Mr. Speaker, today I am introducing a resolution which expresses the sense of the House regarding the recent violence in Kosovo. Supporting the resolution as original co-sponsors are my colleagues on the Helsinki Commission: Mr. Cardin, Mr. Pitts and Mr. Hastings.
Last week, close to 30 people were killed, hundreds were wounded and over 3,000 persons were displaced by renewed ethnic violence in Kosovo. In addition, considerable property was damaged or destroyed, in particular Orthodox Churches. In retaliation, protesters in Serbia damaged or destroyed several mosques.
This violence was noteworthy mostly in its scale. As a practical matter, the situation for minority communities in Kosovo, including Serbs and Roma, has not been good since the United Nations, backed by a NATO-led peace operation, took control in 1999. A few weeks ago, I met with Serbian Orthodox Bishop Artemije, who presented documentation of attacks on churches and monasteries in Kosovo.
As Chairman of the Helsinki Commission, I recall the horrors which Slobodan Milosevic and his regime inflicted on the Albanian population of Kosovo. Attacks on places of worship and the lack of measures to stop these obviously vulnerable sites from being attacked again and again are inexcusable, as are the attacks on innocent people, be they Serbs, Albanians, Roma or anybody else.
This resolution says that the violence must stop. It supports Kosovo achieving benchmarks which, if met, would effectively mean the protection of human rights and democratic development as well. It support the international community taking greater action, including providing more security, in order to achieve this progress.
I believe this resolution should be able to garner wide support. This House should be on record as condemning the violence and saying that the human rights situation for the people who live there, regardless of their ethnicity, must improve.
