Political Quotes

“I rise today to deplore in the strongest possible terms the brutal assault last Saturday on former Bosnian Prime Minister Haris Silajdzic. For more than 4 years, I have protested the bloody aggression by Serbia and its Bosnian Serb proxies against the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Even today Senator Lieberman, Senator Lugar, and I are introducing a resolution calling upon our Government to give stronger support to the International War Crimes Tribunal in the Hague, including making it an urgent priority for IFOR to detain and bring to justice persons indicted by the tribunal. But, Mr. President, it was not Bosnian Serbs under the direction of the war criminals Karadzic and Mladic who attacked Haris Silajdzic. Nor was it carried out by the notorious Bosnian-Croat thugs from Herzegovina. No, the attack was carried out by Bosnian Muslims belonging to the ruling party of democratic action, the SDA, of Bosnian President Izetbegovic. Former Prime Minister Silajdzic was making an election campaign speech in the Bihac area of northwestern Bosnia when about 100 young toughs waving SDA flags reportedly began terrorizing citizens at the rally. Some of them struck Prime Minister Silajdzic on the head with a metal bar, opening a bloody wound on his temple. He was rushed off to a hospital. Many of my colleagues and I regard Haris Silajdzic as the single best hope for a multireligious democracy in Bosnia.”