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The Balkans: Threats to Peace and Stability THE BALKANS: THREATS TO PEACE AND STABILITY HEARING BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON EUROPE, EURASIA, AND EMERGING THREATS OF THE COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ONE HUNDRED FIFTEENTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION MAY 17, 2017 Serial No. 115–47 Printed for the use of the Committee on Foreign Affairs ( Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.foreignaffairs.house.gov/ or http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/ U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE 25–456PDF WASHINGTON : 2017 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Publishing Office Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) 512–1800; DC area (202) 512–1800 Fax: (202) 512–2104 Mail: Stop IDCC, Washington, DC 20402–0001 VerDate 0ct 09 2002 15:03 Aug 15, 2017 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 5011 Sfmt 5011 F:\WORK\_EEET\051717\25456 SHIRL COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS EDWARD R. ROYCE, California, Chairman CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey ELIOT L. ENGEL, New York ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, Florida BRAD SHERMAN, California DANA ROHRABACHER, California GREGORY W. MEEKS, New York STEVE CHABOT, Ohio ALBIO SIRES, New Jersey JOE WILSON, South Carolina GERALD E. CONNOLLY, Virginia MICHAEL T. MCCAUL, Texas THEODORE E. DEUTCH, Florida TED POE, Texas KAREN BASS, California DARRELL E. ISSA, California WILLIAM R. KEATING, Massachusetts TOM MARINO, Pennsylvania DAVID N. CICILLINE, Rhode Island JEFF DUNCAN, South Carolina AMI BERA, California MO BROOKS, Alabama LOIS FRANKEL, Florida PAUL COOK, California TULSI GABBARD, Hawaii SCOTT PERRY, Pennsylvania JOAQUIN CASTRO, Texas RON DESANTIS, Florida ROBIN L. KELLY, Illinois MARK MEADOWS, North Carolina BRENDAN F. BOYLE, Pennsylvania TED S. YOHO, Florida DINA TITUS, Nevada ADAM KINZINGER, Illinois NORMA J. TORRES, California LEE M. ZELDIN, New York BRADLEY SCOTT SCHNEIDER, Illinois DANIEL M. DONOVAN, JR., New York THOMAS R. SUOZZI, New York F. JAMES SENSENBRENNER, JR., ADRIANO ESPAILLAT, New York Wisconsin TED LIEU, California ANN WAGNER, Missouri BRIAN J. MAST, Florida FRANCIS ROONEY, Florida BRIAN K. FITZPATRICK, Pennsylvania THOMAS A. GARRETT, JR., Virginia AMY PORTER, Chief of Staff THOMAS SHEEHY, Staff Director JASON STEINBAUM, Democratic Staff Director SUBCOMMITTEE ON EUROPE, EURASIA, AND EMERGING THREATS DANA ROHRABACHER, California, Chairman JOE WILSON, South Carolina GREGORY W. MEEKS, New York TED POE, Texas BRAD SHERMAN, California TOM MARINO, Pennsylvania ALBIO SIRES, New Jersey JEFF DUNCAN, South Carolina WILLIAM R. KEATING, Massachusetts F. JAMES SENSENBRENNER, JR., DAVID N. CICILLINE, Rhode Island Wisconsin ROBIN L. KELLY, Illinois FRANCIS ROONEY, Florida BRIAN K. FITZPATRICK, Pennsylvania (II) VerDate 0ct 09 2002 15:03 Aug 15, 2017 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 F:\WORK\_EEET\051717\25456 SHIRL C O N T E N T S Page WITNESSES Mr. Hoyt Brian Yee, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, U.S. Department of State ...................................................... 4 Gordon N. Bardos, Ph.D., president, South East European Research and Consulting ............................................................................................................. 30 The Honorable Joseph J. DioGuardi, founding president, Albanian American Civic League (former Member of Congress) ....................................................... 46 Daniel Serwer, Ph.D., academic director of conflict management, School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University ........................... 55 LETTERS, STATEMENTS, ETC., SUBMITTED FOR THE HEARING Mr. Hoyt Brian Yee: Prepared statement .............................................................. 7 Gordon N. Bardos, Ph.D.: Prepared statement ..................................................... 33 The Honorable Joseph J. DioGuardi: Prepared statement .................................. 49 Daniel Serwer, Ph.D.: Prepared statement ........................................................... 57 APPENDIX Hearing notice .......................................................................................................... 76 Hearing minutes ...................................................................................................... 77 The Honorable Eliot L. Engel, a Representative in Congress from the State of New York: Report from the Humanitarian Law Center dated March 1, 2017 .................. 78 Letter from the National Federation of Croatian Americans ........................... 80 Statement of the National Federation of Croatian Americans Cultural Foundation ........................................................................................................ 