Special Alert!
The
American Council for Kosovo Calls on All Americans:
Choose Appropriate Letters Below, Copy then use following links to Paste and SendTell Your Senators and Congressman Today: Please Oppose Congressional Resolutions Urging Forcible and Illegal Detachment of Kosovo and Metohija from Democratic Serbia !
It is anticipated that Congress may soon consider two similar non-binding resolutions endorsing an independent Kosovo. (In the Senate, S. Res 135, and in the House of Representatives H. Res. 36 (see below)). While these resolutions would not have the force of law, their passage would be important political endorsement of a misguided U.S. State Department and United Nations policy, which is in desperate need of support as the one-sided and discredited Ahtisaari plan faces collapse in the Security Council.
Since democratic Serbia will not agree to amputation of 15 percent of its territory, these resolutions effectively demand that such a separation be imposed on Serbia in violation of the U.N. Charter, the Helsinki Final Act, Security Council Resolution 1244 of 1999, and Serbias own constitution, which, adopted with overwhelming public approval, defines Kosovo and Metohija as an integral part of Serbia.
The American Council for Kosovo urgently calls on you: Please contact your Senators and Congressman today to request respectfully but firmly that they oppose these misguided and counterproductive resolutions. Please note the following links and suggested messages. (We suggest e-mail as the best way for an immediate impact, but phone calls or hard copy letters can also be used.)
===============================
1. In opposition to S. Res. 135 (in the U.S. Senate):
Find your (two) Senators names and contacts at the link (alphabetical by state):
Suggested text to be sent to both your Senators:
(If you use e-mail, suggested subject line: Senator [Name], please oppose S. Res. 135 about Kosovo
Suggested text:
Dear Senator [Name]:
As your constituent, I am writing to urge your opposition to Senate Resolution 135 relating to the Serbian province of Kosovo and Metohija. If the State Department and United Nations policy endorsed in S. Res. 135 were implemented, it would mean the final eradication of the Christian Serbian presence in Kosovo, which is the cradle of Serbia s national and spiritual life. It would also be a vain and misguided effort to appease the violent demands by radical elements of Kosovos Muslim Albanian community, which would lead in turn to more violent demands in nearby areas. At a time when America is leading the global effort against jihad terrorism, this is a mistake we cannot afford to make!
An independent Kosovo, forcibly and illegally detached from democratic Serbia , would be certain to become a rogue state dominated by radical Islamic and organized crime influences. Since 1999, two-thirds of Kosovos Christian Serbs have been terrorized from the province, along with comparable percentages of Roma (Gypsies), Croats, Gorani, and other groups, as well as the entire Jewish community. Attacks against the dwindling number of non-Albanian targets continue. Some 150 churches and monasteries have been destroyed or desecrated and replaced with hundreds of new mosques propagating the extremist Wahhabist version of Islam. Organized crime rackets, connected to the Albanian mafias operations throughout Europe , and implicating the highest levels of the UN-supervised Albanian administration, traffic in drugs, weapons, and slaves women and even children.
Finally, the policy endorsed in S. Res. 135 violates the UN Charter and other fundamentals of international law by seeking to detach part of a countrys territory without its consent. Instead of an illegal attempt to appease violence and threat of violence from the Muslim Albanian community, America should be supporting a balanced, negotiated, and legal solution that protects the legitimate interests of all of Kosovos inhabitants, regardless of religion or ethnicity. Please oppose S. Res. 135. I thank you for your urgent consideration of this matter.
Respectfully,
[Your name]
[Your address and phone number]
===============================
2. In opposition to H. Res. 36 (in the U.S. House of Representatives):
Find your (one) Congressman/womans name and contacts at the link (at upper left of page by zip code):
">Write Your Representives
Suggested text to be sent to your Congressman/woman:
(If you use e-mail, suggested subject line: Congressman (or Congresswoman) [Name], please oppose H. Res. 36 about Kosovo
Suggested text:
Dear Congressman (or Congresswoman) [Name]:
As your constituent, I am writing to urge your opposition to House Resolution 36 relating to the Serbian province of Kosovo and Metohija. If the State Department and United Nations policy endorsed in H. Res. 36 were implemented, it would mean the final eradication of the Christian Serbian presence in Kosovo, which is the cradle of Serbia s national and spiritual life. It would also be a vain and misguided effort to appease the violent demands by radical elements of Kosovos Muslim Albanians community, which would lead in turn to more violent demands in nearby areas. At a time when America is leading the global effort against jihad terrorism, this is a mistake we cannot afford to make!
