Other Presidential Documents Memorandum of Justification for Presidential Certification Regarding the Waiver of Subsections 1511(b) and (c) of Public Law 103-160 Section 1511 of the Nationa] Defense Authorization Act for Fisca] Year 1994 (Public Law \17703-\17760) (hereinafter "section \1775\1771") was enacted into law in \177993 in the midst of the crisis in Bosnia and Herzegovina as the international community sought to put an end to years of conflict. Section \1775\177 provides in relevant part that "[n]o funds appropriated or otherwise made available by law may be obligated or expended on behalf of the Gov- ernment of Serbia" and that "[t]he Secretary of the Treasury shall instruct the United States executive director of each international financial institu- tion to use the voice and vote of the United States to oppose any assistance from that institution to the Government of Serbia or the Government of Montenegro, except for basic human needs." These restrictions may be waived or modified, however, upon certification by the President that the waiver or modification "is necessary . . . to meet emergency humanitarian needs, or . . . to achieve a negotiated settlement of the conflict in Bosnia- Herzegovina that is acceptable to the parties." This authority was exercised in February 1999 by the President to waive bilateral assistance restrictions with respect to the Government of Montenegro. In light of the recent dramatic democratic transformation that has taken place in Serbia, we believe that it is important to exempt the Government of Serbia from the bilateral and multilateral assistance restrictions con- tained in section \1775\177 and the government of Montenegro from the provi- sion's multilateral restrictions. Bilateral assistance from the United States and support for assistance in the International Financial Institutions (IFIs) are both critical to the consolidation of the fledgling Kostunica government. The United States must put itself in a position to voice its support of loans to the Governments of Serbia and Montenegro in the context of the FRY becoming a member in the IFIs. The first such provision of assistance--a loan of roughly $\17750 million under the IMF's post-conflict assistance pol- icy to help the FRY clear its arrears at the IMF--will be voted upon as soon as December 20 together with a vote on FRY membership in that organiza- tion. The election of Mr. Kostunica to the FRY Presidency could herald a new period of peaceful democratic development in the region. President Kostunica has made clear that he will work toward the full implementation of the Dayton Accords and work constructively on a variety of other issues related to the stability of the region. United States bilateral assistance as well as support for IFI assistance will help ensure the consolidation of power made by the Kostunica government. Such assistance will help pre- vent pro-Milosevic forces from regaining power in the FRY and resuming their obstructionist tactics and allow President Kostunica to continue to work towards peace and stability in the region. Therefore, waiver of appli- cation of the restrictions contained in subsections 15\177(b) and (c) of Public Law \17703-\17760, with respect to the Governments of Serbia and Montenegro, is warranted.
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