82 The Honorable Joseph J. DioGuardi: ‘‘The Macedonian Crisis—A failure of EU conflict management?,’’ by the Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS) .................................................. 85 ‘‘Crisis brewing in Macedonia,’’ by Roland Gjoni and Shirley Cloyes Dio- Guardi ................................................................................................................ 88 Interview of Albanian Security Guard on Violence in Macedonian Par- liament .............................................................................................................. 91 Photos supplied for the hearing .......................................................................... 96 Internet link for ‘‘Albania’s Prosecutor’s Office, Judicial Reform, & the Role of US Ambassador Donald Lu in Tirana’’ submitted for the record by the Honorable Dana Rohrabacher, a Representative in Congress from the State of California, and chairman, Subcommittee on Europe, Eurasia, and Emerging Threats, and ‘‘The Explusion of the Albanians’’ submitted for the record by the Honorable Joseph J. DioGuardi ............................................ 99 Questions for the record submitted to Mr. Hoyt Brian Yee and Daniel Serwer, Ph.D., by: The Honorable Dana Rohrabacher ..................................................................... 100 The Honorable Francis Rooney, a Representative in Congress from the State of Florida ................................................................................................. 101 The Honorable Lee M. Zeldin, a Representative in Congress from the State of New York ...................................................................................................... 102 (III) VerDate 0ct 09 2002 15:03 Aug 15, 2017 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 F:\WORK\_EEET\051717\25456 SHIRL VerDate 0ct 09 2002 15:03 Aug 15, 2017 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 F:\WORK\_EEET\051717\25456 SHIRL THE BALKANS: THREATS TO PEACE AND STABILITY WEDNESDAY, MAY 17, 2017 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SUBCOMMITTEE ON EUROPE, EURASIA, AND EMERGING THREATS, COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS, Washington, DC. The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 2:00 p.m., in room 2200 Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Dana Rohrabacher (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding. Mr. ROHRABACHER. I call to order this hearing of the Sub- committee on Europe, Eurasia, and Emerging Threats. Today’s topic is, The Balkans: Threats to Peace and Stability. After the ranking member and I each take our 5 minutes to make opening remarks, each member present will have the oppor- tunity to make an opening statement for themselves. We will, then, proceed with our first of two panels. Without objection, all members may have 5 days to submit state- ments, questions, and extraneous materials for the record. Building peaceful, democratic, and stable states in the Balkans has been an issue that has been close to me for many years. As I know, it has also been close to several of our friends here. Espe- cially I hope that the ranking member might stop in, Mr. Engel, who has also been involved in the Balkans for such a long time. I am pleased to be holding this hearing and thankful that we have an official from the State Department to take part in the hearing. As we are now at the start of a new Congress and the start of a new administration, this is an ideal time for us to reflect on the situation in the region and to recommit ourselves to playing a positive role in that part of the world. While the Western Balkan nations have achieved some major steps forward over these last two decades, including the independ- ence of Kosovo, much remains to be done. Issues of governance, po- litical development, corruption, judicial independence, media free- dom, economic security, xenophobia, and reconciliation between democratic players in that region. Today witnesses will get into specific details of the challenges and opportunities that exist in the region. But several points to ap- pear very clear to me. First, while European integration provides a framework or goal for the Balkan nations, that has proven to be an insufficient motive to inspire or compel political decisionmakers in the Balkans to do the right thing in far too many cases. Leadership from the United (1) VerDate 0ct 09 2002 15:03 Aug 15, 2017 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 F:\WORK\_EEET\051717\25456 SHIRL 2 States remains absolutely essential. Obviously, Brussels can’t hack it on their own. Second, we should remain committed to our shared values and hold the governments of the region accountable to the standards they profess. Perhaps we have been too tolerant of democratic backsliding and authoritarian politicians dressed up as democrats. Third, at a time when foreign assistance and development aid ac- counts are set for reduction, they will be reduced, we need to rethink our points of influence
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