Congressional Record -- Extension of Remarks

Friday, May 24, 1990

101st Cong. 2nd Sess.

136 Cong Rec E 1751

REFERENCE: Vol. 136 No. 68 -- Part 2

TITLE: STATEMENTS ON YUGOSLAVIA AT HEARING OF THE CONGRESSIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS CAUCUS

SPEAKER: HON. LYNN MARTIN OF ILLINOIS IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

TEXT:
Text that appears in UPPER CASE identifies statements or insertions which are not spoken by a Member of the House on the floor.

[*E1751] MRS. MARTIN OF ILLINOIS. MR. SPEAKER, ON APRIL 24, 1990, THE CONGRESSIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS CAUCUS HELD A HEARING ON THE PRESENT POLITICAL CLIMATE IN YUGOSLAVIA, FOCUSING ON THAT COUNTRY'S TROUBLED KOSOVO PROVINCE. MY DISTINGUISHED COLLEAGUES MRS. HELEN DELICH BENTLEY OF MARYLAND AND MR. JIM MOODY OF WISCONSIN MADE STATEMENTS AT THE HEARING.

CONGRESSWOMAN BENTLEY IS A FIRST GENERATION SERBIAN-AMERICAN WHOSE PARENTS EMIGRATED TO THIS COUNTRY SHORTLY AFTER THE TURN OF THE CENTURY. MRS. BENTLEY HAS MADE NUMEROUS [*E1752] TRIPS TO YUGOSLAVIA, GOING BACK TO HER YEARS OF SERVICE IN THE NIXON ADMINISTRATION AS CHAIRMAN OF THE FEDERAL MARITIME COMMISSION AND, MOST RECENTLY, TRAVELING THERE IN APRIL WITH THE HELSINKI COMMISSION.

CONGRESSMAN MOODY'S PERSONAL INTEREST IN RECENT EVENTS IN YUGOSLAVIA DATES BACK TO 1958, WHEN HE SPENT 2 YEARS AS CARE REPRESENTATIVE IN THAT COUNTRY. DURING THAT TIME MR. MOODY VISITED NOT ONLY EVERY REPUBLIC IN YUGOSLAVIA BUT EVERY MAJOR TOWN AS WELL. MR. MOODY WAS ALSO A MEMBER OF THE RECENT HELSINKI COMMISSION DELEGATION WHICH VISITED YUGOSLAVIA, AND HIS EXPERTISE ON THIS COUNTRY IS WIDELY RECOGNIZED IN THIS CONGRESS.

MR. SPEAKER, THIS IS A SENSITIVE AREA. OTHER COLLEAGUES OF OURS HAVE MADE ARGUMENTS THAT REPRESENT OTHER VIEWS. THAT IS THE PURPOSE OF OUR CONGRESS, AND IN THAT SPIRIT I ASK THAT THE REMARKS OF CONGRESSWOMAN BENTLEY AND CONGRESSMAN MOODY BE PRINTED IN THE RECORD FOLLOWING MY OWN STATEMENT.

STATEMENT OF HON. HELEN DELICH BENTLEY BEFORE THE HUMAN RIGHTS CAUCUS, APRIL 24, 1990

Who would have thought 600 years ago that the second battle of Kosovo would take place in the halls of the United States Congress, (actually in the legislative halls of a country which was not even in existence when the first Kosovo war took place.)

Kosovo is where -- 600 years ago -- the Serbs, although outnumbered, fought a valiant battle against the Islamic invaders of Christian Europe. The Serbs were "guardians of the gate." They lost the battle, but they saved Christianity! They lost the battle, but they still celebrate that day; in fact, they venerate that day.

And it was because of this veneration through the centuries that Kosovo has become as sacred to the Serbians as Mecca is to the Moslems, the Vatican is to the Roman Catholics, Jerusalem is to the Jews, and Canterbury is the the Anglican Church.

Nevertheless, here we are today, talking about an event, and a place, which happened before this country -- the United States -- was even founded, and located today in another country, which also was non-existent at the time of the first battle. Yugoslavia, a country of unique composition. Yugoslavia is made up of six republics -- including Serbia, the one that did exist in 1389 and for 200 previous years -- four principal ethnic groups, three different basic languages, three major religions, and two alphabets. There is nothing simple about it.

