[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 74 (Tuesday, June 3, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1094-E1095]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




REMARKS OF CHAIRMAN BENJAMIN GILMAN BEFORE THE POLISH AMERICAN CONGRESS

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. WILLIAM F. GOODLING

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 3, 1997

  Mr. GOODLING. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge the recent 
address of Congressman Benjamin Gilman before the Polish American 
Congress. Mr. Gilman spoke to the Congress on the anniversary of the 
3rd of May Polish Constitution of 1791. The address, received by Polish 
Prime Minister Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz, was very insightful. Mr. 
Gilman, the distinguished chairman of the House International Relations 
Committee, spoke of the past and future of Polish democracy and the 
democratic fate of all of Eastern Europe. I commend Chairman Gilman's 
remarks to all of my colleagues.

   Chairman Benjamin A. Gilman's Remarks on the Commemoration of the 
       Anniversary of the 3rd of May Polish Constitution of 1791

       Good Morning.
       I am pleased to be here with all of you this morning, and 
     with our honored guest, Prime Minister Cimoszewicz of Poland.

[[Page E1095]]

       Welcome to you, Mr. Prime Minister, and to all of my good 
     friends here today from the Polish American Congress.
       Today, on the anniversary of the adoption of the Polish 
     Constitution of 1791, we look back over the troubled history 
     of Poland during the last two centuries.
       We remember the Polish nation dismembered by its neighbors.
       We see that nation then resurrected, but soon subjected yet 
     again to a horrible fascist occupation.
       We recall that the Polish nation was then freed again--only 
     to be taken captive by communism.
       Finally, in 1989, the nation of Poland emerged from its 
     suffering and repression--almost two hundred years after the 
     adoption of the May 3rd Constitution.
       Keenly aware of this history, the question that has 
     troubled many Poles since 1989 is this:
       Will Poland once again fall victim to invasion or 
     dictatorship?
       I want to share with you this morning my conviction that 
     the answer is no.
       Of course we cannot overlook the threats to democracy and 
     sovereignty that exist even today in Eastern Europe and that 
     can confront any one of the struggling democracies in that 
     region.
       One need only look to events now occurring in Belarus, 
     Poland's neighbor, to realize that even today a determined 
     dictator can subvert constitutional democracy.
       One need only look to Russia's continuing desire to 
     exercise its power over the states of Eastern Europe and over 
     the states of the former Soviet Union to realize that 
     imperialism and aggression can quickly challenge the 
     stability of much of Europe.
       One need only realize that the reunification of Belarus 
     with Russia may well be a real prospect--and an event that, 
     should it occur, could change the face of Eastern Europe 
     overnight.
       It is my belief, however, that the policies that Poland has 
     followed since 1989 will overcome those challenges and will, 
     in fact, make Poland an anchor for the countries of Central 
     and Eastern Europe that are also seeking democracy and 
     security.
       I have had opportunities in the last few months to speak 
     about Poland's foreign policy at gatherings attended by 
     Polish-Americans and to express my satisfaction with the 
     positive trends I have seen in that foreign policy.
       Let me just say this morning that Poland has followed a 
     positive foreign policy to the West by eliminating obstacles 
     to good relations with Germany and seeking integration into 
     the NATO Alliance and the European Union.
       It has also followed a positive foreign policy to its East, 
     recognizing that the fate of countries such as Ukraine and 
     Lithuania are vital to its national security and acting to 
     support those countries' integration into European and trans-
     Atlantic institutions as well as its own.
       Ladies and Gentlemen, I also have little fear for the 
     success of Polish democracy.
       The Polish people have made it clear that they want and 
     expect Poland to be a mature democracy.
       Free and fair elections have been held.
       A modern Parliament is now working in Warsaw.
       A peaceful and democratic transfer of presidential power 
     has taken place.
       And now, as we commemorate the anniversary of the May 3rd 
     Constitution, the Polish people are preparing to decide on a 
     new constitution that will guide their new democracy in the 
     coming years.
       Whatever the Polish people's decision on that new 
     constitution may be, we can see that, ultimately, much of 
     what the framers of the May 3rd Constitution sought for their 
     country has now come to pass:
       We see today a peaceful, democratic Poland.
       We see a Poland free from the threat of invasion and 
     working to ensure that it remains free.
       We see the nation of Poland now free to seek its prosperity 
     as a full member of the European community of nations.
       While the Polish Constitution of 1791 was written only 
     shortly before the nation of Poland entered into its two 
     centuries of repression and dictatorship, that document has 
     never been forgotten by Poles, who saw in it the symbol of a 
     resurrected nation.
       Today, as Poland has been re-born into a new era of 
     democracy, we see that the promise of the May 3rd 
     Constitution has been fulfilled.
       On this important occasion, I extend my best wishes to the 
     Polish nation as it moves forward to a bright future of 
     peace, democracy and prosperity.

     

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