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several hundred ethnic Albanians? were killed in the disturbances, there have also been reports, from unofficial sources, that as few as 20 were killed. The truth is that we have been unable to determine the reliability of these widely divergent reports, or confirm the official Yugoslav Government figure of nine dead.
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of large numbers of ethnic Albanians by the Yugoslav Government.
what is misleading is the assertion in H. Con. Res. 162 that these arrests have been carried out by ?the Yugoslav Government.? In fact, the great majority of ethnic Albanian political prisoners have been arrested and imprisoned in Kosovo by officials of the Province, who are themselves, overwhelmingly, ethnic Albanians. The large number of ethnic Albanian political prisoners reflects the attempts of these local officials to prevent a recurrence of the 1981 disturbances.


There is also no evidence indicated that ?many ethnic Albanians have been denied access to ?full economic opportunities because of alleged Albanian nationalist activities.? While Kosovo is the poorest region in Yugoslavia, this is not due to a lack of federal aid to the Province.
Under terms of the Yugoslav Federal Development Aid Fund, each of the wealthier Republics is required to contribute 3 percent of GNP to the poorer areas. Kosovo currently receives approximately 50 percent of all such funds, amounting to almost $1 billion in 1987.

H. Con Res. 162 also asserts that Amnesty International has published allegations of torture and assassination of ethnic Albanians in exile by the Yugoslav secret police. In reviewing Amnesty International Reports dating back to 1975, we were able to find only two such allegations, neither involving torture, and neither of which has been proven. The governments involved have not, so far as we are aware, blamed Yugoslav authorities for the deaths.


In our judgment, formal notification of Congressional concern, as expressed in H. Con. Res. 162, would needlessly damage our friendly relations with Yugoslavia and make it harder for us to pursue our legitimate human rights concerns