Some people even describe Yugoslavia as a jigsaw puzzle because of this multiplicity of makeup. That composition developed because of the history of the republics involved. And, although we in the United States these days have a tendency to overlook, gloss over, or even forget about history, nevertheless, historical background is vital to most other people in the world -- and in this particular case, to the Serbs in relation to Kosovo.

Even though the Ottoman Turks won that historical first battle of Kosovo, the Serbs have always venerated that battlefield where they left blood for century after century as they endeavored to free themselves from the Ottoman oppression -- and finally did in the Nineteenth Century.

Through the balance of the Nineteenth Century and into the early days of Twentieth, Serbia -- although independent -- was a much sought-after pawn of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Turkey once again made forays against her, and even Bulgaria and Russia showed interest. The Balkan Wars that we have read about in our history books were real, and Serbia seemed involved in the conflict throughout her history, until Yugoslavia was formed after World War I in the Versailles Treaty.

But the new country of Yugoslavia had less than a generation to establish itself when the might of Hitler's Third Reich came down upon it. In March of 1941 after a coup d'etat, the Serbs and most Yugoslavs entered World War II on the side of the Allies. That decision threw Hitler into such a rage of spite that he delayed his attack on Russia for two weeks, and sent the troops into Yugoslavia. Many historians believe that this decision was Hitler's worst mistake and caused him to lose the war.

That move tied up 15 divisions of Hitler's mechanized forces and caught Hitler in the middle of winter, causing his defeat during World War II.

It is very timely -- on this, the official day of recognition of the Holocaust -- to be discussing the fate of the nation of Yugoslavia, a smaller country which lost 1,700,000 Jews and Serbs to the Nazi terror.

But the Serbs paid heavily for coming out on the side of the Allies for the second time. They were forced out of their home -- Kosovo -- by the Axis forces, and were not allowed to return there during the Axis occupation, or during the rule of Broz Tito's communist government, which wanted to assist Albania, and also reduce the Serbian majority, both in Kosovo, and throughout Yugoslavia.

Americans must understand -- and that includes this Congress -- that this was the price the Serbians paid for being an ally of the Allies, an ally of the United States -- our ally.

Historically, between the wars, the native Kosovo Albanians and the Serbs lived in comparative harmony. That peace resulted from normal migrations and integrations of society. There, of course, were differences, but no extremes of desecration of property, loss of life, or harassment.

There is no doubt in the minds of the Serbians that the Twentieth Century battle of Kosovo has resulted from Marshall Tito's high-handed manner, not only in forcing the Serbians out of their homes there, but also in encouraging the Albanians from Albania to flock into Kosovo in droves -- by the thousands.

In fact, early in his reign, Tito's government passed a law which forbade any Serbians who left Kosovo during the war or after, from returning to their home sites or anywhere in Kosovo.

Where the province once was 75% Serbian and 25% Albanian, the proportions now not only are reversed, but the Serbian share is said to be down to less than 10%.

As that proportion was turned around, the feeling in Yugoslavia is that many of the agitators of Kosovo have come from the strongest communist country in Eastern Europe -- Albania. The general feeling of all the Serbians is that it is a move to separate Kosovo altogether from Serbia and Yugoslavia, and to make it greater Albania.

In fact, the February 23, 1990 "Report on Eastern Europe," issued by Radio Free Europe, states: "On February 1 some 500 ethnic Albanians in the town of Tetovo in western Macedonia attempted to block the town center, but were quickly dispersed by local police. An account by Radio Belgrade described the police action as, 'So swift that the demonstrators did not even know what had hit them.' Reports indicate that the demonstrators were demanding that western Macedonia, which is heavily populated by ethnic Albanians, be granted independence. They chanted, 'We want a greater Albania,' and voiced solidarity with Kosovo's Albanians."

Only this past week Albania has indicated that it is interested in establishing any dialogue with the outside world . . . the first time in 45 years.

And yet, Yugoslavia has been just the opposite the most open of the East European countries -- open since it went its own communistic way in 1948 to open its borders to visitors from throughout the world as it had before World War II. However, with all that openness it has only been within the past year or two that the Serbs themselves have been able to have any pride about their heritage because they had been so downgraded throughout Yugoslavia by their enemy, Marshall Tito.

