Expressing the Sense of the House Regarding the Massacre at Srebrenica in July 1995
EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE HOUSE REGARDING THE MASSACRE AT SREBRENICA IN JULY 1995 -- (House of Representatives - June 27, 2005)
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Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I strongly support this important Resolution expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding the massacre at Srebrenica in July 1995.
This summer is the 30th anniversary of the signing of the Helsinki Final Act, which established principles to be followed by participating states that include respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. The Helsinki Final Act and the conference it established have since been institutionalized in the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, or OSCE. This multilateral diplomatic effort was taken seriously by both Republican and Democratic Administrations over the years, and it helped tremendously in ending the Cold War division of Europe and in giving millions upon millions of people freedom from communist repression.
Those of us who have had the privilege to serve on the U.S. Helsinki Commission can recall the powerful impact the Helsinki Final Act had, as well as the hard work and sacrifice that helped bring its ideals so much closer to reality. Some of us, indeed, will be commemorating the OSCE's achievements in about 1 week when the Organization's Parliamentary Assembly convenes here in Washington.
One cannot honestly and credibly assess the accomplishments of the Helsinki Final Act, however, without taking note of the greatest single violation of its provisions in those three decades. Srebrenica undoubtedly is that single greatest violation. Eight thousand men and boys, maybe more, were executed and thrown into mass graves. Their bodies continue to be exhumed and identified to this day. The surviving victims continue to feel the pain from the loss of their loved ones.
This tragedy is compounded by the truly horrifying fact that it could have been prevented. Indeed, it should have been prevented. For 2 years, Srebrenica was designated by the United Nations as a ``safe area.'' Attacks upon it were not to be tolerated. It was protected by U.N. peacekeepers. Yet, for months Serb forces prevented humanitarian convoys from entering Srebrenica; even the Dutch peacekeeping contingent was rendered ineffective by its isolation. When the Serb forces attacked, the air strikes necessary to repel them never came. The United Nations and its member states were not at all helpless, but they were indecisive and feckless in the face of clear aggression.
Many of us in the Congress at the time appealed for decisive action. Even after documenting the policy of ethnic cleansing in Bosnia since 1992, we admittedly did not know the scale and horrific nature of the acts to follow, but we certainly knew something evil was about to occur in Srebrenica. And it did occur, due to the simple fact that it was allowed to occur.
We can, if we choose, find some silver linings in that experience. For the first time since World War II, individuals have been held to account for their crimes, including genocide, before an international tribunal. NATO operated ``out of area,'' setting a stage for broadening the scope of the alliance to support the interests of its members in Afghanistan and elsewhere. Within months of Srebrenica, the international community under U.S. leadership at least restored a peace to Bosnia that, despite problems, has lasted to this day.
It is, however, with deep regret that such advances in international relations came at such a heavy price to so many innocent people. It is a price which Srebrenica survivors continue to pay as Ratko Mladic and Radovan Karadzic remain at large and as so many people continue to deny the massacre even took place. The least that the international community can do to ease their pain is to ensure that the realities of Srebrenica are acknowledged as genocide, to vow that they never happen again, and this time to mean it.
I therefore call upon my colleague to support this important resolution.
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