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The following campaign was launched on May 13, 1999 to gain support for a Dear Colleague letter urging the indictiment of Slobodan Milosevic

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ACTION NEEDED TO CONTACT SPECIFIC HOUSE MEMBERS WHO HAVE NOT SIGNED CARDIN LETTER URGING THE INDICTMENT OF MILOSEVIC

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Below are House Members who have supported previous resolutions urging for the indictment of Milosevic but have NOT signed the current Cardin letter. If your representative is listed below, we urge you to call them today. Full details about the resolution and the letter follow the list of House Members.

TARGET MEMBERS

Original cosponsors of H.Con.Res. 304 NOT on the Cardin letter (Legislation passed last year by Congress expressing the sense of Congress that Slobodan Milosevic is a war criminal and that the U.S. should make compilation of evidence of his deeds a provision of this evidence to the International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia a high priority)

Carolyn Maloney (NY, 14th) (202) 225-7944*
Bill Pascrell (NJ, 8th) (202) 225-5751*
Robert Menendez (NJ, 13th) (202) 225-7919*
Tom Lantos (CA, 12th) (202) 225-3531*
Carolyn McCarthy (NY, 4th) (202) 225-5516
John Porter (IL,10th) (202) 225-4835*
George Miller (CA, 7th) (202) 225-2095*
Joel Hefley (CO. 5th) (202) 225-4422
Barney Frank (MA, 4th) (202) 225-5931*
Dana Rohrabacher (CA,45th) (202) 225-4125

OTHERS TO CONTACT

Original cosponsors of War Crimes Prosecution Facilitation Act NOT on Cardin letter
(Legislation prohibiting U.S. foreign assistance to: 1) Any country that fails to apprehend an indicted war criminal in its territory. 2) Any program or activity in such country in which an indicted war criminal may have a financial interest. 3) Any program in any country where local officials not complying with Dayton Accords.)

Frank Wolf (VA, 10th) (202) 225-5136*
Sam Gejendson (CT, 2nd) (202) 225-2076*
Pete Stark (CA, 13th) (202) 225-5065*
Lynn Woolsey (CA, 6th) (202) 225-5161*
Peter Deutsch (FL, 20th) (202) 225-7931*
Lane Evans (IL,17th) (202) 225-5905
Howard Berman (CA, 26th) (202) 225-4695*
Elijah Cummings (MD, 7th) (202) 225-4741*
Jerrold Nadler (NY, 8th) (202) 225-5635
Nita Lowey (NY, 18th) (202) 225-6506*
John Lewis (GA, 5th) (202) 225-3801*
Chris Shays (CT, 4th) (202) 225-5541
Ken Bentsen (TX, 25th) (202) 225-7508
Bobby Rush (IL, 1st) (202) 225-4372*
*These individuals are also members of the Human Rights Caucus

    Action Alert:
CONTACT MEMBERS OF CONGRESS TO SIGN LETTER URGING THE PRESIDENT
TO WORK TOWARDS INDICTMENT OF SLOBODAN MILOSEVIC



Congressmen Ben Cardin, Chris Smith and Steny Hoyer are seeking the signatures of fellow members of the House of Representatives on the following letter to President Clinton. Please call members of the House of Representatives and urge them to sign on. If you don't have telephone numbers of particular members, you can call the main switchboard at the Capitol (225-3121) and ask to be connected to a particular office.

Please call as soon as you can because they would like to get the letter out as soon as possible. To date, the letter has been signed by Congressmen Henry Waxman, Tom Coburn, Jim Moran, Peter King, Martin Frost, Luis Gutierrez, and Ed Markey. When you call all you need ask is that Congressman sign on to the war crimes letter being circulated by Congressmen Cardin-Hoyer-Smith. Thanks. If you have questions, please call (202) 662-1684 or 662-1595.

The Coalition for International Justice
Friends of Bosnia


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May ____, 1999

Dear Mr. President:

Over the past few weeks, the world community has again been horrified by the unconscionably brutal actions of Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic against the civilian population of Kosovo. These actions are part of a pattern of human rights atrocities which constitute the worst abuses Europe has seen in half a century.

As you know, the House of Representatives passed legislation last September, by an overwhelming vote of 369 to 1, stating the belief of Congress that Slobodan Milosevic is responsible for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide. The Senate adopted by unanimous consent identical language in S.Con.Res. 105. These resolutions called for action by our government, especially in providing information, that could lead to the public indictment of Milosevic for these crimes by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague.

Since then, President Milosevic has rejected efforts of the United States and the international community to bring peace to Kosovo. Instead, he has prosecuted a genocidal campaign against the population of Kosovo, using military and paramilitary forces to terrorize the Kosovars. The result has been an international tragedy involving hundreds of thousands of refugees, untold human suffering, and turmoil throughout the region. In fact, a team of investigators for the Office of the Prosecutor of the ICTY working in regions bordering Kosovo has encountered reports of mass killings, summary executions, systematic rapes and homes being pillaged and burned. U.S. Ambassador at Large for War Crimes David Scheffer and Assistant Secretary of State Harold Hongju Koh have reported similar findings based on their first-hand interviews in the region.

Mr. President, the Dayton Agreement rightly included provisions that excluded war criminals from the electoral process in Bosnia. Clearly, post-conflict normalization and democratization will not be successful where war criminals make policy and are treated as legitimate interlocutors by the international community. This is no less true in Serbia then it was in Bosnia; resolution of the conflict in Kosovo can be fully achieved only by including measures to bring Mr. Milosevic to justice. We therefore reiterate our strong belief that the United States should take appropriate action to facilitate the investigation, public indictment and trial of President Milosevic as a war criminal by the ICTY.

The investigations by the ICTY must be supported and augmented by the international community of nations. As Tribunal President Judge Gabrielle Kirk McDonald said, "While the Tribunal has the mandate to investigate, prosecute and conduct trials, it cannot do so without the active assistance of the States of the international community." The United States has played a crucial role in NATO's action in Yugoslavia. Now we can lead by example by actively compiling evidence of Milosevic's deeds and providing all documentation to the prosecutor's office at the Tribunal.

To expedite action by the Tribunal against President Milosevic, we urge you to work towards his public indictment, to cooperate fully with the ICTY and to provide it with all information relevant to its investigation. Many of us have differing views on the current military action in Kosovo, but on the question of Milosevic's public indictment and support of the Tribunal, we are united. We urge that coordinated action be taken by U.S. Government agencies to assemble, review and where necessary declassify, and provide the ICTY with all information relevant to a possible indictment of Slobodan Milosevic. In our judgment, full cooperation with the ICTY entails specific measures to ensure that adequate direction and resources are committed by your Administration to support the Tribunal's important work.

Congress has already expressed its overwhelming support for this course of action by adopting both H.Con.Res. 304 and S.Con.Res. 105. We look forward to learning that the Administration is actively pursuing the measures described above, and to working with you to ensure that Milosevic is brought to justice by the Tribunal.

  Sincerely,