It was pointed out to me by a top official of the U.S. Embassy last year, that it has only been since Slobadan Milosovic came to power in Serbia that all of Yugoslavia recognizes, finally, that Tito is dead, that many of Tito's henchmen have been put out of office, and that the Serbians have been able to hold their heads high.

It is ironic that the communist country which has had the first open door, and the longest, is one of the slowest in moving towards open multi-party elections on a nationwide basis -- but again, this can be blamed on the fragmented ethnic complexion of this small country.

It was my privilege to be invited to go with members of the Helsinki Commission to Yugoslavia the first week of this month to investigate human rights violations there and, in Romania and Bulgaria. While I applaud their efforts, the short two and a half days spent in Belgrade and Kosovo can barely brush a thousand years of the history of those nations -- the complexity of the ethnic mix of that area of the world.

This hearing, scheduled for earlier in the year, was deliberately postponed until after the Commission had visited. Considering the news coverage of our "findings," I am glad that we waited. As a former news reporter, I can tell you that what we saw, what we heard, was not reported in the proper light.

A minority position paper from the trip is now being prepared and it is our hope that this afternoon some of the misleading impressions can be corrected.

I was very pleased to read over the weekend that President Markovic of Yugoslavia said there would be multi-party elections on a federal or national basis of that country before the end of this year -- or at least, early next year. The republics of Slovenia and Croatia already have had multi-party elections for their areas and hopefully the other republics, including Serbia, will be doing so in the forthcoming months as well. These are positive moves, along with the turnaround of the economy of Yugoslavia under the program of President Markovic, which he outlined to those of us who visited him as part of the Helsinki Commission earlier this month.

Is there room for improvement on human rights? You bet there is throughout Yugoslavia, in every way.

Has any progress been made? Yes, it has. As we heard from the letter from the Embassy earlier today, in recent weeks some 108 political prisoners were released. Undoubtedly, they should have been released earlier and perhaps it was the combination of the pressure from the Helsinki Commission's visit and this Human Rights Caucus hearing that finally brought their release about. And, of course, the good news today was the release of Mr. Vlasi, who has been going through a lengthy trial and apparently, he and his colleagues were found not [*E1753] guilty today. I had the occasion of sitting next to Mrs. Vlasi during dinner while we were in Kosovo two weeks ago and I told her that I was the one who had pushed hard for an open trial for her husband. I'm very glad that it was open and I'm very glad that he is free.

There have been other bits of good news regarding human rights, but we all know there are changes and improvements that must be made throughout the country as there are throughout Eastern Europe.

As I noted earlier, Mr. Chairman, our purpose here this afternoon is to explain this ethnic diversity which between the world wars gave a pluralism to Yugoslavian society not seen anywhere else in the Balkan states. It is our hope that this model can once again be explored -- with a recognition of ancient "rights to Jerusalem" -- "rights to Kosovo, " in this instance -- rights which cannot be denied without great risk to the people of all of the Balkan states.

There is no right, no claim, as strong as one of history and heritage. The recent eruption of nationalism from a host of small nations inside the Soviet Republic is testimony to that ever green commitment to a national identity despite years of oppressive foreign domination of all sectors of society in those countries.

It must be recognized today that occupation of a state does not have to be heralded by the movement of armies, but rather can occur -- as happened in ancient days -- by a mere movement of a people. The reasons for this in-migration can be either political or economic, or both, but the reasons do not address the problems created by the fact of occupation. We need to present the problem. To force recognition of the problem by this country. And, finally, to work with all other involved parties toward some pluralistic solution which will accommodate the best interests of the nation of Yugoslavia, the nation most threatened by this occupation.

It is a tragic history we are discussing here this afternoon. It is vital for the benefit of all the Republics and peoples of Yugoslavia, as well as the western world, that that country remains intact.

Our deepest wish is to avert another tragedy -- the dismantling of Yugoslavia must not take place!

