PRISHTINA, Jan 29 (KIC) - US House of Representative
member, Rep. Eliot Engel
introduced in the 105TH Congress a concurrent
resolution deploring human rights abuses
in Kosova and calling for increased American
involvement.
In the resolution Rep. Engel said the Constitution
of the Socialist Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia, adopted in 1946 and the amended Yugoslav
Constitution adopted in 1974,
described the status of Kosova as one of the
8 constituent territorial units of the Yugoslav
Federation.
The Government of Yugoslavia curtailed the political
rights of the Albanian majority in
Kosova illegally amending the Yugoslav federal
constitution without the consent of the
people of Kosova on March 23, 1989, revoking
Kosova's autonomous status. Whereas in
1990, the Parliament and Government of Kosova
were abolished by further unlawful
amendments to the Constitution of Yugoslavia.
The resolution illustrates that in September
1990, a referendum on the question of
independence for Kosova was held in which 87
percent of those eligible to participate
voted and 99 percent of those voting supported
independence for Kosova, and in May
1992, a Kosovar national parliament and President,
Dr.Ibrahim Rugova, were freely and
fairly elected, but were not permitted to assemble
in Kosova.
During 1997, the human rights situation facing
Kosova worsened during 1997 with the
increased use of violence by police against ethnic
Kosovars. Increased repression and
despair has allegedly given rise to a new group,
the Kosova Liberation Army, which
reportedly has a greater willingness to use violence
to achieve self-determination and a
restoration of human rights;
On October 1, 1997, Serb riot police wielding
batons and firing tear gas brutally repressed
a peaceful demonstration of students of the University
of Prishtina calling for the right to
Albanian-language education. Scores of non-violent
protestors were injured in the
crackdown, said Eliot Engel in his introduction.
Rep. Engel explains that the education
agreement signed by Yugoslav President Slobodan
Milosevic and Kosovar President
Rugova, has not been implemented has not yet
been implemented by the government in
Belgrade, and that the observes of OSCE dispatched
to Kosova in 1991 and expelled by
the government in Belgrade in July 1993, have
not been reinstated as called for in United
Nations Security Council Resolution 855 of August
1993.
Engel recalls H.Con.Res. 155, passed by the House
of Representatives on July 26, 1996,
which called for a resolution to the crisis in
Kosova, maintenance of the outer wall of
sanctions against Belgrade, and the appointment
of a Special Envoy on Kosova.
The resolution introduced yesterday (Wednesday)
by Rep. Engel says:
(begin text)
(1) the situation in
Kosova must be resolved before the outer wall of sanctions against
Serbia is lifted and Serbia is able to return
to the international community;
(2) the human rights
of the people of Kosova must be restored to levels guaranteed by
international law;
(3) the United States
should support the legitimate claims of the people of Kosova to
determine their own political future;
(4) a solution to the
conflict in Kosova can only be achieved through dialogue, not
violence;
(5) the March 22, 1998
elections in Kosova should be permitted to proceed without
interference by the Belgrade authorities and,
if conducted freely and fairly, the United
States should recognize the results of the elections
as a legitimate, democratic expression
of the will of the people of Kosova;
(6) international observers
should be returned to Kosova as soon as possible and
monitors should be dispatched to observe the
upcoming elections;
(7) the elected government
of Kosova should be permitted to meet and exercise its
legitimate mandate as elected representatives
of the people of Kosova;
(8) all individuals
whose employment was terminated on the basis of their ethnicity
should be reinstated to their previous positions;
(9) the agreement on
education in Kosova should be implemented immediately,
including at the university level, allowing all
residents of Kosova regardless of ethnicity to
education in their native tongue;
(10) the students of
the University of Pristina have the full support of the United States
as they peacefully demonstrate to return to classes
at the University;
(11) efforts of the
international Contact Group in support of a resolution of the conflict
in
Kosova are to be commended; and
(12) the President should
appoint a special envoy to aid in negotiating a resolution to
the crisis in Kosova.
(end text)
Meanwhile, asked to comment for the Albanian section
of VOA, whether the resolution
contains a contradictory pronouncement, the support
for self-determination of Kosova as
opposed to the Contact Group's proposal for an
enhanced status with the FRY, Rep. Eliot
Engel said "I have always supported self-determination
for the people of Kosova, and if
they want independence I shall support them.
But we have to be reasonable we cannot
jump from the first stage to the tenth".
The resolution is supported by Reps. Tom Lantos,
Sue Kelly, Jim Moran, and Peter King,
VOA said.
_______________________________________________________________________
Date:
Tue, 27 Jan 1998 16:53:36 -0500
From: Dardan Blaku <db375@columbia.edu>
Organization: Columbia University
Subject: [ALBANEWS]
news: New Kosova resolution
From: Jason.Steinbaum@MAIL.HOUSE.GOV
Subject: New Kosova resolution
Date: Tue, 27 Jan 1998 14:55:25 -0500
X-Mailer: Microsoft Exchange Server Internet
Mail Connector Version 4.0.995.52
Encoding: 161 TEXT
Rep. Engel will introduce the following resolution
on Kosova later today.
Here's the text of the resolution:
______________________________________________________________________
105TH CONGRESS
2d session
H. CON. RES. ____
Deploring human rights abuses in Kosova and calling
for increased American
involvement.
