A resolution condemning ethnic violence in Kosovo.

        [Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 326 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]

2d Session
S. RES. 326

Condemning ethnic violence in Kosovo.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

March 31, 2004

Mr. Voinovich (for himself, Mr. Biden, Mr. Lugar, Mr. Lieberman, Mr.
Brownback, Mr. Smith, Mr. Hagel, and Mr. Sarbanes) submitted the
following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign
Relations

April 8, 2004

Committee discharged; considered and agreed to

_______________________________________________________________________

RESOLUTION

Condemning ethnic violence in Kosovo.

Whereas ethnic violence erupted in Kosovo on March 17, 2004, claiming the lives
of 20 individuals, including 8 Kosovo Serbs, 8 Kosovo Albanians, and 4
unidentified victims, injuring more than 600 others, and displacing more
than 4,000 Kosovo Serbs and other minorities;
Whereas the violence also resulted in the destruction of more than 500 homes
belonging to Kosovo Serbs, Ashkali, and other minorities, and in the
destruction of, or damage to, more than 30 churches and monasteries
belonging to the Serbian Orthodox Church;
Whereas historic mosques in Belgrade and Nis, and an Islamic center in Novi Sad,
were also destroyed or damaged;
Whereas in response to the violence, Commander in Chief of the North Atlantic
Treaty Organization (NATO) Allied Forces South, Admiral Gregory Johnson,
concluded, ``This kind of activity, which essentially amounts to ethnic
cleansing, cannot go on.'';
Whereas Supreme Allied Commander, Europe, General James Jones ordered the
deployment of NATO's Strategic Reserve Force on March 19, 2004, to calm
the violence and end the destruction;
Whereas Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage and Foreign Minister of
Serbia and Montenegro Goran Svilanovic met in Washington on March 19,
2004, and called for an immediate end to the violence, concurring that
no party in Kosovo can be allowed to profit or advance a political
agenda through violent measures;
Whereas a stable, secure, and functioning multiethnic society is in the best
interest of all people of Kosovo, the broader region of Southeast
Europe, and the world;
Whereas it is essential that political leaders in Kosovo support efforts to
establish an environment in which all people in Kosovo have freedom of
movement and the ability to live free from fear;
Whereas the United States and members of the international community have called
on the people of Kosovo to implement 8 standards outlined by the United
Nations Interim Administration in Kosovo (UNMIK), which are to be met
prior to the consideration of the question of final status for Kosovo,
including: the existence of effective, representative, and functioning
democratic institutions; enforcement of the rule of law; freedom of
movement; sustainable returns of refugees and displaced persons, and
respect for the rights of communities; creation of a sound basis for a
market economy; fair enforcement of property rights; normalized dialogue
with Belgrade; and transformation of the Kosovo Protection Corps (KPC)
in line with its mandate; and
Whereas it is in the long-term interest of all people of Kosovo that the UNMIK
standards are achieved in order to promote peace, stability, and
economic development, and to ensure a better future for all people in
Kosovo: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) urges all people in Kosovo to immediately stop the
violence, end the destruction of homes, churches, and other
cultural and religious sites, and cooperate with North Atlantic
Treaty Organization's Kosovo Force (KFOR), the United Nations
Interim Administration in Kosovo (UNMIK), and the Kosovo Police
in identifying for prosecution the perpetrators of violence and
the destruction of property;
(2) expresses its deep condolences to the families of those
who have been killed in the recent violence;
(3) strongly condemns the destruction of personal and
religious property in Kosovo, including more than 500 homes
belonging to Kosovo Serbs, Ashkali, and other minorities, and
of 30 churches and monasteries belonging to the Serbian
Orthodox Church, adding to the more than 100 churches that have
been destroyed since June 1999;
(4) strongly condemns the destruction of historic mosques
in the cities of Belgrade and Nis, and of an Islamic center in
Novi Sad;
(5) recognizes the commitment made by the Kosovo Assembly
to establish a fund for the reconstruction of property,
including homes and churches, destroyed during the attacks;
(6) recognizes the commitment made by Serbian officials to
provide funds for the reconstruction of mosques in Belgrade and
Nis, and an Islamic center in Novi Sad;
(7) urges political leaders to fulfill their commitment to
rebuild what has been destroyed and to take all possible action
to allow the more than 4,000 Kosovo Serbs and other minorities
displaced during the violence to return quickly and safely to
their homes and communities;
(8) encourages all political leaders in Kosovo to renounce
the use of violence, and to proceed with efforts to establish a
secure, peaceful, multiethnic society, which protects the
rights of all people in Kosovo, and to take action to proceed
with the implementation of the standards or ``benchmark goals''
outlined by UNMIK;
(9) strongly recommends that the United Nations review the
structure and organization of UNMIK; and
(10) urges reinvigoration of dialogue between Belgrade and
Pristina in an effort to move toward the establishment of a
peaceful and secure environment guaranteeing freedom of
movement and human rights for all people in Kosovo.
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