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Sample letter to your Congressman, March 2004 The Honorable ____________________ United States House of Representative Washington, D.C. 20515 Dear Representative ________________ I am writing to you regarding an important topic of concern to US foreign policy - the situation in the UN-administered Serbian province of Kosovo, and the repercussions it has on broader issues of European security, human rights and the US national interest in general. The recent wave of ethnic Albanian violence in the province was horrendous, given the international peacekeeping presence: over 3600 minority members, mostly Serbs, expelled; 30 Serb Orthodox churches, some of them gems of medieval European civilization, desecrated and destroyed; over 300 homes burned; close to 1000 people injured (almost a fifth of them UN peacekeepers) and 31 dead. Objective observers have clearly characterized the recent violence as large-scale, premeditated one-way terror, based on a racist ideology and with clear culprits. To quote Southern Flank NATO Commander, Admiral Gregory Johnson, "Such activities are actually ethnic cleansing. That must not continue and that is why we came in Kosovo". How do we ensure it does not happen again? Albanian lobbyists claim the problem is in Kosovo's open final status, and suggest granting independence as the proper remedy. But as NATO Secretary-General Scheffer plainly said: 'I don't believe that the unresolved status has anything to do with this. This has to do with people who think wrongly, who have illusions that by carrying out these criminal acts of ethnic violence they get closer to their ambitions but they must understand that the international community will never accept this. The resolve and leadership to clearly convey this message begins in Washington. No final status can be discussed until elementary standards of civilized conduct are established, perpetrators and instigators of these egregious crimes prosecuted, and their effects rolled back. Kosovo Albanian leaders should be held responsible for their crimes, not rewarded with their state. Remembering the ominous words of former UN special envoy to the Balkans, Carl Bildt: "In the US, some are now saying that [ ] in the wake of the violence we should reward the perpetrators with immediate independence: status - without standards. But giving in to violence today would give a powerful incentive to the ethnic cleansers of tomorrow. It is a principle as dangerous in the fight against ethnic violence as it is in the fight against terrorism. It risks betraying everything we have stood and fought for in the region for more than a decade." Therefore, granting Kosovo independence would be an illegal, immoral and dangerous act. Instead, only the following broad plan can ensure that our prestige, investments and national interests are adequately protected: 1. Guarantee security
" Halt immediately all ongoing violence. 2. Reversal of ethnic cleansing during UNMIK administration
" Return of all refugees to sustainable conditions of safe habitation. 3. Accountability and justice
" Enforcement of the rule of law. The above objectives can be achieved only with mechanisms capable of providing:
a) effective monitoring of compliance Thank you for taking the time to consider my opinion on this important US foreign policy topic. Sincerely, |