Edolphus Towns: “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness is not only an American dream, but a universal aspiration. For 2 years, the…”

“life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness is not only an American dream, but a universal aspiration. For 2 years, the Bosnian Moslems have been denied the right to make that dream come true. Serbian aggression has been relentless even while negotiations were in progress. Ending the arms embargo will finally allow the Bosnians to defend themselves--a right no one should be denied. The embargo, which violates international law, will be rectified by the McCloskey-Gilman-Bonior-Hoyer amendment. By enabling the Bosnians with a means to fight their aggressors, the need to send United States troops will be unnecessary. As the situation now stands, the United States, by enforcing the embargo, has already intervened. It is time to make this intervention a positive one. To stand by and allow Serbia to continue committing these atrocities is barbaric. With a country whose policy includes rape as an act of war, it is imperative that this aggression be stopped. The Bosnian Government has put the number of casualties at 220,000, with the number of women raped totaling between 35,000 to 50,000 and those who have been displaced at 1.25 million. It is a depravity indeed that we as Americans, living according to a constitution which clearly defines our inalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, are forcing the Bosnians to live a life worse than death.”