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Captive Nations Week 7/21/89
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3
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
JULY 20, 1989
INFORMATION
MEMORANDUM FOR THE PRESIDENT
THROUGH:
CHRISS WINSTON
W
FROM:
CURT SMITH CS
SUBJECT:
JULY 21 CAPTIVE NATIONS WEEK EVENT
I. SUMMARY
On Friday, July 21, at 10 A.M., you will salute Captive Nations
Week at a ceremony in the Rose Garden. About 200 people are expected
to attend, including seven immigrants from Captive Nations who will
flank you on the dias.
II. DISCUSSION
The enclosed remarks (9-10 minutes) use your recent trip to Poland and
Hungary as a reference for "the movement toward democracy taking place
in the world." They reaffirm your commitment to freedom for the peoples
of Captive Nations, and express the belief that the tide toward liberty
can, and will, spread from Poland and Hungary to other Captive Nations.
(Smith/Blessey)
July 20, 1989
Draft Four
CAPTIVE2
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: CAPTIVE NATIONS WEEK
THE ROSE GARDEN
FRIDAY, JULY 21, 1989
10:00 A.M.
Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, friends. I want
to welcome you to the White House. And to an occasion -- Captive
Nations Week -- marked by sadness, but blessed by hope.
Today, we meet to signal our deep concern at the fate of
Nations and peoples whose liberty has been held captive. And we
applaud the movement toward democracy taking place in the world,
and the changes yet to come.
Six months ago this week, I said in my Inaugural Address:
"In man's heart, if not in fact, the day of the dictator is over.
The totalitarian era is passing, its old ideas blown away like
leaves from an ancient lifeless tree."
Well, I have just returned -- hopeful, and encouraged --
from visits to Poland and Hungary, two Nations on the threshhold
of historic change. And I can say to you: The old ideas are
blowing away. Freedom is in the air.
For forty years, Poland and Hungary endured what has been
called the dilemma of the single alternative: one political
party, one definition of national interest, one social and
economic model. In short, one future -- prescribed by an alien
ideology.
2
But in fact, that future meant no future. For it denied to
individuals, choice; to societies, pluralism; and to Nations,
self-determination. Yet in Poland and Hungary, a courageous
people would not yield to despair. There, as elsewhere, the
light of liberty would not go out.
Ten days ago, I watched thousands brave a driving rain to
acclaim this love of liberty. They cheered for free assembly,
free press and speech, and freedom of religion. And filled a
square in Budapest named after a freedom-fighter who believed in
that democracy which links the people of Hungary with the peoples
of the world.
Lajos Kossuth [LOY-osh KO-shooth] arrived in America in 1851
after Hungary's struggle for freedom had, temporarily, been lost.
Yet in his remarks to the United States Congress, he was hopeful,
not embittered. He spoke of his "steady faith in [the]
principles" of self-government, opportunity, and individuality.
My friends, the heroism of such patriots inspires us, and
teaches us. For they embody the spirit of Captive Nations Week.
The spirit which says that freedom around the world is not
divisible. And which lives in the brave immigrants from Captive
Nations who stand beside me: Maria Aguero [AH-gwer-row], for
instance, a political prisoner in Cuba before fleeing to America.
or Haing Ngor [Hang Gnaw], who fled Cambodia after the holocaust
and won an Academy Award for his role in the Killing Fields.
These seven people are heroes. For they have shown the
power of courage and free expression. And last week, I saw how
3
the peoples of Poland and Hungary are leading the way toward this
democratic future -- casting rays of light on other Nations that
are not as fortunate. For within these Nations, men and women
are standing up for the cause of liberty, often at enormous cost.
A cause the Czech writer Valav Havel [VATS-lav HAV-el] once
called the act of "Living in Truth."
This truth forms the heart of Captive Nations Week. For it
dictates that liberty be political, and economic; religious, and
intellectual. "Living in Truth" suggests that democratic ideals
can make all things possible for a Nation, and its people. And
that the individual, not the State, is the voice of tomorrow.
We see that truth in the successful return of democracy to
Pakistan. And in Africa, where liberty lights those Nations
moving away from state socialism, with new success. The hated
system of apartheid is on the defensive. Truth endures in China
-- where the voice of freedom will yet be heard. And in our hope
for a Cambodia with self-determination for her people -- and a
complete and verified withdrawal, with no return to power by the
Khmer Rouge.
Today, the light of liberty is illuminating the face of
Eastern and Central Europe. And reflecting the changes taking
place within the Soviet Union -- toward greater openness at home
and away from confrontation abroad. Such openness prompted the
barbed wire fence between Austria and Hungary to be dismantled.
The portion I received as a gift is now on display here for all
Americans to see. And liberty lights the Baltic States --
4
Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia -- striving anew to recapture their
national history.
My friends, these Nations know -- as we know -- how the tide
is moving -- toward change, economic and political. For around
the world, we see democracy opening markets, and boundaries.
Freeing hearts. Freeing minds.
Therefore, to Nations of Eastern and Central Europe,
striving to reclaim their national heritage, we say: America
stands with you.
To the peoples of China, Vietnam and Laos, Ethiopia and
Nicaragua striving for freedom, we say: America stands with you.
To the ethnic Turks in Bulgaria uprooted from their homes
and forced to flee across the border, we say: America stands
with you.
Indeed, to all Nations, America proclaims that truth cannot
forever be intimidated by force. For history shows -- and the
human will proclaims -- that liberty can light the darkest night.
Last Tuesday, thousands filled the streets in Gdansk --
peacefully, movingly -- to honor the spirit of Solidarity. But
their presence did more. It expressed the belief that democracy
underscores the dignity of man.
Among the celebrants was the patriot who, above all others,
has made Poland's future possible. Astonished by the turnout, he
found pride in freedom's past -- and hope in its tomorrow. As
Poles -- cheering, many crying -- flanked our motorcade, Lech
5
Walesa turned to me and said simply: "This is fantastic." He
was moved -- stirred -- by the wonder of the moment.
In coming years, that wonder can uplift the world. In
Prague and Kabul. In Tallinn [TAL in], Riga [Ree ga], and
Vilnius [VIL nee us]. In the hopes, and dreams, of people who
believe in an open and peaceful world. And who have endured much
-- and will survive everything -- through the triumph of the
heart.
To love freedom -- to overcome oppression -- this is their
spirit -- and the meaning of Captive Nations Week.
We love then, and we are with them. For we will never
waver, nor surrender. Together, let us raise what Lajos Kossuth
called "the morning star of liberty." The star that can help all
captive peoples know the dignity that sets men free.
Thank you for this wonderful occasion. I will never forget
it. God bless you, thank you coming to the White House, and God
bless this beloved land -- the United States of America.
#
#
#
#
SAT 15 JUL 89 10:01
PG.02
STAFFED IN PARIS, FRANCE
1/20-
Document No.
SENSITIVE
MASTER 5660
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
DATE: 07/15/89
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY: NOON Sunday 07/16
SUBJECT: PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: CAPTIVE NATIONS WEEK
(07/15 draft 2)
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
MCCLURE
OK
SUNUNU
NEWMAN
SCOWCROFT
PORTER
DARMAN
STUDDERT
BATES
UNTERMEYER
BREEDEN
WINSTON
CARD
d
Pinkerton
CICCONI
R
DEMAREST
FITZWATER
GRAY n/c
d
HAGIN
REMARKS:
Please provide any comments/recommendations directly to Chriss
Winston in the Senior Staff Office, Patter 1051, by NOON, Sunday
with an info copy to Jim Cicconi, Date 1031. Thanks.
RESPONSE:
July 20, 1989
SENSITIVE
TO: CHRISS WINSTON
The NSC concurs with the changes indicated.
BRENT Kates SCOWCROFT
James W. Cicconi
Assistant to the President
and Deputy to the Chief of Staff
CC: James W. Cicconi
Ext. 2702
(Smith/Blessey)
July 19, 1989
Draft Three
CAPTIVE2
2:30 p.m.
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS:
CAPTIVE
NATIONS
WEEK
7/19/84
THE ROSE GARDEN
FRIDAY, JULY 21, 1989
10:00 A.M.
Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen. I want to
welcome you to the White House. And to an occasion -- Captive
Nations Week -- marked by sadness, but blessed by hope.
Today, we meet to signal our deep concern at the fate of
Nations and peoples whose liberty has been held captive. And we
applaud the movement toward democracy taking place in the world,
and the changes yet to come.
Six months ago this week, I said in my Inaugural Address:
"In man's heart, if not in fact, the day of the dictator is over.
The totalitarian era is passing, its old ideas blown away like
leaves from an ancient lifeless tree."
Well, I have just returned -- hopeful, and encouraged --
from visits to Poland and Hungary, two Nations on the threshhold
of historic change. And I can say to you: The old ideas are
blowing away. Freedom is in the air.
For forty years, Poland and Hungary E like so many captive
Nations endured what has been called the dilemma of the single
alternative: one political party, one definition of national
interest, one social and economic model. In short, one future --
prescribed by an alien ideology.
2
But in fact, that future meant no future. For it denied to
individuals, choice; to societies, pluralism; and to Nations,
self-determination. Yet in Poland and Hungary, a courageous
despair
people would not yield to bayonets and barbed wire There, as
elsewhere, the light of liberty would not go out.
Ten days ago, I watched thousands brave a driving rain to
acclaim this love of liberty. They cheered for free assembly,
free press and speech, and freedom of religion. And filled a
square in Budapest named after a freedom-fighter who believed in
that democracy which links the people of Hungary with the peoples
of the world.
Lajos Kossuth [LOY-osh KO-shooth] arrived in America in 1851
after Hungary's struggle for freedom had, temporarily, been lost.
Yet in his remarks to the United States Congress, he was hopeful,
not embittered. He spoke of his "steady faith in [the]
principles" of self-government, opportunity, and individuality.
Said he: "I trust to the principles of republicanism
J
?
