[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 214 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







107th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 214

Designating March 25, 2002, as ``Greek Independence Day: A National Day 
           of Celebration of Greek and American Democracy''.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 4, 2002

   Mr. Specter (for himself, Mr. Allen, Mr. Bennett, Mr. Biden, Mr. 
  Bingaman, Mr. Breaux, Mrs. Carnahan, Mr. Cleland, Mrs. Clinton, Mr. 
Cochran, Ms. Collins, Mr. Daschle, Mr. DeWine, Mr. Dodd, Mr. Domenici, 
 Mr. Durbin, Mr. Edwards, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. Fitzgerald, Mr. Graham, 
  Mr. Grassley, Mr. Gregg, Mr. Hagel, Mr. Harkin, Mr. Hollings, Mrs. 
Hutchison, Mr. Inhofe, Mr. Jeffords, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Kerry, Mr. Kohl, 
 Mr. Levin, Mr. Lieberman, Mr. Lott, Ms. Mikulski, Mr. Murkowski, Mrs. 
    Murray, Mr. Reed, Mr. Reid, Mr. Rockefeller, Mr. Santorum, Mr. 
 Sarbanes, Mr. Sessions, Mr. Schumer, Mr. Shelby, Mr. Smith of Oregon, 
 Ms. Snowe, Mr. Stevens, Mr. Thomas, Mr. Thompson, Mr. Torricelli, Mr. 
 Voinovich, and Mr. Warner) submitted the following resolution; which 
             was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Designating March 25, 2002, as ``Greek Independence Day: A National Day 
           of Celebration of Greek and American Democracy''.

Whereas the ancient Greeks developed the concept of democracy, in which the 
        supreme power to govern was vested in the people;
Whereas the Founding Fathers of the United States drew heavily on the political 
        experience and philosophy of ancient Greece in forming our 
        representative democracy;
Whereas Greek Commander in Chief Petros Mavromichalis, a founder of the modern 
        Greek state, said to the citizens of the United States in 1821, ``it is 
        in your land that liberty has fixed her abode and . . . in imitating 
        you, we shall imitate our ancestors and be thought worthy of them if we 
        succeed in resembling you'';
Whereas Greece is 1 of only 3 nations in the world, beyond the former British 
        Empire, that has been allied with the United States in every major 
        international conflict for more than 100 years;
Whereas Greece played a major role in the World War II struggle to protect 
        freedom and democracy through such bravery as was shown in the historic 
        Battle of Crete and in Greece, presenting the Axis land war with its 
        first major setback, which set off a chain of events that significantly 
        affected the outcome of World War II;
Whereas the price for Greece holding our common values in their region was high, 
        as hundreds of thousands of civilians were killed in Greece in the World 
        War II period;
Whereas President George W. Bush, in a letter to the Prime Minister of Greece, 
        Constantinos Simitis, in January 2001, referred to the ``stable 
        foundations and common values'' that are the basis of relations between 
        Greece and the United States;
Whereas President Bush in his January 10, 2002 meeting with the Greek Prime 
        Minister, said, ``I am most appreciative of your strong stand against 
        terror. You have been a friend in our mutual concerns about routing out 
        terror around the world,'' and, ``I look forward to the Olympics. It's 
        going to be a magnificent moment for the sporting world to have the 
        Olympics return to Athens. I'm confident your country will do a fine 
        job'';
Whereas as a member of NATO, Greece has assigned members of its air force to fly 
        surveillance missions over the United States;
Whereas Greece is a stabilizing force by virtue of its political and economic 
        power in the volatile Balkan region, is one of the fastest growing 
        economies in Europe, and will hold the presidency of the European Union 
        in 2003;
Whereas Greece, geographically located in a region where Christianity meets 
        Islam and Judaism, maintains excellent relations with Muslim nations and 
        Israel;
Whereas Greece has had extraordinary success in recent years in furthering 
        cross-cultural understanding and reducing tensions between Greece and 
        Turkey;
Whereas Greece and the United States are at the forefront of the effort for 
        freedom, democracy, peace, stability, and human rights;
Whereas those and other ideals have forged a close bond between our 2 nations 
        and their peoples;
Whereas March 25, 2002, marks the 181st anniversary of the beginning of the 
        revolution that freed the Greek people from the Ottoman Empire; and
Whereas it is proper and desirable to celebrate with the Greek people and to 
        reaffirm the democratic principles from which our 2 great nations were 
        born: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) designates March 25, 2002, as ``Greek Independence Day: 
        A National Day of Celebration of Greek and American 
        Democracy''; and
            (2) requests that the President issue a proclamation 
        calling on the people of the United States to observe the day 
        with appropriate ceremonies and activities.
                                 <all>