IV
105TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. CON. RES. 235
Calling for an end to the violent repression of the legitimate rights of the
people of Kosova.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 5, 1998
Mr. GILMAN (for himself, Mr. ENGEL, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. ROHRABACHER,
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey, Mr. TRAFICANT, Mrs. KELLY, Mr. PAXON,
Mr. OLVER, Mr. PAYNE, Mrs. LOWEY, Mr. MORAN of Virginia, Mr.
KING, and Mr. HOYER) submitted the following concurrent resolution;
which was referred to the Committee on International Relations
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Calling for an end to the violent repression of the legitimate
rights of the people of Kosova.
Whereas the Albanian people of Kosova constitute more than
90 percent of the total population of Kosova;
Whereas the political rights of the Albanian people of Kosova
were curtailed when the Government of Yugoslavia ille-
gally amended the Constitution of Yugoslavia without the
consent of the people of Kosova on March 23, 1989, re-
voking the autonomous status of Kosova;
Whereas in 1990, the Parliament and Government of Kosova
were abolished by further unlawful amendments to the
Constitution of Yugoslavia;
•HCON 235 IH
Whereas the State Department’s 1997 Country Report on
Human Rights in Serbia notes violations of civil liberties
in Kosova particularly in the following categories: politi-
cal and other extra-judicial killing; torture and other
cruel inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; ar-
bitrary arrest, detention or exile; denial of fair public
trial; and arbitrary interference with privacy, family,
home, or correspondence;
Whereas on the night of February 28, 1998, Serbian para-
military policy units, reported to number in excess of
25,000 men, swept through the Drenica region of Kosova
killing more than 20 Albanian citizens, many of who died
from being beaten to death;
Whereas on March 2, 1998, 30,000 demonstrators peacefully
marched in Pristina to protest the massacre of February
28 and were brutally attacked by Serbian police;
Whereas a group calling itself the Liberation Army of Kosova
has threatened to retaliate against the atrocities commit-
ted by Serbian authorities;
Whereas new elections in Kosova have been scheduled for
March 22, 1998; and
Whereas the President of the United States and other offi-
cials have warned the Government of Serbia that there
would be serious consequences if Serbian policies led to
an escalation of violence in Kosova: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate
concurring), That it is the sense of the Congress that—
(1) efforts of the international Contact Group
(the United States, United Kingdom, France, Ger-
many, Russia, and Italy) in support of a resolution
•HCON 235 IH
of the conflict in Kosova are to be commended and
intensified;
(2) no international or United States sanctions
currently in force against the Government of Serbia
and Montenegro should be terminated at this time,
unless such termination serves to support a peaceful
resolution to the repression in Kosova;
(3) the United States should consult with its al-
lies and other members of the United Nations on re-
imposing those sanctions against Serbia-Montenegro
that were terminated following the signing of the
Dayton Peace Agreement in 1995 if Serbian au-
thorities continue to use unlawful violence against
the Albanian people of Kosova;
(4) the United States should acknowledge re-
cent developments in the Republic of Montenegro
that indicate that the new leadership of the Republic
is seeking a peaceful resolution to the repression in
Kosova, particularly the statement by Montenegrin
President Milo Djukanovic that Kosova must receive
a certain degree of autonomy, and his call for a dia-
log between the Government of Serbia and Montene-
gro and ethnic Albanians in Kosova;
(5) the United States should, to the extent
practicable, recognize positive actions by the Govern-
•HCON 235 IH
ment of the Republic of Montenegro with regard to
repression in Kosova through exclusion from those
sanctions that may be applied to the Government of
Serbia;
(6) the elections in Kosova scheduled on March
22, 1998, should be allowed to proceed unimpeded
by Belgrade, as they represent the opportunity for a
peaceful expression of the political will of the Alba-
nian people of Kosova;
(7) all parties should refrain from acts that
could lead to heightened tensions in Kosova;
(8) the agreement on education in Kosova
should be implemented immediately, including at the
university level, allowing all residents of Kosova re-
gardless of ethnicity to receive education in their na-
tive tongue; and
(9) that the elected leaders of Kosova should
begin a dialog with the authorities in Belgrade to re-
solve the present situation, and to provide for the ex-
ercise of the legitimate civil and political rights of
the Albanian people of Kosova.
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