[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 49 (Wednesday, April 23, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E729]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON SENDS GREETINGS TO THE THIRD WORLD 
                  PARLIAMENTARIANS CONVENTION ON TIBET

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. TOM LANTOS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 23, 1997

  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, today here in the Rayburn House Office 
Building the Third World Parliamentarians Convention on Tibet was held. 
Among those who spoke during this conference were His Holiness the 
Dalai Lama and the chairman of the House International Relations 
Committee, our colleague Congressman Benjamin A. Gilman of New York.
  President Bill Clinton sent a message of greeting to the 
parliamentarians of many countries who were assembled here today. Mr. 
Speaker, I am inserting the message of President Clinton into the 
Record. Our President's powerful affirmation of the importance of human 
rights is an important statement that I urge all of my colleagues to 
read:

                                              The White House,

                                       Washington, April 17, 1997.
       Warm greetings to everyone gathered in Washington, D.C., 
     for the Third World Parliamentarians Convention on Tibet. I 
     am pleased to welcome all the participants, and especially 
     His Holiness the Dalai Lama, whose devotion to the Tibetan 
     people and inspiring advocacy of nonviolence and dialogue 
     have earned the world's lasting admiration.
       All Americans cherish the rights guaranteed to us by our 
     founders in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. We have 
     worked to extend them not only to our own citizens, but also 
     to people everywhere, recognizing that these freedoms are the 
     birthright of all humankind. It is heartening that, with the 
     growth and development of the human rights movement, there 
     has been a greater awareness and appreciation that such 
     rights are universal and not limited by political boundaries.
       We must continue to speak out whenever human rights are 
     threatened or denied, and I am grateful for the continuing 
     efforts of leaders like you, who have done so much to advance 
     democracy, human dignity, and religious freedom worldwide.
       Best wishes for a successful convention.

     Bill Clinton.

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