III
Calendar No. 593
106TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. CON. RES. 251
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
MAY 16, 2000
Received and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
JUNE 12, 2000
Reported by Mr. HELMS, with an amendment and an amendment to the
preamble
[Omit the part struck through, strike out all after the resolving clause, and insert the part
printed in italic]
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Commending the Republic of Croatia for the conduct of
its parliamentary and presidential elections.
Whereas the fourth Croatian parliamentary elections, held on
January 3, 2000, marked Croatia’s progress toward
meeting its commitments as a participating state of the
Organization on Security and Cooperation in Europe
(OSCE) and as a member of the Council of Europe;
Whereas Croatia’s third presidential elections were conducted
smoothly and professionally and concluded on February
7, 2000, with the landslide election of Stipe Mesic as the
new President of the Republic of Croatia;
•HCON 251 RS
Whereas the free and fair elections in Croatia, and the fol-
lowing peaceful and orderly transfer of power from the
old government to the new, is an example of democracy
to the people of other nations in the region and a major
contribution to the democratic development of south-
eastern Europe; and
Whereas the people of Croatia have made clear that they
want Croatia to take its rightful place in the family of
European democracies and to develop a closer and more
constructive relationship with the Euro-Atlantic commu-
nity of democratic nations: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives
concurring), That it is the sense of Congress that—
(1) the people of the Republic of Croatia are to
be congratulated on the successful elections and the
outgoing Government of Croatia is to be commended
for the democratic standards with which it managed
the elections;
(2) the United States should support the efforts
of the new Government of Croatia to increase its
work on refugee return, privatization reform, media
reform, and further cooperation with the Inter-
national Criminal Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia
(ICTY) to set an example to other countries in the
region;
(3) the Congress strongly supports Croatia’s
commitment to western democratic standards and
•HCON 251 RS
will give its full support to the new Government of
Croatia to fully implement democratic reforms; and
(4) the United States continues to promote
Croatian-American economic, political, and military
relations and recognizes Croatia as a loyal partner
in south central Europe.
(5) taking into consideration Croatia’s contribu-
tions as a committed partner in the region, the Con-
gress recommends establishing strategic partnership
with the Republic of Croatia and supports its mem-
bership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s
Partnership for Peace program and its accession
into the World Trade Organization.
That it is the sense of Congress that—
(1) the people of the Republic of Croatia are to
be congratulated on the successful elections and the
outgoing Government of Croatia is to be commended
for the democratic standards with which it managed
the elections;
(2) the United States should support the efforts
of the new Government of Croatia to increase its work
on refugee return, privatization reform, media reform,
and further cooperation with the International Crimi-
nal Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) to set an
example to other countries in the region;
•HCON 251 RS
(3) Congress strongly supports Croatia’s commit-
ment to western democratic standards and will give
its full support to the new Government of Croatia to
fully implement democratic reforms; and
(4) the United States continues to promote Cro-
atian-American economic, political, and military re-
lations and recognizes Croatia as a loyal partner in
south central Europe.
Calendar No. 593
106TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. CON. RES. 251
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Commending the Republic of Croatia for the con-
duct of its parliamentary and presidential elec-
tions.
JUNE 12, 2000
Reported with an amendment and an amendment to the
preamble