An independent Kosovo, forcibly and illegally detached from democratic Serbia , would be certain to become a rogue state dominated by radical Islamic and organized crime influences. Since 1999, two-thirds of Kosovos Christian Serbs have been terrorized from the province, along with comparable percentages of Roma (Gypsies), Croats, Gorani, and other groups, as well as the entire Jewish community. Attacks against the dwindling number of non-Albanian targets continue. Some 150 churches and monasteries have been destroyed or desecrated and replaced with hundreds of new mosques propagating the extremist Wahhabist version of Islam. Organized crime rackets, connected to the Albanian mafias operations throughout Europe , and implicating the highest levels of the UN-supervised Albanian administration, traffic in drugs, weapons, and slaves women and even children.
Finally, the policy endorsed in H. Res. 36 violates the UN Charter and other fundamentals of international law by seeking to detach part of a countrys territory without its consent. Instead of an illegal attempt to appease violence and threat of violence from the Muslim Albanian community, America should be supporting a balanced, negotiated, and legal solution that protects the legitimate interests of all of Kosovos inhabitants, regardless of religion or ethnicity. Please oppose S. Res. 135. I thank you for your urgent consideration of this matter.
Respectfully,
[Your name]
[Your address and phone number]
===============================
For your background, the full texts of S. Res. 135 and H. Res. 36 follow below.
===============================
And finally, as the forces trying to detach Kosovo and Metohija from democractic Serbia gear up for their last-ditch effort to save their failed policy, we ask for your continued support:
Join with us in saving Kosovo in 2007! Help support the American Council for Kosovo!
Since its inception in April 2006, the American Council for Kosovo has had an unexpectedly decisive impact in achieving a shift in momentum in favor of keeping the Serbian province of Kosovo and Metohija an integral part of Serbia . Despite almost unanimous warnings that our task was impossible, we have played a major role in the successful delay of a final resolution beyond the supposed deadline of December 31, 2006. Now, with that deadline left behind in the dust, the supposedly inevitable outcome, an independent Islamic rogue state, is looking increasingly doubtful!
But as with all public advocacy efforts including our opponents ongoing campaign to forcibly and illegally to detach Kosovo from sovereign Serbia this difficult work costs money. Indeed, even as we are turning the corner in favor of the Serbian position, and the anti-Serbian campaign is looking increasingly desperate, indications are that the pro-separation lobby continues to outspend us by a sizable margin!
As the forces for separation of Kosovo and Metohija gear up for their final push to try to gain UN Security Council approval of the one-sided and discredited Ahtisaari plan, we need to ensure that there is no relaxation of our efforts. This means we need to be able to push the activities of the American Council for Kosovo to full throttle for the rest of the year. To do that, we need your help!
That is why we are again asking for your contributions to sustain the work of the American Council for Kosovo. As the list of countries coming out against detachment of Kosovo from Serbia Russia, China, India, Cyprus, Israel, Indonesia, Romania, Georgia, Greece, Spain, Norway, Ukraine, Slovakia continues to grow, we have to work even harder to take our messages to other receptive countries, especially in Europe.
And we need to do it now! So please read the following disclaimer and instructions and send your contribution today. Contributions of any size to the American Council for Kosovo gratefully accepted!
Disclaimer and Instructions for contributions
To the American Council for Kosovo
Disclaimer: Contributions are welcome. They are, however, not tax deductible as charitable contributions for U.S. federal income tax purposes. To the extent that your contribution may be otherwise deductible, please note that 50 percent of that amount is not deductible for U.S. federal income tax purposes due to the lobbying activities of the organization. Please consult your tax adviser regarding specific tax questions. The American Council for Kosovo's books and records are open to inspection by the U.S. Government. The American Council for Kosovo reserves the right to report any donations to the U.S. Government as it deems appropriate.
Instructions: Please send your contribution by check or money order to:
The American Council for Kosovo P.O. Box 14434Washington, DC 20044
The American Council for Kosovo is an activity of Squire Sanders Public Advocacy, LLC, and Global Strategic Communications Group, which are registered under the Foreign Agents Registration Act as agents for the Serbian National Council of Kosovo and Metohija. Additional information with respect to this matter is on file with the Foreign Agents Registration Unit of the Department of Justice in Washington DC .