My friends, the heroism of such patriots inspires us, and
teaches us. For they embody the spirit of Captive Nations Week.
Their spirit says that freedom around the world is not divisible.
And celebrates the bravery that lifts the peoples of Cuba and
Afghanistan, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia -- the conscience
?
that says that free expression and courage will conquer tyranny
and oppression.
the people of
Last week, I saw how Poland and Hungary are leading the way
toward this democratic future -- casting rays of light on other Nations
not so prtunces
still suffering under repressive regimes For
within these
Nations, men and women are standing up for the cause of liberty,
often at enormous cost. A cause the Czech writer Valav Havel
[VATS-lav HAV-el] once called the act of "Living in Truth.'
This truth forms the heart of Captive Nations Week. For it
dictates that liberty be political, and economic; religious, and
intellectual. "Living in Truth" suggests that democratic ideals
can make all things possible for a Nation, and its people. And
that the individual, not the State, is the voice of tomorrow.
We see that truth in the successful return of democracy to
Pakistan. And in Africa, where liberty lights those Nations
The hated
moving away from state socialism, with new success. in freely-
system of apartheid is on the defensive
elected governments and free markets. And in our hope for a
complete and
Cambodia with self-determination for her people -- and a verified
Tutnamere
withdrawal, with no return to power by the Khmer Rouge.
Today, the light of liberty is illuminating the face of East
and Central Europe. And reflecting the changes taking place
within the Soviet Union -- toward greater openness at home and
away from confrontation abroad. In particular, the Baltic States
-- Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia -- are striving anew to recapture
their national destinies history
Their insistent calls for freedom --
now heard openly cannot long be denied
My friends, these Nations know -- as we know -- how the tide
is moving -- toward change, economic and political. For around
the world, we see democracy opening markets, and boundaries.
Freeing hearts. Freeing minds.
Eastemand 4 Central
Therefore, to Nations of East Central Europe, striving to
reclaim their national heritage, we say: America stands with
you.
Angela EHropia
To the peoples of Vietnam and Laos, Ethiopia, and Nicaragua
striving for freedom, we say: America stands with you.
To the ethnic Turks in Bulgaria uprooted from their homes
and forced to flee across the border, we say: America stands with
you.
prever
Indeed, to all Nations, America proclaims that truth cannot
be intimidated by force [or beaten into suppression For history
shows -- and the human will proclaims -- that liberty can light
the darkest night.
Last Tuesday, thousands filled the streets in Gdansk --
peacefully, movingly -- to honor the spirit of Solidarity. But
their presence did more. It expressed the belief that Con1y
democracy [can] underscorešthe dignity of man. [And honored the
spirit -- and the heroism -- of captive peoples everywhere
Among the celebrants was the patriot who, above all others,
has made Poland's future possible. Astonished by the turnout, he
found pride in freedom's past -- and hope in its tomorrow. As
Poles -- cheering, many crying -- flanked our motorcade, Lech
Walesa turned to me and said simply: "This is fantastic." He
was moved -- stirred -- by the wonder of the moment.
In coming years, that wonder can uplift the world. In
Prague and Kabul. In Tallinn [TAL in], Riga [Ree gal, and
Vilnius [VIL nee us]. In the hopes, and dreams, of people who
5
believe in an open and peaceful world. And who have endured much
-- and will survive everything -- through the triumph of the
heart.
To love freedom -- to overcome oppression -- this is their
spirit -- and the meaning of Captive Nations Week.
We love them, and we are with them. For we will never
waver, nor surrender. Together, let us raise what Lajos Kossuth
called "the morning star of liberty." The star that can help all
captive peoples know the dignity that sets men free.
Thank you for this wonderful occasion. I will never forget
it. God bless you, thank you coming to the White House, and God
bless this beloved land -- the United States of America.
# # # #
STATTED IN PARIS, FRANCE
Document No.
SENSITIVE
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
DATE: 07/15/89
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY: NOON Sunday 07/16
SUBJECT: PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: CAPTIVE NATIONS WEEK
(07/15 draft 2)
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
MCCLURE N/C
SUNUNU
NEWMAN
SCOWCROFT
PORTER
DARMAN
STUDDERT
>
BATES
UNTERMEYER
BREEDEN
WINSTON
CARD
Pinkertan
CICCONI
DEMAREST
FITZWATER
GRAY stuckedimaker5026
>
HAGIN
REMARKS:
Please provide any comments/recommendations directly to Chriss
Winston in the Senior Staff Office, Rm. 1051, by NOON, Sunday
07/16, with an info copy to Jim Cicconi, Rm. 1051. Thanks.
RESPONSE:
SENSITIVE
James W. Cicconi
Assistant to the President
and Deputy to the Chief of Staff
Ext. 2702
(Smith/Blessey)
July 19, 1989
Draft Three
CAPTIVE2
2:30 p.m
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: CAPTIVE NATIONS WEEK 7/19/84
THE ROSE GARDEN
FRIDAY, JULY 21, 1989
10:00 A.M.
Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen. I want to
welcome you to the White House. And to an occasion -- Captive
Nations Week -- marked by sadness, but blessed by hope.
Today, we meet to signal our deep concern at the fate of
Nations and peoples whose liberty has been held captive. And we
applaud the movement toward democracy taking place in the world,
and the changes yet to come.
Six months ago this week, I said in my Inaugural Address:
"In man's heart, if not in fact, the day of the dictator is over.
The totalitarian era is passing, its old ideas blown away like
leaves from an ancient lifeless tree." "
Well, I have just returned -- hopeful, and encouraged --
from visits to Poland and Hungary, two Nations on the threshhold
of historic change. And I can say to you: The old ideas are
blowing away. Freedom is in the air.
For forty years, Poland and Hungary -- like so many captive
Nations -- endured what has been called the dilemma of the single
alternative: one political party, one definition of national
interest, one social and economic model. In short, one future --
prescribed by an alien ideology.
2
But in fact, that future meant no future. For it denied to
individuals, choice; to societies, pluralism; and to Nations,
self-determination. Yet in Poland and Hungary, a courageous
people would not yield to bayonets and barbed wire. There, as
elsewhere, the light of liberty would not go out.
Ten days ago, I watched thousands brave a driving rain to
acclaim this love of liberty. They cheered for free assembly,
free press and speech, and freedom of religion. And filled a
square in Budapest named after a freedom-fighter who believed in
that democracy which links the people of Hungary with the peoples
of the world.
Lajos Kossuth [LOY-osh KO-shooth] arrived in America in 1851
after Hungary's struggle for freedom had, temporarily, been lost.
Yet in his remarks to the United States Congress, he was hopeful,
not embittered. He spoke of his "steady faith in [the]
principles" of self-government, opportunity, and individuality.
Said he: "I trust to the principles of republicanism."
My friends, the heroism of such patriots inspires us, and
teaches us. For they embody the spirit of Captive Nations Week.
Their spirit says that freedom around the world is not divisible.
And celebrates the bravery that lifts the peoples of Cuba and
Afghanistan, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia -- the conscience
that says that free expression and courage will conquer tyranny
and oppression.
countries x0 mention mpin Notions
Last week, I saw how Poland and Hungary are leading the way
toward this democratic future -- casting rays of light on Nations
3
still suffering under repressive regimes. For within these
Nations, men and women are standing up for the cause of liberty,
often at enormous cost. A cause the Czech writer Valav Havel
[VATS-lav HAV-el] once called the act of "Living in Truth. "
stoph
This truth forms the heart of Captive Nations Week. For it
dictates that liberty be political, and economic; religious, and
intellectual. "Living in Truth" suggests that democratic ideals
can make all things possible for a Nation, and its people. And
that the individual, not the State, is the voice of tomorrow.
deletences deteted
We see that truth in the successful return of democracy to
Pakistan. And in Africa, where liberty lights those Nations
moving away from state socialism, with new success in freely-
elected governments and free markets. And in our hope for a
Cambodia with self-determination for her people -- and a verified
withdrawal, with no return to power by the Khmer Rouge.
Today, the light of liberty is illuminating the face of East
and Central Europe. And reflecting the changes taking place
within the Soviet Union -- toward greater openness at home and
away from confrontation abroad. In particular, the Baltic States
-- Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia -- are striving anew to recapture
their national destinies. Their insistent calls for freedom --
now heard openly -- cannot long be denied.
My friends, these Nations know -- as we know -- how the tide
is moving -- toward change, economic and political. For around
the world, we see democracy opening markets, and boundaries.
Freeing hearts. Freeing minds.
4
Therefore, to Nations of East Central Europe, striving to
reclaim their national heritage, we say: America stands with
you.
To the peoples of Vietnam and Laos, Ethiopia and Nicaragua
striving for freedom, we say: America stands with you.
To the ethnic Turks in Bulgaria uprooted from their homes
added
and forced to flee across the border, we say: America stands with
you.
Indeed, to all Nations, America proclaims that truth cannot
deteted
be intimidated by force, or beaten into suppression. For history
shows -- and the human will proclaims -- that liberty can light
added
Carl
the darkest night.
frosh
Last Tuesday, thousands filled the streets in Gdansk --
peacefully, movingly -- to honor the spirit of Solidarity. But
their presence did more. It expressed the belief that only
democracy can underscore the dignity of man. And honored the
spirit -- and the heroism -- of captive peoples everywhere.
Among the celebrants was the patriot who, above all others,
has made Poland's future possible. Astonished by the turnout, he
found pride in freedom's past -- and hope in its tomorrow. As
Poles -- cheering, many crying -- flanked our motorcade, Lech
Sraphs
crall
Walesa turned to me and said simply: "This is fantastic." He
was moved -- stirred -- by the wonder of the moment.
In coming years, that wonder can uplift the world. In
Prague and Kabul. In Tallinn [TAL in], Riga [Ree ga], and
Added
Vilnius [VIL nee us]. In the hopes, and dreams, of people who
5
believe in an open and peaceful world. And who have endured much
-- and will survive everything -- through the triumph of the
to
(sud
Sroph
heart.
bollot
To love freedom --- to overcome oppression -- this is their
spirit -- and the meaning of Captive Nations Week.
