Vol. 138WASHINGTON, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 1992No. 25




Congressional Record




ALBANIANS OF KOSOVA STRUG-GLE FOR 3 YEARS UNDER MARTIAL LAW

Mr. PELL. Mr. President. later this week, the Albanians of Kosova will mark a somber anniversary. Three years ago on February 28. 1989, the Government of Serbia Imposed a state of martial law on Kosova, borne to 2 mullion ethnic Albanians. Although the 1974 Yugoslav Federal Constitu-lion aft lnncd Kosova?s autonomous sLatus. the Government. of Serbia ig-nored the law and abolished Kosova's autonomous status as well as its par-liament. I believe it Is Important to commemorate this anniversary and.
accordingly. I recently joined In Intro-ducing Senate Resolution 257. which calls attention to the plight of the Al-banian population In Kosova.
Mr President. in the past several months, much of our attention on the Balkans has focused on the conflict between Serbia and Croatia. Our con-centration on that conflict Is under-standable: ,An estimated 10.000 lives have been lost In a war that has threatened both reform and stability in the region. However. I believe that the situation in Kosova is also a poten-tial powder keg, and if ignited, it could lead to chaos not only in the former Yugoslavia. but in neighboring coun-tries as well.
Even if the potential threat to re-gional security did not exist, however. I believe that from a human rights perspective, the Kosova situation de-serves more attention than it has been receiving, During the last year. condI-tions have worsened, and some observ-ers suggest that the Serbian Govern-ment has taken advantage of the war In Croatia, which has distracted inter-national attention, to step up its bru-talization of the Albanians of Kosova.
In its recently released human rights report for 1991, the State Department found that:
In the autonomous province of Kosova, Serbian authorities intasif led repressive measures against the majority Albanian population, eliminating virtually all Albani-an-language schooling. They arrested and


beat hundreds of Albanians on trumped-up charges and suppressed the Alimnien com-munity?s attempt to organize a referendum
on Kosova?s future.. In March. Serbian police and army troops in Belgrade used force to repress large-scale opposition dun-onatrations to demand the Serbian Govern-ment?s ouster, resulting in two deaths and hundreds of injuries.
These actions by the Sèrblan Gov-ernment are unjustified and unaccept-able, and the United States must speak out more loudly against them.
Mr. President, a delicate cease-fire Is holding In Croatia, and the United Na-tions Security Council recently voted to send a peacekeeping force to the region. These are hopeful signs, but much more needs to be done to ensure the peace in the former Yugoslavia. The Issue of Kosova must be ad-dressed in this context.
I would urge the administration to do so, and I would hope that the U.N. sponsored negotiations and the Euro-pean Community sponsored peace con-ference on the former Yugoslavia will Include representatives from Kosova, and that the Issue of Kosova will figure prominently on the agenda.


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