___________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Mr. Engel (for himself and_____) introduced the
following concurrent resolution;
which was referred to the Committee on
_________________________
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Deploring human rights abuses in Kosova and calling
for increased American
involvement.
Whereas the
Constitution of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, adopted in
1946 and the amended Yugoslav Constitution adopted
in 1974, described the status of
Kosova as one of the 8 constituent territorial
units of the Yugoslav Federation;
Whereas the
political rights of the Albanian majority in Kosova were curtailed when
the
Government of Yugoslavia illegally amended the
Yugoslav federal constitution without the
consent of the people of Kosova on March 23,
1989, revoking Kosova's autonomous
status;
Whereas in
1990, the Parliament and Government of Kosova were abolished by
further unlawful amendments to the Constitution
of Yugoslavia;
Whereas in
September 1990, a referendum on the question of independence for
Kosova was held in which 87 percent of those
eligible to participate voted and 99 percent
of those voting supported independence for Kosova;
Whereas in
May 1992, a Kosovar national parliament and President, Dr. Ibrahim
Rugova, were freely and fairly elected, but were
not permitted to assemble in Kosova;
Whereas according
to the State Department Country Reports on Human Rights for
1996, "Police repression continued to be directed
against ethnic minorities, particularly the
Albanians of Kosovo";
Whereas Human
Rights Watch/Helsinki reports that "random harassment and
beatings is a daily reality for ethnic Albanians
in Kosovo";
Whereas during
1997, the human rights situation facing Kosova worsened during
1997 with the increased use of violence by police
against ethnic Kosovars;
Whereas increased
repression and despair has allegedly given rise to a new group,
the Kosova Liberation Army, which reportedly
has a greater willingness to use violence to
achieve self-determination and a restoration
of human rights;
Whereas on
October 1, 1997, Serb riot police wielding batons and firing tear gas
brutally repressed a peaceful demonstration of
students of the University of Pristina calling
for the right to Albanian-language education;
Whereas scores of non-violent protestors were injured in the crackdown;
Whereas a
1996 agreement on education signed by Yugoslav President Slobodan
Milosevic and Kosovar President Rugova provided
for return of ethnic Albanians to the
classroom;
Whereas the
United States government has called for "implementation of the
agreement at all levels, including at the University
level";
Whereas the
agreement has not yet been implemented by the government in
Belgrade;
Whereas new elections in Kosova are scheduled for March 22, 1998;
Whereas the
Organization on Security and Cooperation in Europe observers
dispatched to Kosova in 1991 were expelled by
the government in Belgrade in July 1993,
and have not been reinstated as called for in
United Nations Security Council Resolution
855 of August 1993;
Whereas following
the departure of such observers, international human rights
organizations have documented an increase in
abuses;
Whereas pursuant
to U.S. section 223 of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act,
Fiscal Years 1992 and 1993, the United States
opened a United States Information
Service Office in Pristina, Kosova in 1996;
Whereas the
international outer wall of sanctions against the former Yugoslavia, which
links membership in international organizations,
access to international financial
institutions, and normalization of diplomatic
relations with the United States, is conditioned
upon significant progress in resolving the problems
in Kosova;
Whereas the
Contact Group of nations pressing for a resolution to the situation in
Bosnia addressed the situation in Kosova directly
for the first time in 1997, supporting an
enhanced status for Kosova within the Federal
Republic of Yugoslavia; one that would fully
protect the rights of the Albanian population
in accordance with OSCE standards and the
UN Charter;
Whereas H.Con.Res.
155, which passed the House of Representatives on July 26,
1996, called for a resolution to the crisis in
Kosova, maintenance of the outer wall of
sanctions against Belgrade, and the appointment
of a Special Envoy on Kosova; and
Whereas,
with the continued implementation of the Dayton agreement on Bosnia,
future peace in the Balkans hinges largely on
a settlement of the status of Kosova: Now
therefore be it
Resolved
by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), That it is
the sense of the Congress that--
(1)
the situation in Kosova must be resolved before the outer wall of sanctions
against
Serbia is lifted and Serbia is able to return to the international community;
(2)
the human rights of the people of Kosova must be restored to levels guaranteed
by international law;
(3)
the United States should support the legitimate claims of the people of
Kosova
to determine their own political future;
(4)
a solution to the conflict in Kosova can only be achieved through dialogue,
not
violence;
(5)
the March 22, 1998 elections in Kosova should be permitted to proceed without
interference by the Belgrade authorities and, if conducted freely and fairly,
the
United States should recognize the results of the elections as a legitimate,
democratic expression of the will of the people of Kosova;
(6)
international observers should be returned to Kosova as soon as possible
and
monitors should be dispatched to observe the upcoming elections;
(7)
the elected government of Kosova should be permitted to meet and exercise
its
legitimate mandate as elected representatives of the people of Kosova;
(8)
all individuals whose employment was terminated on the basis of their should
be
reinstated to their previous positions;
(9)
the agreement on education in Kosova should be implemented immediately,
including at the university level, allowing all residents of Kosova regardless
of
ethnicity to education in their native tongue;
(10) the students
of the University of Pristina have the full support of the United States
as they peacefully demonstrate to return to classes at the University;
(11) efforts of
the international Contact Group in support of a resolution of the conflict
in Kosova are to be commended; and
(12) the President
should appoint a special envoy to aid in negotiating a resolution to
the crisis in Kosova.
senden