We love them, and we are with them. For we will never
waver, nor surrender. Together, let us raise what Lajos Kossuth
called "the morning star of liberty." The star that can help all
captive peoples know the dignity that sets men free.
Thank you for this wonderful occasion. I will never forget
it. God bless you, thank you coming to the White House, and God
bless this beloved land -- the United States of America.
#
#
#
#
(Smith/Blessey)
July 15, 1989
Draft Two
[Captive]
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: CAPTIVE NATIONS WEEK
THE ROSE GARDEN
WEDNESDAY, JULY 19, 1989
10:00 A.M.
Ladies and gentlemen, friends. I want to welcome you to the
White House. Captive Nations Week is an occasion marked by
sadness, but it is also blessed by hope.
Today, we meet to signa'l our deep concern at the fate of
Nations and peoples whose liberty has been held captive. And we
applaud the movement towards democracy taking place in the world,
and the changes yet to come.
Six months ago this week, I said in my Inaugural Address:
"In man's heart, if not in fact, the day of the dictator is over.
The totalitarian era is passing, its old ideas blown away like
leaves from an ancient lifeless tree."
Well, I have just returned -- hopeful, and encouraged --
from visits to Poland and Hungary, two Nations on the threshold
of historic change. And I can say to you: The old ideas are
blowing away. Freedom is in the air.
For forty years, Poland and Hungary -- like so many captive
nations -- endured what has been called "the dilemma of the
single alternative": one political party, one definition of.
national interest, one social and economic model. In short, one
future -- prescribed by an alien ideology.
2
But in fact, that future meant no future. For it denied to
individuals, choice; to societies, pluralism; and to Nations,
self-determination. Yet in Poland and Hungary, a courageous
people would not yield to bayonets and barbed wire. There, as
elsewhere, the light of liberty would not go out.
Eight days ago, I watched thousands brave a driving rain to
acclaim this love of liberty. They cheered for free assembly,
free press and speech, and freedom of religion. And filled a
square in Budapest named after a patriot who believed in that
democracy which links the people of Hungary with the peoples of
the world.
Lajos Kossuth [LOY-osh KO-shooth] arrived in America in 1851
after Hungary's struggle for freedom had, temporarily, been lost.
Yet in his remarks to the United States Congress, he was hopeful,
not embittered. He spoke of his "steady faith in [the]
principles" of self-government, opportunity, and individuality.
Said he: "I trust to the future of republicanism."
My friends, the memory of Lajos Kossuth inspires us, and
teaches us. For he embodies the spirit of Captive Nations Week.
His life was a celebration of bravery and of conscience: The
bravery that inspires the peoples of Angola and Afghanistan,
Cambodia and Cuba; the conscience that teaches that free
expression and courage will conquer tyranny and oppression.
When the Hungarian playwright Imre Madach [IM-rch MAW-dawch]
observed, "It is so great freely to choose between the good and
sinful ways, = he was describing that belief. And so is the Czech
3
writer Valav Havel [VATS-lav HAV-el], when he speaks of the need
for captive people, in captive Nations, to "live in truth." "
This truth dictates that liberty be political, and economic;
religious, and intellectual. That people work where they want.
And vote as they choose. That democratic ideals can make all
things possible for a Nation, and its people. And that the
individual, not the State, is the voice of tomorrow.
We see that truth across East and Central Europe. In the
successful return of democracy to Pakistan. And in the Soviets
withdrawal from Afghanistan. In Africa, liberty lights those
Nations moving away from state socialism, with new success in
freely-elected governments and free markets. And in our hope for
a Cambodia with self-determination for her people -- and a
verified withdrawal, with no return to power by the Khmer Rouge.
The tide is moving -- toward change, economic and political.
Around the world, we see democracy opening markets, and
boundaries. Freeing hearts. Freeing minds.
Therefore, to nations of East Central Europe, striving to
reclaim their national destinies, we say: America stands with
you.
To the peoples of Vietnam and Laos, Ethiopia and Nicaragua
striving for freedom we say: America stands with you. To all
Nations, America proclaims that truth cannot be intimidated by
force, or beaten into suppression.
We know that only democracy can underscore the dignity of
man. Five weeks ago, thousands symbolized that democracy as they
4
filled Budapest's Heroes Square -- peacefully, movingly -- to pay
homage to the heroes, and the spirit of Hungary's 1956 rebellion.
But their presence did more. It honored the spirit of captive
peoples everywhere.
Among the celebrants was a patriot who, with many others,
took part in that uprising. Astonished by the turnout, he found
pride in Hungary's past -- and hope in freedom's future. "For
this day," he said, "it is worth living and forgiving. Today
this unity is a kind of Hungarian wonder."
My friends, that wonder is liberty's wonder. In Kabul and
Prague. Warsaw and Managua. In the hopes, and dreams, of people
who believe in ballots, not bullets. And who survive -- who will
triumph -- through courage and determination.
To love freedom -- to overcome oppression -- this is their
spirit -- and the meaning of Captive Nations Week. Like them, we
must never waver, nor surrender. Instead, let us raise --
together -- what Lajos Kossuth called "the morning star of
liberty," the star that can lead us toward the day when all
captive peoples know the joy of freedom.
Thank you for this wonderful occasion. I will never forget
it. God bless you, and God bless America.
###
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
July 16, 1989
MEMORANDUM FOR CHRISS WINSTON
FROM:
ROGER B. PORTER
RBP
SUBJECT:
Captive Nations Week
The draft for the President's Rose Garden remarks on
Captive Nations Week is excellent. I have two suggestions
that I hope will help improve it.
The President will have just returned from his European
trip with some vivid memories of incidents in both Poland
and Hungary. There is one paragraph one page two that iden-
tifies his address to thousands in Kossuth Square. But other
than that, the draft is full of good rhetoric but few anec-
dotes. The language is excellent; but an anecdote or two
would strengthen it.
Secondly, there is no mention of China. You will recall
that the President said the world stood with the Chinese stu-
dent who faced the tanks in Beijing. He should mention that
he stands with those in China who similarly yearn for democracy
and freedom.
CC: James W. Cicconi
STAFFED IN PARIS, FRANCE
Document No.
SENSITIVE
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
DATE: 07/15/89
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY: NOON Sunday 07/16
SUBJECT: PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: CAPTIVE NATIONS WEEK
(07/15 draft 2)
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
MCCLURE
T
SUNUNU
NEWMAN
SCOWCROFT
PORTER
DARMAN
STUDDERT
BATES
UNTERMEYER
BREEDEN
WINSTON
CARD
Pinkertan
CICCONI
DEMAREST
FITZWATER
GRAY
HAGIN
REMARKS:
Please provide any comments/recommendations directly to Chriss
Winston in the Senior Staff Office, Rm. 1051, by NOON, Sunday
07/16, with an info copy to Jim Cicconi, Rm. 1051. Thanks.
RESPONSE:
SENSITIVE
James W. Cicconi
Assistant to the President
and Deputy to the Chief of Staff
Ext. 2702
(Smith/Blessey)
July 15, 1989
Draft Two
[Captive]
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: CAPTIVE NATIONS WEEK
THE ROSE GARDEN
WEDNESDAY, JULY 19, 1989
10:00 A.M.
Ladies and gentlemen, friends. I want to welcome you to the
White House. Captive Nations Week is an occasion marked by
sadness, but it is also blessed by hope.
Today, we meet to signal our deep concern at the fate of
Nations and peoples whose liberty has been held captive. And we
applaud the movement towards democracy taking place in the world,
and the changes yet to come.
Six months ago this week, I said in my Inaugural Address:
"In man's heart, if not in fact, the day of the dictator is over.
The totalitarian era is passing, its old ideas blown away like
leaves from an ancient lifeless tree."
Well, I have just returned -- hopeful, and encouraged --
from visits to Poland and Hungary, two Nations on the threshold
of historic change. And I can say to you: The old ideas are
blowing away. Freedom is in the air.
For forty years, Poland and Hungary -- like so many captive
nations -- endured what has been called "the dilemma of the
single alternative": one political party, one definition of
national interest, one social and economic model. In short, one
future -- prescribed by an alien ideology.
2
But in fact, that future meant no future. For it denied to
individuals, choice; to societies, pluralism; and to Nations,
self-determination. Yet in Poland and Hungary, a courageous
people would not yield to bayonets and barbed wire. There, as
elsewhere, the light of liberty would not go out.
Eight days ago, I watched thousands brave a driving rain to
acclaim this love of liberty. They cheered for free assembly,
free press and speech, and freedom of religion. And filled a
square in Budapest named after a patriot who believed in that
democracy which links the people of Hungary with the peoples of
the world.
Lajos Kossuth [LOY-osh KO-shooth] arrived in America in 1851
after Hungary's struggle for freedom had, temporarily, been lost.
Yet in his remarks to the United States Congress, he was hopeful,
not embittered. He spoke of his "steady faith in [the]
principles" of self-government, opportunity, and individuality.
Said he: "I trust to the future of republicanism."
My friends, the memory of Lajos Kossuth inspires us, and
teaches us. For he embodies the spirit of Captive Nations Week.
His life was a celebration of bravery and of conscience: The
bravery that inspires the peoples of Angola and Afghanistan,
Cambodia and Cuba; the conscience that teaches that free
expression and courage will conquer tyranny and oppression.
When the Hungarian playwright Imre Madach [IM-rch MAW-dawch]
observed, "It is so great freely to choose between the good and
sinful ways," he was describing that belief. And so is the Czech
3
writer Valav Havel [VATS-lav HAV-el], when he speaks of the need
for captive people, in captive Nations, to "live in truth.'
This truth dictates that liberty be political, and economic;
religious, and intellectual. That people work where they want.
