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“CERTIFICATION OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF YUGOSLAVIA” mentioning the U.S. Dept of State was published in the Senate section on pages S3430-S3431 on April 4, 2001.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
CERTIFICATION OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF YUGOSLAVIA
Mr. VOINOVICH. Mr. President, today I extend my congratulations to President Vojislav Kostunica, Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic and the Government of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia on their courageous actions this past weekend in arresting former Yugoslav dictator Slobodan Milosevic. This important and encouraging development underscores Belgrade's commitment to making real and significant progress on certification requirements as outlined in the fiscal year 2001 Foreign Operations Appropriations Act.
For Belgrade, arresting Milosevic was an important factor in their ability to achieve certification by the U.S. Therefore, I am pleased with the decision of President Bush and Secretary of State Colin Powell to grant certification to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, FRY. I share their view that the Government of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia has met the requirements for certification outlined by Congress last year, and I fully believe they will continue to make progress in these areas well beyond March 31.
It is clear that the government in Belgrade has taken some difficult steps in recent weeks to further democratize. The presence of hundreds of pro-Milosevic demonstrators rallying outside of Milosevic's villa over the weekend showed that opponents to democratic reform in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia still exist. Despite those who remain in opposition, it is critical that President Kostunica's government stand strong in its efforts to promote democracy. To help in that regard, I believe that the United States should continue to support those in the FRY who are committed to a new era of peace, stability and democracy in the Balkans.
As one who has a lengthy personal history with southeastern Europe, I was pleased with the certification announcement by the State Department. To me, it was rivaled only by the excitement I felt at the final outcome of the presidential elections in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia last fall which brought Vojislav Kostunica to the presidency. For years, I had worked to bring about democratic changes in the FRY working with opposition leaders to Slobodan Milosevic in diaspora. Since coming to the Senate, I have made a handful of visits to the region to get first-hand perspectives on the situation in the Balkans and I have visited and remain in contact with a number of top political leaders including President Kostunica, Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic and U.S. Ambassador to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, William Montgomery. I also have my ``ear to the ground'' via e-mail that I receive on a regular basis from a couple of retired members of the Ohio State Highway Patrol who are now serving as police officers in the United Nations' international police force in Kosovo. Needless to say, I pay attention to what is happening in the region.
To help support the new government of Dr. Kostunica, and as an incentive for Belgrade to make needed democratic changes, last October Congress approved $100 million in assistance for Serbia in the fiscal year 2001 Foreign Operations Appropriations Act. To obtain these funds after March 31, and ensure access to international financial institutions such as the IMF and World Bank, the fiscal year 2001 Foreign Operations bill outlined three certification requirements on the part of President Kostunica's new government: respect for the rule of law and human rights; implementation of the Dayton Accords; and cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia.
As I indicated to Secretary of State Colin Powell when I spoke with him last week, I believe the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia has complied with the spirit of the law outlined by Congress last year. The recent record of the Kostunica/Djindjic government is very positive, and it is my view that they have made considerable progress in all three areas outlined in the Foreign Operations Appropriations Act.
Regarding the rule of law, governments at both the Federal and the Republic levels in the FRY have taken steps to uphold human rights for minorities, particularly in southern Serbia. Deputy Prime Minister of Serbia Nebojsa Covic has worked to give ethnic Albanians in Serbia more control over their local governments and municipalities. During visits to Capitol Hill 2 weeks ago, Prime Minister Djindjic indicated that the Serbian Government now includes minorities. U.S. Ambassador Montgomery has indicated in conversations we have had that President Kostunica and Deputy Prime Minister Covic have worked well together to make progress on this front, and the Ambassador has been encouraged by the results that he has seen.
Further human rights progress can be witnessed in the freeing of Kosovo Albanian prisoners. On February 26, the Serb parliament passed an amnesty law granting amnesty to more than 100 Kosovar Albanians held in Serb prisons. Since the end of the war in 1999, more than 1,500 of 2,000 ethnic Albanian prisoners have been released. While I believe the remaining 500 should be quickly released, especially the Djakovica group, there has been substantial progress in this area.
