[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 31 (Friday, March 8, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E318-E319]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   LEONID KUCHMA, PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE, RECEIVES FREEDOM HOUSE 1996 
                             FREEDOM AWARD

                                 ______


                            HON. TOM LANTOS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, March 8, 1996

  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to join Freedom House in paying 
tribute to His Excellency Leonid Kuchma, President of Ukraine. Recently 
he was the honored recipient of the Freedom Award for his contributions 
to regional stability and ethnic relations in the Ukraine. The award is 
given periodically by Freedom House, one of our country's oldest human 
rights groups. It was established in 1941 to encourage American public 
support for the struggle against Fascism, and through the years it has 
been a leading voice for tolerance, human dignity, human rights, and 
freedom.
  Previous recipients of this distinguished award include Dwight 
Eisenhower in 1945, Edward R. Morrow in 1954, Winston Churchill in 
1955, 15 Soviet dissidents in 1973, the Dalai Lama in 1991, and Czech 
President Vaclav Havel in 1991.
  President Kuchma was honored at a gala dinner at the Mayflower Hotel 
in Washington attended by some 500 Government and congressional 
leaders, members of the diplomatic corps, corporate and business 
executives, leaders of the nongovernment organizations, and leaders of 
the Ukrainian-American community.
  President Kuchma has served as President of Ukraine since July 9, 
1994. His election marked the first democratic Presidential transition 
in the Republics of the former Soviet Union. His policy priorities have 
included initiating a program of market reforms, securing Western 
financial assistance to his country, normalizing relations with Russia, 
facilitating the passage by the Ukrainian Parliament of the Nuclear 
Non-Proliferation Treaty, promoting interethnic harmony, and 
strengthening Ukrainian statehood and security.
  President Kuchma is an engineer by profession. He served as technical 
director of rocket testing at the Soviet Baikonur Space Center and as 
general director of the Southern Machine-Building Plant in 
Dnipropetrovsk,

[[Page E319]]

Ukraine. After serving 1\1/2\ years as a deputy in the Ukrainian 
Parliament, Mr. Kuchma became Prime Minister and served in that post 
from October 1992 until September 1993.
  After leaving the post of Prime Minister, Mr. Kuchma became president 
of the Ukrainian Association of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, which 
brought together top business leaders and managers from over 14,000 
enterprises and workplaces throughout Ukraine. He also led the 
Interregional Block for Reform, a centrist faction in Parliament, until 
his election as President of Ukraine.
  In his opening remarks at the gala dinner honoring President Kuchma, 
Ambassador Mark Palmer, former United States envoy to Hungary, praised 
the Freedom House democracy-building programs in Ukraine--a 
strategically important country of 52 million people which covers an 
area the size of France which lies in the very heart of Europe. He 
praised President Kuchma for his determined commitment to democracy and 
economic reform.
  United States Ambassador at Large for the Newly Independent States, 
James Collins, underlined Ukraine's strategic importance in Europe, and 
cited President Kuchma for his contribution to regional stability and 
peace. He reiterated American material and moral support for Ukraine's 
efforts to preserve its national identity and build a truly pluralistic 
and free society while maintaining good relations with the West, and 
abiding international agreements on nuclear weapons and troop strengths 
in Europe.
  Dr. Zbigniew Brzezinski, former National Security Advisor, the 
President and Freedom House Trustee, praised President Kuchma for 
moving firmly in the right direction and making his country a 
constructive partner in the international community. He also praised 
the courage and determination of the Ukrainian people who tenaciously 
maintained their language, customs, and history through centuries of 
foreign and Communist domination.
  Following Ukraine's achievement of freedom at long last, it has 
demonstrated remarkable political stability. Dr. Brzezinski called 
attention to the fact that the transition to President Kuchma from his 
predecessor was a peaceful change carried out through free and fair 
elections--the first such transition in among all of the former 
Republics of the Soviet Union. The countries of Central and Eastern 
Europe and the former Soviet Union could earn much from Ukraine, Dr. 
Brzezinski noted. Ukraine has achieved relative ethnic stability, with 
Ukrainians, Russians, Jews, Poles, and Crimean Tatars living in 
relative harmony.
  In his address accepting the award, President Kuchma assured American 
leaders that Ukraine wants to remain a part of Europe, and he pledged 
continued cooperation with NATO, the European Community, and other 
economic and regional organizations. The President said, however, that 
if Ukraine is to be successful in becoming an integral part of Europe, 
then the countries of Europe and their leaders must be willing to move 
toward Ukraine through economic cooperation, trade, and closer 
political links.
  Mr. Speaker, I invite my colleagues in the Congress to join me in 
extending congratulations to President Kuchma personally--as well as to 
the Government of Ukraine and to the Ukrainian people--for this well-
deserved and most appropriate honor. I also invite my colleagues to 
join me in paying tribute to Freedom House and to its leaders who 
played key roles in honoring President Kuchma--Vice Chairman of the 
Board Mark Palmer, Trustee Zbigniew Brzezinksi, and President Adrian 
Karatnycky.

                          ____________________