And vote as they choose. That democratic ideals can make all
things possible for a Nation, and its people. And that the
individual, not the State, is the voice of tomorrow.
We see that truth across East and Central Europe. In the
successful return of democracy to Pakistan. And in the Soviets'
withdrawal from Afghanistan. In Africa, liberty lights those
Nations moving away from state socialism, with new success in
freely-elected governments and free markets. And in our hope for
a Cambodia with self-determination for her people -- and a
verified withdrawal, with no return to power by the Khmer Rouge.
The tide is moving -- toward change, economic and political.
Around the world, we see democracy opening markets, and
boundaries. Freeing hearts. Freeing minds.
Therefore, to nations of East Central Europe, striving to
reclaim their national destinies, we say: America stands with
you.
To the peoples of Vietnam and Laos, Ethiopia and Nicaragua
striving for freedom we say: America stands with you. To all
Nations, America proclaims that truth cannot be intimidated by
force, or beaten into suppression.
We know that only democracy can underscore the dignity of
man. Five weeks ago, thousands symbolized that democracy as they
4
filled Budapest's Heroes Square -- peacefully, movingly - -- to pay
homage to the heroes, and the spirit of Hungary's 1956 rebellion.
But their presence did more. It honored the spirit of captive
peoples everywhere.
Among the celebrants was a patriot who, with many others,
took part in that uprising. Astonished by the turnout, he found
pride in Hungary's past -- and hope in freedom's future. "For
this day," he said, "it is worth living and forgiving. Today
this unity is a kind of Hungarian wonder."
My friends, that wonder is liberty's wonder. In Kabul and
Prague. Warsaw and Managua. In the hopes, and dreams, of people
who believe in ballots, not bullets. And who survive. -- who will
triumph - -- through courage and determination.
To love freedom - -- to overcome oppression - -- this is their
spirit -- and the meaning of Captive Nations Week. Like them, we
must never waver, nor surrender. Instead, let us raise --
together -- what Lajos Kossuth called "the morning star of
liberty," the star that can lead us toward the day when all
captive peoples know the joy of freedom.
Thank you for this wonderful occasion. I will never forget
it. God bless you, and God bless America.
###
STAFFED IN PARIS, FRANCE
Document No.
SENSITIVE
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
DATE: 07/15/89
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY:
NOON Sunday 07/16
SUBJECT: PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: CAPTIVE NATIONS WEEK
(07/15 draft 2)
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
MCCLURE
SUNUNU
NEWMAN
SCOWCROFT
PORTER
DARMAN
STUDDERT
D
BATES
UNTERMEYER
BREEDEN
WINSTON
CARD
Pinkertan
CICCONI
DEMAREST
FITZWATER
GRAY
HAGIN
REMARKS:
Please provide any comments/recommendations directly to Chriss
Winston in the Senior Staff Office, Rm. 1051, by NOON, Sunday
07/16, with an info copy to Jim Cicconi, Rm. 1051. Thanks.
RESPONSE:
SENSITIVE
(1) china ? never mentioned
(2) there were monderfully graphic example of the
James W. Cicconi
hope of freedom seen in the faces of the tens of thomands and Deputy to the Chief of
Assistant to the President
Staff
along the motorcade coutes in Poland and Hungary experimed Ext.
2702
as jailor jailee dined together in Warsaw with the Presofthe US - wonderful personal
moments of this used 0.0
(Smith/Blessey)
July 15, 1989
Draft Two
[Captive]
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: CAPTIVE NATIONS WEEK
THE ROSE GARDEN
WEDNESDAY, JULY 19, 1989
10:00 A.M.
Ladies and gentlemen, friends. I want to welcome you to the
White House. Captive Nations Week is an occasion marked by
sadness, but it is also blessed by hope.
Today, we meet to signal our deep concern at the fate of
Nations and peoples whose liberty has been held captive. And we
applaud the movement towards democracy taking place in the world,
and the changes yet to come.
Six months ago this week, I said in my Inaugural Address:
"In man's heart, if not in fact, the day of the dictator is over.
The totalitarian era is passing, its old ideas blown away like
leaves from an ancient lifeless tree.'
Well, I have just returned -- hopeful, and encouraged --
from visits to Poland and Hungary, two Nations on the threshold
of historic change. And I can say to you: The old ideas are
blowing away. Freedom is in the air.
For forty years, Poland and Hungary -- like so many captive
nations -- endured what has been called "the dilemma of the
single alternative": one political party, one definition of
national interest, one social and economic model. In short, one
future -- prescribed by an alien ideology.
2
But in fact, that future meant no future. For it denied to
individuals, choice; to societies, pluralism; and to Nations,
self-determination. Yet in Poland and Hungary, a courageous
people would not yield to bayonets and barbed wire. There, as
elsewhere, the light of liberty would not go out.
Eight days ago, I watched thousands brave a driving rain to
acclaim this love of liberty. They cheered for free assembly,
free press and speech, and freedom of religion. And filled a
square in Budapest named after a patriot who believed in that
democracy which links the people of Hungary with the peoples of
the world.
Lajos Kossuth [LOY-osh KO-shooth] arrived in America in 1851
after Hungary's struggle for freedom had, temporarily, been lost.
Yet in his remarks to the United States Congress, he was hopeful,
not embittered. He spoke of his "steady faith in [the]
principles" of self-government, opportunity, and individuality.
Said he: "I trust to the future of republicanism."
My friends, the memory of Lajos Kossuth inspires us, and
teaches us. For he embodies the spirit of Captive Nations Week.
His life was a celebration of bravery and of conscience: The
bravery that inspires the peoples of Angola and Afghanistan,
Cambodia and Cuba; the conscience that teaches that free
expression and courage will conquer tyranny and oppression.
When the Hungarian playwright Imre Madach [IM-rch MAW-dawch]
observed, "It is so great freely to choose between the good and
sinful ways," he was describing that belief. And so is the Czech
3
writer Valav Havel [VATS-lav HAV-el], when he speaks of the need
for captive people, in captive Nations, to "live in truth."
This truth dictates that liberty be political, and economic;
religious, and intellectual. That people work where they want.
And vote as they choose. That democratic ideals can make all
things possible for a Nation, and its people. And that the
individual, not the State, is the voice of tomorrow.
We see that truth across East and Central Europe. In the
successful return of democracy to Pakistan. And in the Soviets'
withdrawal from Afghanistan. In Africa, liberty lights those
Nations moving away from state socialism, with new success in
freely-elected governments and free markets. And in our hope for
a Cambodia with self-determination for her people -- and a
verified withdrawal, with no return to power by the Khmer Rouge.
The tide is moving -- toward change, economic and political.
Around the world, we see democracy opening markets, and
boundaries. Freeing hearts. Freeing minds.
Therefore, to nations of East Central Europe, striving to
reclaim their national destinies, we say: America stands with
you.
To the peoples of Vietnam and Laos, Ethiopia and Nicaragua
striving for freedom we say: America stands with you. To all
Nations, America proclaims that truth cannot be intimidated by
force, or beaten into suppression.
We know that only democracy can underscore the dignity of
man. Five weeks ago, thousands symbolized that democracy as they
humanity
what about the
thousands in Gadnsk?
4
(you mention Hungary
filled Budapest's Heroes Square peacefully, movingly -- to pay
lots, Polaud little.)
homage to the heroes, and the spirit of Hungary's 1956 rebellion.
But their presence did more. It honored the spirit of captive
peoples everywhere.
Among the celebrants was a patriot who, with many others,
took part in that uprising. Astonished by the turnout, he found
pride in Hungary's past -- and hope in freedom's future. "For
this day," he said, "it is worth living and forgiving. Today
this unity is a kind of Hungarian wonder."
My friends, that wonder is liberty's wonder. In Kabul and
Prague. Warsaw and Managua. In the hopes, and dreams, of people
who believe in ballots, not bullets. And who survive -- who will
triumph -- through courage and determination.
To love freedom -- to overcome oppression -- this is their
spirit -- and the meaning of Captive Nations Week. Like them, we
must never waver, nor surrender. Instead, let us raise --
together -- what Lajos Kossuth called "the morning star of
liberty," the star that can lead us toward the day when all
captive peoples know the joy of freedom.
Thank you for this wonderful occasion. I will never forget
it. God bless you, and God bless America.
###
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
July 17, 1989
MEMORANDUM FOR CHRISS WINSTON
DEPUTY ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT
FOR COMMUNICATIONS
FROM:
PATRICIA MACK BRYAN Punk
ASSOCIATE COUNSEL TO THE PRESIDENT
SUBJECT:
Presidential Remarks: Captive Nations Week
(7/15 draft 2)
Pursuant to your staffing memorandum of July 15, 1989, Counsel's
Office has reviewed the above-referenced Presidential remarks.
We have no legal objection to the contents of these remarks.
Thank you for bringing this matter to our attention.
CC: James W. Cicconi
89 JUL 17 PIZ:17 P/2: 17
(Smith/Blessey)
July 14, 1989
Draft One
CAPTIVE2
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: CAPTIVE NATIONS WEEK
THE ROSE GARDEN
WEDNESDAY, JULY 19, 1989
10:00 A.M.
Ladies and gentlemen, friends. I want to welcome you to the
White House -- and to say what a privilege it is to meet with you.
But
fe llow lovers of democracy. For although Captive Nations Week is
an occasion marked by sadness, it is also blessed by hope.
meet to signal our deep con cern
I
Today, we sound our outrage at the fate of Nations and
and
peoples whose liberty has been held captive. But we also applaud
the movement buinds democracy
more than those changes already taking place, and the
changes yet to come.
we the world
Six months ago this week, I said in my Inaugural Address:
"In man's heart, if not in fact, the day of the dictator is over.
The totalitarian era is passing, its old ideas blown away like
leaves from an ancient lifeless tree. If
Well, I have just returned -- hopeful, and encouraged --
from visits to Poland and Hungary, two Nations on the threshhold
of historic change. And I can say to you: The old ideas are
Freedom is in the air.
blowing away. New leaves are growing Liberty is on the march.