The full texts of S. Res. 135 and H. Res. 36 follow:
===============================
S. Res. 135
Expressing the sense of the Senate that the United States should support independence for Kosovo. (Introduced in Senate)
SRES 135 IS
110th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. RES. 135
Expressing the sense of the Senate that the United States should support independence for Kosovo.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 29, 2007
Mr. LIEBERMAN (for himself, Mr. BIDEN, Mr. MCCAIN, and Mr. SMITH) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of the Senate that the United States should support independence for Kosovo. Whereas the United States has enduring national interests in the peace and security of southeastern Europe, and in the greater integration of the region into the Euro-Atlantic community of democratic, well-governed states;
Whereas, in March 1999, the United States, along with other members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), commenced military action aimed at ending Slobodan Milosevic's brutal campaign of ethnic cleansing against the people of Kosovo;
Whereas that military action resulted in the defeat of Serb forces and the creation of the United Nations Mission in Kosovo, an interim United Nations administration that governs Kosovo, and which ended, de facto, the sovereignty that was previously exercised by the Government of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia over Kosovo;
Whereas the men and women of the Armed Forces of the United States have served bravely in Kosovo since 1999, and their presence and participation in the NATO-led Kosovo Force has been indispensable in protecting the people of Kosovo and stabilizing the region;
Whereas United Nations administration was never intended nor understood as a permanent solution to the political status of Kosovo;
Whereas, in light of NATO's military intervention in Kosovo and the United Nations trusteeship established in Kosovo pursuant to United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244 (1999), the international community has recognized the political circumstances in Kosovo as unique, and the settlement of Kosovo's status therefore does not establish a precedent for the resolution of other conflicts;
Whereas continuing uncertainty about the status of Kosovo is unacceptable to the overwhelming majority of the inhabitants of Kosovo, inhibits economic and political development in Kosovo, and contributes to instability and radicalism in both Kosovo and Serbia;
Whereas, in 2005, the United Nations Secretary-General appointed the former President of Finland, Martti Ahtisaari, as United Nations Special Envoy for Kosovo to develop a comprehensive settlement proposal to resolve the political status of Kosovo;
Whereas, in March 2007, after 14 months of intensive diplomacy, Special Envoy Ahtisaari submitted to the Security Council a comprehensive settlement proposal that would result in supervised independence for Kosovo, with robust protections for the rights of minorities; and
Whereas Special Envoy Ahtisaari has explored every reasonable avenue for compromise in the course of his diplomacy and has stated that further negotiations would be counterproductive: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that--
(1) the United States should support the independence of Kosovo in accordance with its currently constituted borders, a resolution that represents the only just, sustainable solution for an economically viable and politically stable Kosovo;
(2) the United States should, in consultation and cooperation with its allies, vigorously and promptly pursue a United Nations Security Council resolution that endorses the recommendations of United Nations Special Envoy for Kosovo Martti Ahtisaari;
(3) in the absence of timely action by the United Nations Security Council, the United States should be prepared to act in conjunction with like-minded democracies to confer diplomatic recognition on, and establish full diplomatic relations with, Kosovo as an independent state, much as the United States worked in cooperation with like-minded democracies to protect the people of Kosovo in 1999;
(4) the United States should oppose any delay in the resolution of the political status of Kosovo as counterproductive, potentially dangerous, and likely to make the achievement of a lasting settlement more difficult;
(5) the United States should work together with the European Union as a full partner in supporting the political and economic development of an independent Kosovo;
(6) the United States should support the integration of Kosovo into international and Euro-Atlantic institutions, including its timely admission to the Partnership for Peace program of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), with the ultimate goal of full membership in NATO;
(7) the United States should reaffirm its commitment to southeastern Europe , including the continuation of the military mission in Kosovo to deter and disrupt any efforts by any party to destabilize the region through violence;
(8) the Government of Kosovo should exercise responsible leadership under supervised independence and thereby accelerate the transition to full independence, taking particular care to reassure, protect, and ensure the full political and economic rights of Serb and other minority communities in Kosovo;
(9) the Government of Kosovo should make every reasonable effort to develop a cooperative relationship with the Government of Serbia, in recognition of its legitimate interests in the safety of the Serb population in Kosovo and in the protection and preservation of the patrimonial sites of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Kosovo; and
(10) the Government of Serbia should exercise responsible leadership and seize the opportunity and the imperative presented by the independence of Kosovo to end the dark chapter of the 1990s and focus its energies toward achieving a prosperous and peaceful future through regional cooperation and integration into Euro-Atlantic institutions, including NATO and the European Union, and toward the establishment of open, constructive relations with the government of Kosovo.
H.Res. 36
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the United States should declare its support for the independence of Kosova. (Introduced in House)
HRES 36 IH
110th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. RES. 36
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the United States should declare its support for the independence of Kosova.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 5, 2007
Mr. LANTOS (for himself and Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs
RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the United States should declare its support for the independence of Kosova.
