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 Mon-
tenegro) 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 Rela-
tions
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of the Congress condemning the atroc-
ities by Serbian police and military forces against Alba-
nians in Kosova and urging that blocked assets of the
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro)
under control of the United States and other govern-
ments 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-
HCON 315 IH
ally recognized human rights and political rights, includ-
ing 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 num-
ber 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 be-
come 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
HCON 315 IH
of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro): Now therefore,
be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate
concurring), That the Congress—
(1) deeply deplores and strongly condemns the
appalling loss of life and the extensive destruction of
property, in Kosova that is the consequence of the
brutal actions of Serbian police and military forces
against the ethnic Albanian population of the prov-
ince;
(2) believes that the government of Serbia is
primarily responsible for the loss of life and destruc-
tion of property, and thus Serbia should bear the
principal burden of providing compensation for the
loss of life and for the costs of rebuilding areas
which its forces have devastated;
(3) urges the President and officials he des-
ignates to work with the Congress to draft legisla-
tion and regulations which will permit ethnic Alba-
nians from Kosova who have suffered as a con-
sequence of the brutal actions of Serbian police and
military forces in Kosova to make claims against the
assets of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia
and Montenegro) which are in the control of the
United States or which have been blocked by action
of the United States Government, and in drafting
HCON 315 IH
this legislation and regulations special consideration
should be given to the circumstances of the Govern-
ment of the Republic of Montenegro and to persons
located in and organized under the laws of the re-
public of Montenegro;
(4) urges the President and the Secretary of
State to urge all other counties to follow this same
policy to permit claims by ethnic Albanians who have
suffered as a consequence of the brutal actions of
Serbian police and military forces in Kosova to make
claims against the assets of the Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro) which are in
the control of the respective country; and
(5) requests that a copy of this resolution be
transmitted to the President and the Secretary of
State by the Clerk of the House of Representatives
and the Secretary of the Senate.
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