For forty years, Poland and Hungary -- like so many captive
Nations -- endured what has been called "the dilemma of the
single alternative": one political party, one definition of
2
national interest, one social and economic model. In short, one
future -- prescribed by an alien ideology.
But in fact, that future meant no future. For it denied to
individuals, choice; to societies, pluralism; and to Nations,
self-determination. Yet in Poland and Hungary, a courageous
people would not yield to bayonets and barbed wire. There, as
clsewhere, the lamp of liberty would not go out.
Eight days ago, I watched thousands brave a driving rain
to acclaim this love of liberty. They cheered for free assembly,
free press and speech, and freedom of religion. And filled a
square in Budapest named after a patriot who believed in that
democracy which links the people of Hungary with the peoples of
the world.
Lajos Kossuth [LOY-osh KO-shooth] arrived in America in
1851 after Hungary's struggle for freedom had, temporarily, been
lost. Yet in his remarks to the United States Congress, he was
hopeful, not embittered. He spoke of his "steady faith in [the]
principles" of self-government, opportunity, and individuality.
Said he: "I trust to the future of republicanism."
inspects and
My friends, the memory of Lajos Kossuth lifts us., teaches
us. For he embodies the spirit of Captive Nations Week. His
life was a celebration of bravery, and of conscience: The
bravery that happine peoples of Angola and Afghanistan,
courage
Cambodia and Cuba; the conscience that Jeschise eays that free expression and
and
will conquer tyranny and courage, oppression.
3
When the Hungarian playwright Imre Madach [IM-reh MAW-dawch]
observed, "It is so great freely to choose between the good and
sinful ways," he was describing that belief. And so is the Czech
writer Valav Havel [VATS-lav HAV-ell, when he speaks of the need
for captive people, in captive Nations, to "live in truth."
This truth dictates that liberty be political, and economic;
religious, and intellectual. That people work where they want.
And vote as they choose. It suggests that democratic ideals can
make all things possible for a Nation, and its people. And that
the individual, not the State, is the voice of tomorrow.
We see that truth across East and Central Europe. In the
successful return of democracy to Pakistan. And in the Soviets'
withdrawal from Afghanistan. In Africa, liberty lights those
Nations moving away from state socialism, with new success in
freely-clected governments and free markets. And in our hope for
a Cambodia with self-determination for her people -- and a
verified withdrawal, with no return to power by the Khmer Rouge.
Now, there are some who say: : We ve done chough. Well,
we haven't For until liberty lives among all God's children,
then none of us is free Who can forget the blood of Panama
City? Or the massacre in Piananmen Square? at the tide is
moving -- toward change, economic and political. And captivity
the world, we are
is receding across Europe, and the world, Globally, and
hi storically, democracy is winning
Opening markets, and
boundaries. Freeing hearts. Freeing minds.
- 7 -
MY FRIENDS, THE HEROISM OF SUCH PATRIOTS INSPIRES
US, AND TEACHES US. FOR THEY EMBODY THE SPIRIT OF
CAPTIVE NATIONS WEEK. THE SPIRIT WHICH SAYS THAT
FREEDOM AROUND THE WORLD IS NOT DIVISIBLE. AND WHICH
LIVES IN THE BRAVE IMMIGRANTS FROM CAPTIVE NATIONS WHO
ARE BESIDE ME: POLITA GRAU DE AGUERO [Po-LEE-TA GRAUW
DAY AH-GWER-ROW], FOR INSTANCE, A POLITICAL PRISONER IN
CUBA BEFORE FLEEING TO AMERICA.
REMARKS: CAPTIVE NATIONS WEEK
THE ROSE GARDEN
FRIDAY, JULY 21, 1989
10:00 A.M.
DISTINGUISHED GUESTS, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,
FRIENDS. I WANT TO WELCOME YOU TO THE WHITE HOUSE.
AND TO AN OCCASION -- CAPTIVE NATIONS WEEK -- MARKED BY
SADNESS, BUT BLESSED BY HOPE.
- 2 -
TODAY, WE MEET TO SIGNAL OUR DEEP CONCERN AT THE
FATE OF NATIONS AND PEOPLES WHOSE LIBERTY HAS BEEN HELD
CAPTIVE. AND WE APPLAUD THE MOVEMENT TOWARD DEMOCRACY
TAKING PLACE IN THE WORLD, AND THE CHANGES YET TO COME.
SIX MONTHS AGO THIS WEEK, I SAID IN MY INAUGURAL
ADDRESS: "IN MAN'S HEART, IF NOT IN FACT, THE DAY OF
THE DICTATOR IS OVER. THE TOTALITARIAN ERA IS PASSING,
ITS OLD IDEAS BLOWN AWAY LIKE LEAVES FROM AN ANCIENT
LIFELESS TREE."
- 3 -
WELL, I HAVE JUST RETURNED -- HOPEFUL, AND
ENCOURAGED -- FROM VISITS TO POLAND AND HUNGARY, TWO
NATIONS ON THE THRESHOLD OF HISTORIC CHANGE. AND I CAN
SAY TO YOU: THE OLD IDEAS ARE BLOWING AWAY. FREEDOM
IS IN THE AIR.
- 4 -
FOR FORTY YEARS, POLAND AND HUNGARY ENDURED WHAT
HAS BEEN CALLED THE DILEMMA OF THE SINGLE ALTERNATIVE:
ONE POLITICAL PARTY, ONE DEFINITION OF NATIONAL
INTEREST, ONE SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC MODEL. IN SHORT, ONE
FUTURE -- PRESCRIBED BY AN ALIEN IDEOLOGY.
BUT IN FACT, THAT FUTURE MEANT NO FUTURE. FOR IT
DENIED TO INDIVIDUALS, CHOICE; TO SOCIETIES, PLURALISM;
AND TO NATIONS, SELF-DETERMINATION.
- 5 -
YET IN POLAND AND HUNGARY, A COURAGEOUS PEOPLE WOULD
NOT YIELD TO DESPAIR. THERE, AS ELSEWHERE, THE LIGHT
OF LIBERTY WOULD NOT GO OUT.
TEN DAYS AGO, I WATCHED THOUSANDS BRAVE A DRIVING
RAIN TO ACCLAIM THIS LOVE OF LIBERTY. THEY CHEERED FOR
FREE ASSEMBLY, FREE PRESS AND SPEECH, AND FREEDOM OF
RELIGION.
- 6 -
AND FILLED A SQUARE IN BUDAPEST NAMED AFTER A FREEDOM-
FIGHTER WHO BELIEVED IN THAT DEMOCRACY WHICH LINKS THE
PEOPLE OF HUNGARY WITH THE PEOPLES OF THE WORLD.
LAJOS Kossuth [LOY-OSH KO-SHooT] ARRIVED IN AMERICA
IN 1851 AFTER HUNGARY'S STRUGGLE FOR FREEDOM HAD,
TEMPORARILY, BEEN LOST. YET IN HIS REMARKS TO THE
UNITED STATES CONGRESS, HE WAS HOPEFUL, NOT EMBITTERED.
HE SPOKE OF HIS "STEADY FAITH IN [THE] PRINCIPLES" OF
SELF-GOVERNMENT, OPPORTUNITY, AND INDIVIDUALITY.
- 7 -
MY FRIENDS, THE HEROISM OF SUCH PATRIOTS INSPIRES
US, AND TEACHES US. FOR THEY EMBODY THE SPIRIT OF
CAPTIVE NATIONS WEEK. THE SPIRIT WHICH SAYS THAT
FREEDOM AROUND THE WORLD IS NOT DIVISIBLE. AND WHICH
LIVES IN THE BRAVE IMMIGRANTS FROM CAPTIVE NATIONS WHO
STAND BESIDE ME: POLITA GRAU DE AGUERO [Po-LEE-TA
GRAUW DAY AH-GWER-ROW], FOR INSTANCE, A POLITICAL
PRISONER IN CUBA BEFORE FLEEING TO AMERICA.
- 8 -
OR HAING NGOR [HANG NAW], WHO FLED CAMBODIA AFTER THE
HOLOCAUST AND WON AN ACADEMY AWARD FOR HIS ROLE IN THE
KILLING FIELDS.
THESE SEVEN PEOPLE ARE HEROES. FOR THEY HAVE SHOWN
THE POWER OF COURAGE AND FREE EXPRESSION. AND LAST
WEEK, I SAW HOW THE PEOPLES OF POLAND AND HUNGARY ARE
LEADING THE WAY TOWARD THIS DEMOCRATIC FUTURE --
CASTING RAYS OF LIGHT ON OTHER NATIONS THAT ARE NOT AS
FORTUNATE.
- 9 -
FOR WITHIN THESE NATIONS, MEN AND WOMEN ARE STANDING UP
FOR THE CAUSE OF LIBERTY, OFTEN AT ENORMOUS COST. A
CAUSE THE CZECH WRITER VALAV HAVEL [VATS-LAV HAV-EL]
ONCE CALLED THE ACT OF "LIVING IN TRUTH."
THIS TRUTH FORMS THE HEART OF CAPTIVE NATIONS WEEK.
FOR IT DICTATES THAT LIBERTY BE POLITICAL, AND
ECONOMIC; RELIGIOUS, AND INTELLECTUAL. "LIVING IN
TRUTH" SUGGESTS THAT DEMOCRATIC IDEALS CAN MAKE ALL
THINGS POSSIBLE FOR A NATION, AND ITS PEOPLE.
- 10 -
AND THAT THE INDIVIDUAL, NOT THE STATE, IS THE VOICE OF
TOMORROW.
WE SEE THAT TRUTH IN THE SUCCESSFUL RETURN OF
DEMOCRACY TO PAKISTAN. AND IN AFRICA, WHERE LIBERTY
LIGHTS THOSE NATIONS MOVING AWAY FROM STATE SOCIALISM,
WITH NEW SUCCESS. THE HATED SYSTEM OF APARTHEID IS ON
THE DEFENSIVE.
