[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 140 (Tuesday, July 22, 1997)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 39413-39414]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-19477]
[[Page 39411]]
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Part VII
The President
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Proclamation 7012--Captive Nations Week
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 140 / Tuesday, July 22, 1997 /
Presidential Documents
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Title 3--
The President
[[Page 39413]]
Proclamation 7012 of July 18, 1997
Captive Nations Week, 1997
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
From its earliest days as a Nation, America has been a
champion of freedom and human dignity. Our Declaration
of Independence was a ringing cry against ``the
establishment of an absolute tyranny over these
States'' and affirmed the revolutionary concept that
governments derive their powers from the free consent
of those they govern. For more than two centuries our
Bill of Rights has guaranteed such basic human rights
as freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of
the press, and freedom from arbitrary arrest. With such
a history and heritage, we can feel only outrage that
millions of people around the world still suffer
beneath the shadow of oppression, their rights
routinely violated by their own governments and
leaders.
Almost four decades ago, our Nation observed the first
Captive Nations Week to express formally our solidarity
with the oppressed peoples of the world. Since that
time, thanks to our steadfast advocacy for democratic
reform and universal human rights, and the courage and
determination of countless men and women around the
globe, the world's political landscape has undergone a
remarkable transformation. Nations once dominated by
the Soviet Union and its satellite governments have
blossomed into new democracies, establishing free
market economies and free societies that respect
individual rights. Families and countrymen once divided
by walls and barbed wire, now walk together in the
fresh air of liberty. The unprecedented gathering of 44
countries at the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council
meeting earlier this month in Madrid symbolizes how far
we have come in building a stable, democratic, and
undivided Europe.
Yet while countries like Poland, Romania, and Estonia
are no longer among the ranks of captive nations, too
many others are still held hostage by tyranny, and new
nations still fall victim to the scourge of oppression.
Tragically, even as the wave of freedom and democratic
reform sweeps across Eastern and Central Europe, former
Soviet bloc countries, and nations in South America,
Asia, and Africa, there are still governments that
derive their strength, not from the consent of their
citizens, but from terror, repression, and
exploitation. Too many leaders still fuel the fires of
racial, ethnic, and religious hatred; too many people
still suffer from ignorance, prejudice, and brutality.
As we observe Captive Nations Week this year, let us
reaffirm our commitment to the American ideals of
freedom and justice. Let us strengthen our resolve to
promote respect for human rights and self-determination
for women and men of every nationality, creed, and
race. Let us continue to speak out for those who have
no voice. It is our Nation's obligation to do so, as
the world's best hope for lasting peace and freedom and
as a source of enduring inspiration to oppressed
peoples everywhere.
The Congress, by Joint Resolution approved July 17,
1959 (73 Stat. 212), has authorized and requested the
President to issue a proclamation designating the third
week in July of each year as ``Captive Nations Week.''
[[Page 39414]]
NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of
the United States of America, do hereby proclaim July
20 through July 26, 1997, as Captive Nations Week. I
call upon the people of the United States to observe
this week with appropriate ceremonies and activities
and to rededicate ourselves to supporting the cause of
human rights, liberty, peace, and self-determination
for all the peoples of the world.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
eighteenth day of July, in the year of our Lord
nineteen hundred and ninety-seven, and of the
Independence of the United States of America the two
hundred and twenty-second.
(Presidential Sig.)
[FR Doc. 97-19477
Filed 7-21-97; 10:38 am]
Billing code 3195-01-P
