

15 transmitted to the President and the Secretary of

16 State by the Clerk of the House of Representatives

17 and the Secretary of the Senate.

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