- 11 -
AND IN OUR HOPE FOR A CAMBODIA WITH SELF-DETERMINATION
FOR HER PEOPLE -- AND A COMPLETE AND VERIFIED
VIETNAMESE WITHDRAWAL, WITH NO RETURN TO POWER BY THE
KHMER ROUGE.
TODAY, THE LIGHT OF LIBERTY IS ILLUMINATING THE
FACE OF EASTERN AND CENTRAL EUROPE. AND REFLECTING THE
CHANGES TAKING PLACE WITHIN THE SOVIET UNION -- TOWARD
GREATER OPENNESS AT HOME AND AWAY FROM CONFRONTATION
ABROAD.
- 12 -
SUCH OPENNESS PROMPTED THE BARBED WIRE FENCE BETWEEN
AUSTRIA AND HUNGARY TO BE DISMANTLED. THE PORTION I
RECEIVED AS A GIFT IS NOW ON DISPLAY HERE. AND A
SPIRIT OF RENEWAL LIGHTS THE BALTIC STATES -- LATVIA,
LITHUANIA, ESTONIA -- STRIVING TO RECAPTURE THEIR
NATIONAL HISTORY.
MY FRIENDS, THESE NATIONS KNOW -- AS WE KNOW -- HOW
THE TIDE IS MOVING -- TOWARD CHANGE, ECONOMIC AND
POLITICAL.
- 13 -
FOR AROUND THE WORLD, WE SEE DEMOCRACY OPENING MARKETS,
AND BOUNDARIES. FREEING HEARTS. FREEING MINDS.
THEREFORE, TO NATIONS OF EASTERN AND CENTRAL
EUROPE, STRIVING To RECLAIM THEIR NATIONAL HERITAGE, WE
SAY: AMERICA STANDS WITH YOU.
To THE PEOPLES OF CHINA, VIETNAM AND LAOS, ETHIOPIA
AND NICARAGUA STRIVING FOR FREEDOM, WE SAY: AMERICA
STANDS WITH YOU.
- 14 -
To THE ETHNIC TURKS IN BULGARIA UPROOTED FROM THEIR
HOMES AND FORCED To FLEE ACROSS THE BORDER, WE SAY:
AMERICA STANDS WITH YOU.
INDEED, TO ALL NATIONS, AMERICA PROCLAIMS THAT
TRUTH CANNOT FOREVER BE INTIMIDATED BY FORCE. FOR
HISTORY SHOWS -- AND THE HUMAN WILL PROCLAIMS -- THAT
LIBERTY CAN LIGHT THE DARKEST NIGHT.
- 15 -
LAST TUESDAY, THOUSANDS FILLED THE STREETS IN
GDANSK -- PEACEFULLY, MOVINGLY -- To HONOR THE SPIRIT
OF SOLIDARITY. BUT THEIR PRESENCE DID MORE. IT
EXPRESSED THE BELIEF THAT DEMOCRACY UNDERSCORES THE
DIGNITY OF MAN.
AMONG THE CELEBRANTS WAS THE PATRIOT WHO, ABOVE ALL
OTHERS, HAS MADE POLAND'S FUTURE POSSIBLE. ASTONISHED
BY THE TURNOUT, HE FOUND PRIDE IN FREEDOM'S PAST -- AND
HOPE IN ITS TOMORROW.
- 16 -
As POLES -- CHEERING, MANY CRYING -- FLANKED OUR
MOTORCADE, LECH WALESA TURNED TO ME AND SAID SIMPLY:
"THIS IS FANTASTIC." HE WAS MOVED -- STIRRED -- BY THE
WONDER OF THE MOMENT.
IN COMING YEARS, THAT WONDER CAN UPLIFT THE WORLD.
IN PRAGUE AND KABUL. IN TALLINN [TAL IN], RIGA [REE
GA], AND VILNIUS [VIL NEE us].
- 17 -
IN THE HOPES, AND DREAMS, OF PEOPLE WHO BELIEVE IN AN
OPEN AND PEACEFUL WORLD. AND WHO HAVE ENDURED MUCH --
AND WILL SURVIVE EVERYTHING -- THROUGH THE TRIUMPH OF
THE HEART.
To LOVE FREEDOM -- TO OVERCOME OPPRESSION -- THIS
IS THEIR SPIRIT -- AND THE MEANING OF CAPTIVE NATIONS
WEEK.
WE LOVE THEM, AND WE ARE WITH THEM. FOR WE WILL
NEVER WAVER, NOR SURRENDER.
- 18 -
TOGETHER, LET US RAISE WHAT LAJOS Kossuth CALLED "THE
MORNING STAR OF LIBERTY." THE STAR THAT CAN HELP ALL
CAPTIVE PEOPLES KNOW THE DIGNITY THAT SETS MEN FREE.
THANK YOU FOR THIS WONDERFUL OCCASION. I WILL
NEVER FORGET IT. GOD BLESS YOU, THANK YOU FOR COMING
TO THE WHITE HOUSE, AND GOD BLESS THIS BELOVED LAND --
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
# # # #
Document No.
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
DATE:
7/20/89
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY:
----
SUBJECT:
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: CAPTIVE NATIONS WEEK
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
4
VICE PRESIDENT
MCCLURE
SUNUNU
NEWMAN
SCOWCROFT
PORTER
1
DARMAN
STUDDERT
BATES
UNTERMEYER
,
BREEDEN
ROGERS
CARD
WINSTON
CICCONI
PINKERTON
DEMAREST
FITZWATER
GRAY
HAGIN
REMARKS:
The attached has been forwarded to the President.
RESPONSE:
James W. Cicconi
Assistant to the President
and Deputy to the Chief of Staff
Ext. 2702
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
1989. JUL 20
PH
4:
JULY 20, 1989
INFORMATION
MEMORANDUM FOR THE PRESIDENT
THROUGH:
CHRISS WINSTON
w
FROM:
CURT SMITH
as
SUBJECT:
JULY 21 CAPTIVE NATIONS WEEK EVENT
I. SUMMARY
On Friday, July 21, at 10 A.M., you will salute Captive Nations
Week at a ceremony in the Rose Garden. About 200 people are expected
to attend, including seven immigrants from Captive Nations who will
flank you on the dias.
II. DISCUSSION
The enclosed remarks (9-10 minutes) use your recent trip to Poland and
Hungary as a reference for "the movement toward democracy taking place
in the world." They reaffirm your commitment to freedom for the peoples
of Captive Nations, and express the belief that the tide toward liberty
can, and will, spread from Poland and Hungary to other Captive Nations.
(Smith/Blessey)
July 20, 1989
Draft Four
CAPTIVE2
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: CAPTIVE NATIONS WEEK
THE ROSE GARDEN
FRIDAY, JULY 21, 1989
10:00 A.M.
Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, friends. I want
to welcome you to the White House. And to an occasion -- Captive
Nations Week -- marked by sadness, but blessed by hope.
Today, we meet to signal our deep concern at the fate of
Nations and peoples whose liberty has been held captive. And we
applaud the movement toward democracy taking place in the world,
and the changes yet == come.
Six months ago this week, I said in my Inaugural Address:
"In man's heart, if not in fact, the day of the dictator is over.
The totalitarian era is passing, its old ideas blown away like
leaves from an ancient lifeless tree."
Well, I have just returned -- hopeful, and encouraged --
from visits to Poland and Hungary, two Nations on the threshhold
of historic change. And I can say to you: The old ideas are
blowing away. Freedom is in the air.
For forty years, Poland and Hungary endured what has been
called the dilemma of the single alternative: one political
party, one definition of national interest, one social and
economic model. In short, one future -- prescribed by an alien
ideology.
2
But in fact, that future meant no future. For it denied to
individuals, choice; to societies, pluralism; and to Nations,
self-determination. Yet in Poland and Hungary, a courageous
people would not yield to despair. There, as elsewhere, the
light of liberty would not go out.
Ten days ago, I watched thousands brave a driving rain to
acclaim this love of liberty. They cheered for free assembly,
free press and speech, and freedom of religion. And filled a
square in Budapest named after a freedom-fighter who believed in
that democracy which links the people of Hungary with the peoples
of the world.
Lajos Kossuth [LOY-osh KO-shooth] arrived in America in 1851
after Hungary's struggle for freedom had, temporarily, been lost.
Yet in his remarks to the United States Congress, he was hopeful,
not embittered. He spoke of his "steady faith in [the]
principles" of self-government, opportunity, and individuality.
My friends, the heroism of such patriots inspires us, and
teaches us. For they embody the spirit of Captive Nations Week.
The spirit which says that freedom around the world is not
divisible. And which lives in the brave immigrants from Captive
Nations who stand beside me: Maria Aguero [AH-gwer-row], for
instance, a political prisoner in Cuba before fleeing to America.
or Haing Ngor [Hang Gnaw], who fled Cambodia after the holocaust
and won an Academy Award for his role in the Killing Fields.
These seven people are heroes. For they have shown the
power of courage and free expression. And last week, I saw how
3
the peoples of Poland and Hungary are leading the way toward this
democratic future -- casting rays of light on other Nations that
are not as fortunate. For within these Nations, men and women
are standing up for the cause of liberty, often at enormous cost.
A cause the Czech writer Valav Havel [VATS-lav HAV-el] once
called the act of "Living in Truth."
This truth forms the heart of Captive Nations Week. For it
dictates that liberty be political, and economic; religious, and
intellectual. "Living in Truth" suggests that democratic ideals
can make all things possible for a Nation, and its people. And
that the individual, not the State, is the voice of tomorrow.
We see that truth in the successful return of democracy to
Pakistan. And in Africa, where liberty lights those Nations
moving away from state socialism, with new success. The hated
system of apartheid is on the defensive. Truth endures in China del,
-- where the voice of freedom will yet be heard And in our hope
for a Cambodia with self-determination for her people -- and a
complete and verified withdrawal, with no return to power by the
Khmer Rouge.