Whereas the United States and the international community recognize that a right to self-determination exists as a fundamental right of all people;
Whereas Kosova was constitutionally defined as a sovereign territory in the First National Liberation Conference for Kosova on January 2, 1944, and this status was confirmed in the Constitution of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia adopted in 1946, and the amended Yugoslav constitution adopted in 1974 preserved the autonomous status of Kosova as a de facto republic;
Whereas prior to the disintegration of the former Yugoslavia, Kosova was a separate political and legal entity with separate and distinct financial institutions, police force, municipal and national government, school system, judicial and legal system, hospitals and other independent organizations;
Whereas Serbian dictator Slobodan Milosevic rose to power in 1987 on a platform of ultra nationalism and anti-Albanian racism, advocating violence and hatred against all non-Slavs and specifically targeting the Albanians of Kosova;
Whereas Slobodan Milosevic subsequently stripped Kosova of its self-rule, without the consent of the people of Kosova; Whereas the elected Assembly of Kosova, faced with these intolerable acts, adopted a Declaration of Independence on July 2, 1990, proclaimed the Republic of Kosova, and adopted a constitution on September 7, 1990, based on the international legal principles of self-determination, equality, and sovereignty;
Whereas in recognition of the de facto dissolution of the Yugoslav federation, the European community established principles for the recognition of the independence and sovereignty of the republics of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and Kosova fully satisfied those principles as a de facto republic within the federation;
Whereas a popular referendum was held in Kosova from September 26-30, 1991, in which 87 percent of all eligible voters cast ballots and 99.87 percent voted in favor of declaring Kosova independent of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia;
Whereas, from the occupation of Kosova in 1989 until the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) military action against the Milosevic regime in 1999, the Albanians of Kosova were subjected to the most brutal treatment in the heart of Europe since the Nazi era, forcing approximately 400,000 Albanians to flee to Western Europe and the United States;
Whereas in the spring of 1999 almost 1,000,000 Kosovar Albanians were driven out of Kosova and at least 10,000 were murdered by the Serbian paramilitary and military;
Whereas Slobodan Milosevic was indicted by the International War Crimes Tribunal and extradited to The Hague in June 2001 to stand trial for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide in Kosova, Bosnia, and Croatia;
Whereas the United Nations established Kosova as a protectorate under Resolution 1244, ending the decade long Serbian occupation of Kosova and Milosevic's genocidal war in Kosova;
Whereas Kosovar Albanians, together with representatives of the Serb, Turkish, Roma, Bosniak, and Ashkali minorities in Kosova, have held free and fair municipal and general elections in 2000 and 2001 and successfully established a parliament in 2002, which in turn elected a president and prime minister;
Whereas 50 percent of the population in Kosova is under the age of 25 and the unemployment rate is currently between 60 and 70 percent, increasing the likelihood of young people entering criminal networks, the source of which lies outside of Kosova, or working abroad in order to survive unless massive job creation is facilitated by guaranteeing the security of foreign investments through an orderly transition to the independence of Kosova;
Whereas the Kosova parliament is committed to developing a western-style democracy in which all citizens, regardless of ethnicity, are granted full human and civil rights and are committed to the return of all non-criminal Serbs who fled Kosova during and after the war; and
Whereas there is every reason to believe that independence from Serbia is the only viable option for Kosova, after autonomy has failed time and time again: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives that the United States should--
(1) recognize the danger that delay in the resolution of Kosova's final status poses for the political and economic viability of Kosova and its neighbors, and consequently for the future of Southeast Europe ;
(2) publicly support the independence of Kosova within its existing borders as a sovereign and democratic state in which human rights, including the rights of ethnic and religious minorities, and the rule of law are respected as the only way to lasting peace and stability in the Balkans;
(3) establish a monitoring body in conjunction with the United Nations, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and other multilateral organizations to ensure that the new state of Kosova achieves the standards set forth by the UN Security Council, including the protection of minority rights and security for all of Kosova's communities, and to facilitate an orderly transition from a UN protectorate to a fully functioning democratic government;
(4) work with the Council of Europe to develop and implement anti-racism programs that would be instituted at the level of federal and municipal governments throughout the Balkans;
(5) work with the United Nations and North Atlantic Treaty Organization to facilitate the return of Albanians to their pre-war homes in northern Mitrovica and its environs and Serbs to theirs in southern Mitrovica and other parts of Kosova; and
(6) provide its share of assistance, trade, and other programs to support the government of an independent Kosova and to encourage the further development of democracy, rule of law, and a free market economic system in Kosova and throughout the Balkans.
Write Letters
