Joe Biden: “I rise today in support of delaying a World Bank loan to Croatia until that country fully meets the obligations it…”

“I rise today in support of delaying a World Bank loan to Croatia until that country fully meets the obligations it agreed to when it signed the Dayton Accords in November 1995. Two days ago, the Clinton administration announced that it would attempt to block a $30 million World Bank loan to Croatia until Zagreb extradites Croats indicted on war crimes charges and allows Serbian refugees to return to their homes in Croatian territory. It appears that we may have difficulty in persuading other countries on the World Bank's board to go along with this postponement, but I believe that the United States should stick to its principles. Mr. President, the horrifying wars that took place in Bosnia and Croatia from 1991 to 1995 had many and complex causes. One of them was the thinly disguised desire of Serbian President Milosevic and Croatian President Tudjman to carve up Bosnia and Herzegovina.”