Today, the light of liberty is illuminating the face of
Eastern and Central Europe. And reflecting the changes taking
place within the Soviet Union -- toward greater openness at home
and away from confrontation abroad. Such openness prompted the
barbed wire fence between Austria and Hungary to be dismantled.
The portion I received as a gift is now on display here for all
Americans to see. And liberty lights the Baltic States --
aspiritof renewel
4
Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia -- striving anew to recapture their
national history.
My friends, these Nations know -- as we know -- how the tide
is moving -- toward change, economic and political. For around
the world, we see democracy opening markets, and boundaries.
Freeing hearts. Freeing minds.
Therefore, to Nations of Eastern and Central Europe,
striving to reclaim their national heritage, we say: America
stands with you.
To the peoples of China, Vietnam and Laos, Ethiopia and
Nicaragua striving for freedom, we say: America stands with you.
To the ethnic Turks in Bulgaria uprooted from their homes
and forced to flee across the border, we say: America stands
with you.
Indeed, to all Nations, America proclaims that truth cannot
forever be intimidated by force. For history shows -- and the
human will proclaims -- that liberty can light the darkest night.
Last Tuesday, thousands filled the streets in Gdansk --
peacefully, movingly -- to honor the spirit of Solidarity. But
their presence did more. It expressed the belief that democracy
underscores the dignity of man.
Among the celebrants was the patriot who, above all others,
has made Poland's future possible. Astonished by the turnout, he
found pride in freedom's past -- and hope in its tomorrow. As
Poles -- cheering, many crying -- flanked our motorcade, Lech
5
Walesa turned to me and said simply: "This is fantastic." He
was moved -- stirred -- by the wonder of the moment.
In coming years, that wonder can uplift the world. In
Prague and Kabul. In Tallinn [TAL in], Riga [Ree ga], and
Vilnius [VIL nee us]. In the hopes, and dreams, of people who
believe in an open and peaceful world. And who have endured much
-- and will survive everything -- through the triumph of the
heart.
To love freedom -- to overcome oppression -- this is their
spirit -- and the meaning of Captive Nations Week.
We love them, and we are with them. For we will never
waver, nor surrender. Together, let us raise what Lajos Kossuth
called "the morning star of liberty." The star that can help all
captive peoples know the dignity that sets men free.
Thank you for this wonderful occasion. I will never forget
it. God bless you, thank you coming to the White House, and God
bless this beloved land -- the United States of America.
$
#
#
#
REMARKS: CAPTIVE NATIONS WEEK
THE ROSE GARDEN
FRIDAY, JULY 21, 1989
10:00 A.M.
DISTINGUISHED GUESTS, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,
FRIENDS. I WANT TO WELCOME YOU TO THE WHITE HOUSE.
AND TO AN OCCASION -- CAPTIVE NATIONS WEEK -- MARKED BY
SADNESS, BUT BLESSED BY HOPE.
- 2 -
TODAY, WE MEET TO SIGNAL OUR DEEP CONCERN AT THE
FATE OF NATIONS AND PEOPLES WHOSE LIBERTY HAS BEEN HELD
CAPTIVE. AND WE APPLAUD THE MOVEMENT TOWARD DEMOCRACY
TAKING PLACE IN THE WORLD, AND THE CHANGES YET TO COME.
SIX MONTHS AGO THIS WEEK, I SAID IN MY INAUGURAL
ADDRESS: "IN MAN'S HEART, IF NOT IN FACT, THE DAY OF
THE DICTATOR IS OVER. THE TOTALITARIAN ERA IS PASSING,
ITS OLD IDEAS BLOWN AWAY LIKE LEAVES FROM AN ANCIENT
LIFELESS TREE."
- 3 -
WELL, I HAVE JUST RETURNED -- HOPEFUL, AND
ENCOURAGED -- FROM VISITS TO POLAND AND HUNGARY, TWO
NATIONS ON THE THRESHOLD OF HISTORIC CHANGE. AND I CAN
SAY TO YOU: THE OLD IDEAS ARE BLOWING AWAY. FREEDOM
IS IN THE AIR.
- 4 -
FOR FORTY YEARS, POLAND AND HUNGARY ENDURED WHAT
HAS BEEN CALLED THE DILEMMA OF THE SINGLE ALTERNATIVE:
ONE POLITICAL PARTY, ONE DEFINITION OF NATIONAL
INTEREST, ONE SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC MODEL. IN SHORT, ONE
FUTURE -- PRESCRIBED BY AN ALIEN IDEOLOGY.
BUT IN FACT, THAT FUTURE MEANT NO FUTURE. FOR IT
DENIED TO INDIVIDUALS, CHOICE; TO SOCIETIES, PLURALISM;
AND TO NATIONS, SELF-DETERMINATION.
YET IN POLAND AND HUNGARY, A COURAGEOUS PEOPLE WOULD
NOT YIELD TO DESPAIR. THERE, AS ELSEWHERE, THE LIGHT
OF LIBERTY WOULD NOT GO OUT.
TEN DAYS AGO, I WATCHED THOUSANDS BRAVE A DRIVING
RAIN TO ACCLAIM THIS LOVE OF LIBERTY. THEY CHEERED FOR
FREE ASSEMBLY, FREE PRESS AND SPEECH, AND FREEDOM OF
RELIGION.
- 6 -
AND FILLED A SQUARE IN BUDAPEST NAMED AFTER A FREEDOM-
FIGHTER WHO BELIEVED IN THAT DEMOCRACY WHICH LINKS THE
PEOPLE OF HUNGARY WITH THE PEOPLES OF THE WORLD.
LAJOS Kossuth [LOY-OSH KO-SHOOT] ARRIVED IN AMERICA
IN 1851 AFTER HUNGARY'S STRUGGLE FOR FREEDOM HAD,
TEMPORARILY, BEEN LOST. YET IN HIS REMARKS TO THE
UNITED STATES CONGRESS, HE WAS HOPEFUL, NOT EMBITTERED.
HE SPOKE OF HIS "STEADY FAITH IN [THE] PRINCIPLES" OF
SELF-GOVERNMENT, OPPORTUNITY, AND INDIVIDUALITY.
- 7 -
MY FRIENDS, THE HEROISM OF SUCH PATRIOTS INSPIRES
US, AND TEACHES US. FOR THEY EMBODY THE SPIRIT OF
CAPTIVE NATIONS WEEK. THE SPIRIT WHICH SAYS THAT
FREEDOM AROUND THE WORLD IS NOT DIVISIBLE. AND WHICH
LIVES IN THE BRAVE IMMIGRANTS FROM CAPTIVE NATIONS WHO
STAND BESIDE ME: POLITA GRAU DE AGUERO [Po-LEE-TA
GRAUW DAY AH-GWER-ROW], FOR INSTANCE, A POLITICAL
PRISONER IN CUBA BEFORE FLEEING TO AMERICA.
- 8 -
OR HAING NGOR [HANG NAW], WHO FLED CAMBODIA AFTER THE
HOLOCAUST AND WON AN ACADEMY AWARD FOR HIS ROLE IN THE
KILLING FIELDS.
THESE SEVEN PEOPLE ARE HEROES. FOR THEY HAVE SHOWN
THE POWER OF COURAGE AND FREE EXPRESSION. AND LAST
WEEK, I SAW HOW THE PEOPLES OF POLAND AND HUNGARY ARE
LEADING THE WAY TOWARD THIS DEMOCRATIC FUTURE --
CASTING RAYS OF LIGHT ON OTHER NATIONS THAT ARE NOT AS
FORTUNATE.
- 9 -
FOR WITHIN THESE NATIONS, MEN AND WOMEN ARE STANDING UP
FOR THE CAUSE OF LIBERTY, OFTEN AT ENORMOUS COST. A
CAUSE THE CZECH WRITER VALAV HAVEL [VATS-LAV HAV-EL]
ONCE CALLED THE ACT OF "LIVING IN TRUTH."
THIS TRUTH FORMS THE HEART OF CAPTIVE NATIONS WEEK.
FOR IT DICTATES THAT LIBERTY BE POLITICAL, AND
ECONOMIC; RELIGIOUS, AND INTELLECTUAL. "LIVING IN
TRUTH" SUGGESTS THAT DEMOCRATIC IDEALS CAN MAKE ALL
THINGS POSSIBLE FOR A NATION, AND ITS PEOPLE.
- 10 -
AND THAT THE INDIVIDUAL, NOT THE STATE, IS THE VOICE OF
TOMORROW.
WE SEE THAT TRUTH IN THE SUCCESSFUL RETURN OF
DEMOCRACY TO PAKISTAN. AND IN AFRICA, WHERE LIBERTY
LIGHTS THOSE NATIONS MOVING AWAY FROM STATE SOCIALISM,
WITH NEW SUCCESS. THE HATED SYSTEM OF APARTHEID IS ON
THE DEFENSIVE.
- 11 -
AND IN OUR HOPE FOR A CAMBODIA WITH SELF-DETERMINATION
FOR HER PEOPLE -- AND A COMPLETE AND VERIFIED
VIETNAMESE WITHDRAWAL, WITH NO RETURN TO POWER BY THE
KHMER ROUGE.
TODAY, THE LIGHT OF LIBERTY IS ILLUMINATING THE
FACE OF EASTERN AND CENTRAL EUROPE. AND REFLECTING THE
CHANGES TAKING PLACE WITHIN THE SOVIET UNION -- TOWARD
GREATER OPENNESS AT HOME AND AWAY FROM CONFRONTATION
ABROAD.
- 12 -
SUCH OPENNESS PROMPTED THE BARBED WIRE FENCE BETWEEN
AUSTRIA AND HUNGARY TO BE DISMANTLED. THE PORTION I
RECEIVED AS A GIFT IS NOW ON DISPLAY HERE. AND A
SPIRIT OF RENEWAL LIGHTS THE BALTIC STATES -- LATVIA,
LITHUANIA, ESTONIA -- STRIVING TO RECAPTURE THEIR
NATIONAL HISTORY.