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

STATEMENT OF HON. JIM MOODY BEFORE THE HUMAN RIGHTS CAUCUS APRIL 24, 1990

I appreciate the opportunity to discuss the current situation in Yugoslavia and applaud the Human Rights Caucus for holding this hearing. I hope that it will contribute to a greater understanding of the unique and complex circumstances that exist in Yugoslavia today.

My personal involvement with Yugoslavia began in 1958, when I served for two years as the CARE representative there. During those two years I traveled throughout the entire country and to every republic. In fact, to every town. I have stayed in touch with developments since that time, most recently as a member of the Helsinki Commission delegation, led by Sen. DeConcini and Congressman Hoyer, that visited Belgrade and Pristina two weeks ago, April 9 to 12.

THE COMPLEXITY OF YUGOSLAVIA

Yugoslavia is far, far more complex and diversified than any other Eastern European country. It has seven nationalities: Serbian, Croatian, Slovenian, Macedonian, Montenegrin, Albanian and Hungarian. It has six republics: Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovena, and Macedonia. It has five languages: Serbo-Croatian, Macedonian, Slovenian, Albanian, and Hungarian. Yugoslavia has four peoples: Slavs, Turks, Albanians, Magyars. It has three religions: Orthodox, Catholic, and Moslem. It has two alphabets: Cyrillic and Latin.

Yugoslavia has an incredibly rich and diverse history. Much of the country -- Croatia and Slovenia -- was an integral part of the Austro-Hungarian empire. Most of the country -- Serbia, Bosnia and Macedonia -- were under the Ottoman Empire. Montenegro was never conquered from the outside.

The area that now makes up Yugoslavia has long been the scene of passionate ethnic rivalry and expression, with some periods of intercommunal and inter-religious violence and repression. World War I started in Sarajevo as a result of an assassination sparked by ethnic aspirations.

SERBIA AND KOSOVO

No region is more complex, nor has a more admirable history, than Serbia, the largest and most diverse republic. Today, Serbia includes two semi-autonomous provinces: Vojvodina and Kosovo. During the Tito period, both provinces were granted a great deal of ethnic expression and administrative autonomy.

Serbs have a rich cultural tradition, with national poetry, songs, and artistic forms of great beauty and strength. The modern scholar, Slobodan Jovanonic, depicts the truly glorious history of Serbia and the Serbian people.

No part of that history is more meaningful than the 500-plus year struggle the Serbs waged for their freedom, dating from 1389 when they lost a decisive battle in the heart of ancient Serbia -- Kosovo -- to the invading Moslem Turks. That battle ushered in the five centuries of alien rule and oppression. The 1398 battle of Kosovo is the most important date in all Serbian history, not because of the result of the battle itself, but because it began the greatest trial of the Serbian people and difficulty from which they emerged with their religion, language, culture and Western values intact. They persevered through the long night of oppression. They never lost sight of freedom or belief in the dignity of the individual.

The Serbian people have always drawn strength from their tradition, dating back to 1389, of fighting for freedom and liberty as they faced modern-day forces of oppression. They fought bravely on the Allies' side in both World Wars I and II.

In regard to Serbian treatment of minorities living within their midst, their record through history has been one of tolerance and fairness.

During World War II, the Serbs refused to give into Nazi pressure for cooperation. As a result, they were subject to full scale attack by the German armies, joined by Fascist forces from several bordering countries. The Nazi occupation of Serbia was one of the most brutal of all of World War II, and many thousands of Serbs gave their lives in organized resistance to that occupation. There are towns in Serbia where every male inhabitant was machine gunned by the Germans in retaliation for some act of resistance.

At the same time, thousands of Serbs living in Croatia or Bosnia were killed by units of the Croation facist organization, the Ustasha, which set up an Axis state in Croatia allied with Germany and Italy. Old ethnic and religious rivalries between Croats and Serbs were rekindled, and thousands were killed by Utasha guards simply for being Serbian -- that is, for being of the Orthodox religion.

In sum, the Serbs have a long tradition and history of commitment to freedom and liberty, often achieved after terrible sacrifice. In this rich and admirable tradition, Kosovo stands as an historic symbol of the Serbian struggle for freedom. The belief of the Serbian people -- and in fact of all Yugoslav people -- in the dignity of the individual is central to their culture and to their values. Probably no ethnic group in Europe has paid more dearly over the last six centuries for their beliefs than the Serbs and many of their countrymen.