Regarding implementation of the Dayton Accords, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the Republika Srpska have entered into a special relations agreement between the two which makes Belgrade's assistance to the RS military consistent with the Dayton Accords. In addition, President Kostunica has, on a number of occasions, publically declared his support for the Dayton Accords, the peace agreement reached at the end of the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina, and the FRY and Bosnia have established diplomatic relations. Prime Minister Djindjic also indicated to me during our meeting that the government will cut off pensions to RS army officers.
Regarding cooperation with the Hague Tribunal, President Kostunica's government has reopened a War Crimes Tribunal office in Belgrade, and the government helped to facilitate the extradition to the Hague of indicted war criminals Blagoje Simic and Milomir Stakic. In addition, after Justice Minister of the FRY Momcilo Grubac and Serbian Justice Minister Vladan Batic met with the Chief Prosecutor of the Hague, Carla Del Ponte, she described their talks as a sign of ``good progress.'' When I met with Ms. Del Ponte following the Presidential elections last September, she indicated that the cooperation of the new government, not custody of Milosevic himself, was the Tribunal's first priority. President Kostunica's government has taken a number of additional steps in this area, drafting a memo of understanding on how the government will cooperate with the Hague and writing a new measure to change the current law in the FRY that prohibits citizens from being extradited. The arrest of Milosevic on Sunday, April 1, is an additional factor illustrating the government's commitment to following through with its promises to take action and cooperate with the Tribunal.
I cannot overstate the importance of the Bush administration's decision to grant certification to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. By doing so, they have allowed the FRY government access to much-needed support from the IMF, World Bank and international financial institutions. This will help the government deal with a staggering number of outstanding and pressing emergency situations. For instance: the country's economy is failing, there is ongoing violence in the Presevo Valley, there is a nationwide energy crisis complete with rolling blackouts, there are calls for an independent Montenegro led by Montenegro's President Djukanovic, and they still have 800,000 refugees from Croatia and Bosnia, and 200,000 refugees from Kosovo.
President Kostunica and Prime Minister Djindjic are in a fragile political situation, which demands that they proceed with caution in their democratic reform efforts, especially with regard to Milosevic. Serb radical parties, including those with ties to Slobodan Milosevic, Vojislav Seselj and Zeljko ``Arkan'' Raznatovic, claimed nearly 30 percent of the vote in the December 2000 parliamentary elections, and the coalition government is partly dependent on the inclusion of the Montenegrin Socialist Peoples Party, led by Predrag Bulatovic, who also back Milosevic. Outside the realm of government, there are some Serbs who would like to see the United States walk away from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia due to anti-American sentiment following the 1999 bombing campaign.
As I came to the decision to recommend certification, I carefully considered the political realities with which the new FRY government is faced. These realities became especially clear last weekend as Milosevic supporters, including members of the Serb Parliament, rallied outside of Milosevic's villa to protest his arrest. In my view, and in the view of many who follow what goes on in the Balkans, President Kostunica and his government offer a remarkable opportunity for beneficial change in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. While they have only been in office a short time, Dr. Kostunica has been President for 6 months, while Prime Minister Djindjic and the Parliament in Serbia have been in office for just 2 months, I have positive feelings about the direction they are leading the nation.
The qualified certification of the FRY guarantees that the United States still has leverage over the FRY if they fail to make good on their certification requirements. As the Bush Administration has indicated, U.S. support for an international donors' conference, scheduled to take place this summer, is contingent upon the FRY's continued cooperation with the Hague. Congress has additional funding leverage that may be exercised in the fiscal year 2002 appropriations process, as well as its oversight and approval authority of the State Department's spending plans in the FRY.
In closing, I applaud the progress that has been made in the FRY during this historic period of democratic transition. I am pleased that President Bush has chosen to recognize the efforts that President Kostunica has undertaken to move towards democracy by continuing U.S. assistance to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. I believe U.S. support will serve as a stabilizing force as the new government continues to promote a new era of peace in southeast Europe.
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