MY FRIENDS, THESE NATIONS KNOW -- AS WE KNOW -- HOW
THE TIDE IS MOVING -- TOWARD CHANGE, ECONOMIC AND
POLITICAL.
- 13 -
FOR AROUND THE WORLD, WE SEE DEMOCRACY OPENING MARKETS,
AND BOUNDARIES. FREEING HEARTS. FREEING MINDS.
THEREFORE, TO NATIONS OF EASTERN AND CENTRAL
EUROPE, STRIVING TO RECLAIM THEIR NATIONAL HERITAGE, WE
SAY: AMERICA STANDS WITH YOU.
To THE PEOPLES OF CHINA, VIETNAM AND LAOS, ETHIOPIA
AND NICARAGUA STRIVING FOR FREEDOM, WE SAY: AMERICA
STANDS WITH YOU.
- 14 -
To THE ETHNIC TURKS IN BULGARIA UPROOTED FROM THEIR
HOMES AND FORCED TO FLEE ACROSS THE BORDER, WE SAY:
AMERICA STANDS WITH YOU.
INDEED, TO ALL NATIONS, AMERICA PROCLAIMS THAT
TRUTH CANNOT FOREVER BE INTIMIDATED BY FORCE. FOR
HISTORY SHOWS -- AND THE HUMAN WILL PROCLAIMS -- THAT
LIBERTY CAN LIGHT THE DARKEST NIGHT.
- 15 -
LAST TUESDAY, THOUSANDS FILLED THE STREETS IN
GDANSK -- PEACEFULLY, MOVINGLY -- TO HONOR THE SPIRIT
OF SOLIDARITY. BUT THEIR PRESENCE DID MORE. IT
EXPRESSED THE BELIEF THAT DEMOCRACY UNDERSCORES THE
DIGNITY OF MAN.
AMONG THE CELEBRANTS WAS THE PATRIOT WHO, ABOVE ALL
OTHERS, HAS MADE POLAND'S FUTURE POSSIBLE. ASTONISHED
BY THE TURNOUT, HE FOUND PRIDE IN FREEDOM'S PAST -- AND
HOPE IN ITS TOMORROW.
- 16 -
As POLES -- CHEERING, MANY CRYING -- FLANKED OUR
MOTORCADE, LECH WALESA TURNED TO ME AND SAID SIMPLY:
"THIS IS FANTASTIC." HE WAS MOVED -- STIRRED -- BY THE
WONDER OF THE MOMENT.
IN COMING YEARS, THAT WONDER CAN UPLIFT THE WORLD.
IN PRAGUE AND KABUL. IN TALLINN [TAL IN], RIGA [REE
GA], AND VILNIUS [VIL NEE us].
- 17 -
IN THE HOPES, AND DREAMS, OF PEOPLE WHO BELIEVE IN AN
OPEN AND PEACEFUL WORLD. AND WHO HAVE ENDURED MUCH --
AND WILL SURVIVE EVERYTHING -- THROUGH THE TRIUMPH OF
THE HEART.
To LOVE FREEDOM -- TO OVERCOME OPPRESSION -- THIS
IS THEIR SPIRIT -- AND THE MEANING OF CAPTIVE NATIONS
WEEK.
WE LOVE THEM, AND WE ARE WITH THEM. FOR WE WILL
NEVER WAVER, NOR SURRENDER.
- 18 -
TOGETHER, LET US RAISE WHAT LAJOS Kossuth CALLED "THE
MORNING STAR OF LIBERTY." THE STAR THAT CAN HELP ALL
CAPTIVE PEOPLES KNOW THE DIGNITY THAT SETS MEN FREE.
THANK YOU FOR THIS WONDERFUL OCCASION. I WILL
NEVER FORGET IT. GOD BLESS YOU, THANK YOU FOR COMING
TO THE WHITE HOUSE, AND GOD BLESS THIS BELOVED LAND --
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
# # # #
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
July 21, 1989
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
DURING CEREMONY FOR
CAPTIVE NATIONS WEEK
The Rose Garden
10:02 A.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all for coming today to the
White House. And I want to welcome you to the White House and to an
hope. occasion -- Captive Nations Week -- marked by sadness, but blessed by
And today we meet to signal our deep concern at the fate
of nations, and peoples as well, whose liberty has been held captive.
And we applaud the movement toward democracy taking place in the
world, and the changes yet to come.
Six months ago this week, I said in my Inaugural Address:
"In man's heart, if not in fact, the day of the dictator is over.
The totalitarian era is passing, its old ideas blown away like leaves
from an ancient lifeless tree. (Applause.)
Well, I have just returned -- hopeful, and encouraged --
from visits to Poland and Hungary, two nations on the threshhold of
historic change. And I can say to you: The old ideas are blowing
away. Freedom is in the air.
For forty years, Poland and Hungary endured what's been
called the dilemma of the single alternative: one political party,
one definition of national interest, one social and economic model.
In short, one future -- prescribed by an alien ideology.
But in fact, that future meant no future. For it denied
to individuals, choice; to societies, pluralism; and to nations,
self-determination. And yet in Poland and Hungary, a courageous
people would not yield to despair. There, as elsewhere, the light of
liberty would not go out.
And ten days ago, I watched thousands brave a driving
rain to acclaim this love of liberty. They cheered for free
assembly, free press and speech, and freedom of religion, and filled
a square in Budapest named after a freedom fighter who believed in
the world.
that democracy which linked the people of Hungary with the peoples of
Lajos Kossuth arrived in America in 1851 after Hungary's
struggle for freedom had temporarily been lost. And yet in his
remarks to the United States Congress, he was hopeful, not
embittered. He spoke of his "Steady faith in principles" of
self-government, opportunity, and individuality.
The heroism of such patriots inspires us, and teaches us.
For they embody the spirit of Captive Nations Week -- the spirit
which says that freedom around the world is not divisible, and which
lives in the brave immigrants from Captive Nations who are beside me:
Polita Grau de Aguero, for instance, a political prisoner in Cuba
before fleeing to America. or Haing Ngor, who fled Cambodia after
Fields." the holocaust and won an Academy Award for his role in the "Killing
These seven people are heroes. For they have shown the
MORE
- 2 -
power of courage and free expression. And last week, I saw how the
peoples of Poland and Hungary are leading the way toward this
democratic future -- casting rays of light on other nations that are
not as fortunate. For within these nations, men and women are
standing up for the cause of liberty, often at enormous cost. A
cause the Czech writer Valav Havel once called the "Living in Truth. "
This truth forms the heart of Captive Nations Week. For
it dictates that liberty be political, and economic; religious, and
intellectual. "Living in Truth" suggests that democratic ideals can
make all things possible for a nation, and for its people, and that
the individual, not the state, is the voice of tomorrow. (Applause.)
We see that truth in the successful return of democracy
to Pakistan. And in Africa, where liberty lights those nations
moving away from state socialism with new success. The hated system
of apartheid is on the defensive. And in our hope for a Cambodia
with self-determination for her people -- and a complete and verified
Vietnamese withdrawal, with no return to power by the Khmer Rouge.
(Applause.)
And today, the light of liberty is illuminating the face
of Eastern and Central Europe, and reflecting the changes taking
place within the Soviet Union -- toward greater openness at home and
away from confrontation abroad. Such openness prompted the barbed
wire fence between Austria and Hungary to be dismantled. And the
portion I received -- sitting right here -- the portion I received as
a gift is now on display, and I'd love to have you all take a look at
it after this.
And a spirit of renewal lights the Baltic States --
Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia -- striving to recapture -- (applause) --
their national history.
These nations know -- as we know -- that that tide is
moving -- toward change, economic and political. For around the
world, we see democracy opening markets, and boundaries. Freeing
hearts. Freeing minds.
And therefore, to nations of Eastern and Central Europe,
striving to reclaim their national heritage, we say: America stands
with you. (Applause.)
And to the peoples of China, and Vietnam and Laos,
Ethiopia and Nicaragua striving for freedom, we say: America stands
with you. (Applause.)
And to the ethnic Turks in Bulgaria uprooted from their
homes and forced to flee across the border, we say: America stands
with you. (Applause.)
Indeed, to all nations, America proclaims the truth
cannot forever be intimidated by force. For history shows -- and the
human will proclaims -- that liberty can light the darkest night.
Last Tuesday, thousands filled the streets in Gdansk --
peacefully, movingly -- to honor the spirit of Solidarity. But their
presence did more. It expressed the belief that democracy
underscores the dignity of man.
Among the celebrants was the patriot who, above all
others, has made Poland's future possible. Astonished by the
turnout, he found pride in freedom's past -- and hope in its
tomorrow. As Poles -- cheering, many crying -- flanked our
motorcade, Lech Walesa turned to me -- (applause) -- and said simply:
"This is fantastic." And he was moved -- and stirred -- by the
wonder of the moment, and the crowds that came out to pay their
respects (Applause.) to the freedom that the United States of America epitomizes.
MORE
- 3 -
And in coming years, that wonder can uplift the world --
in Prague and Kabul -- Tallinn, Riga, Vilinius -- in the hopes and
dreams of people who believe in an open and peaceful world, and who
have endured much -- and who will survive everything -- through the
triumph of the heart.
To love freedom -- to overcome oppression -- this is
their spirit -- and the meaning of Captive Nations Week.
We love them, and we are with them, for we will never
waiver nor surrender. And so together, let us raise what Lajos
Kossuth called "the morning star of liberty. " The star that can help
all captive peoples know the dignity that sets men free.
Thank you for your participation in this wonderful
occasion. I'll never forget it. And God bless you, and thanks for
coming to the White House, and God bless the United States of
America, and all that we stand for. Thank you very, very much.
END
10:12 A.M. EDT