MODERN DAY YOGOSLAVIA

In 1948, at great risk of invasion and war, Yugoslavia broke with Stalin and the Soviet system, and set out on their own path. It was the first country to do what other Eastern European countries are now doing so dramatically.

After an early period of very tight controls over personal expression, press, foreign travel and other freedoms, these restraints were gradually and continuously relaxed. Today personal freedoms in Yugoslavia are generally very secure. Politicalarrests and trials, as usually defined, have not been totally eliminated but are now a real rarity. The national parliament is preparing legislation to abolish all "verbal crimes". Over 100 persons convicted under such statutes were recently pardoned and released (including the famous Mr. Adem Demaqi). The Yugoslav government now demonstrates that no political prisoners remain incarcerated.

The recent events in other parts of Eastern Europe have had significant impact on Yugoslavia, and have no doubt accelerated its march to democracy. Free elections have been recently held in Slovenia and Croatia, more will be held soon in Croatia and in all other parts of the country later this year. Today the press criticizes the government and office holders, and publishes articles by such well known anti-Tito dissidents as Milovan Djilas.

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS

In Kosovo today, the situation remains very tense. Our recent Helsinki delegation visit there included extended meetings with political and religious groups of a wide variety. We met with representatives of a number of Albanian ethnic groups, with representatives of the Serbian ethnic minority there, and with Orthodox and Muslin religious leaders. I have provided copies of the statement our delegation issued upon completing our visit.

Our Helsinki delegation criticized the apparently overly-heavy reaction of the police and some local authorities during the recent riots, in which more than 30 Albanians lost their lives. And we criticized the view by some in Belgrade that the Albanian minority representatives were only. "separatists" and "terrorists". Our view was that there were reponsible Albanian ethnic groups that wanted more autonomy but not secession from Yugosloavia.

But we also noted considerable suffering and difficulty by the Serbian families still living in Kosovo. Serbian priests have been beaten; Serbian graves desecrated, and Serbian churches burned. The Serbs are a small and embattled minority in Kosovo. The ones we met with told of ethnically-based discrimination and harassment they have suffered. Many Serbs have already fled Kosovo in fear for their safety.

The Serbs in the rest of Serbia have reacted very strongly to this situaiton. As mentioned above, Kosovo is the birthplace of Serbian culture and has tremendous ethnic, cultural, and religious symbolism. Morever, the Serbs point out that in the other semi-autonomous region fo Serbia, Vojvodina, populated mostly by Hungarian ethnics, there is no comparable conflict and tension.

[*E1754] Our trip found that despite the high state of tension in Kosovo, there is substantial basis for peaceful resolution, particulary if Belgrade officials show leadership and restraint. We were especially impressed by Orthodox and Muslim leaders in Kosovo who expressed great compassion and understanding for the other religion, and for the suffering on both sides.

In fact, we found many individuals of good will on both sides. If political posturing in Belgrade can be reduced, and the legal restrictions on legitimate expressions eased, I personally am optimistic for future peace and democracy in Kosovo.

It is important to note that the federal government and the Serbian republic have very recently (April 18) lifted the official state of emergency in Kosovo. This bodes well for the move towards democracy in Kosovo.

It should also be noted that today, fourteen ethnic Albanians were acquitted by the court of Titova Mitrovica of all charges against them that stemmed form the recent unrest. The most notable person in that group was Mr. Azem Vlasi.

CONCLUSION

The complexity of the situation in Kosovo, and the Serbian-Albanian conflict there, caution against any sweeping conclusions by outsiders. Certainly it would be ill-advised for the U.S. Congress to level condemnation against either side in the highly charged conflict. Doing so would probably inflame further the tensions, and might actually reverse the current trend towards relaxation of those tensions.

The recent U.S. Helsinki Commission statement released at the end of our visit carefully lays out the position of the majority of our delegation. Beyond that, I would not recommend judgment.

As stated, many people of good will are now at work in Kosovo, and recent government actions towards political prisoners, Mr. Vlasi, and towards lifting the state of emergency are very positive steps. Working in a non-condemnatory way with the relevant authorities, we hopefully can facilitate further progress.