[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 108 (Monday, July 28, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1540-E1541]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


              THE 39TH OBSERVANCE OF CAPTIVE NATIONS WEEK

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. GERALD B.H. SOLOMON

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, July 28, 1997

  Mr. SOLOMON. Mr. Speaker, it is with a deep sense of personal 
conviction and pride that I submit for the Record an authoritative 
proclamation on Captive Nations Week, the 39th Observance, based on 
Public Law 86-90 and reflected in proclamations and observances of 
States and cities across our Nation this past third full week of July, 
20-26.
  In personal conviction, I am fully convinced that P.L. 86-90--which 
is uniquely vindicated by the historic changes these past 8 years in 
Central/East Europe, Central Asia, Africa, and Central America--will be 
completely vindicated as freedom forces in the world's democracies 
concentrate on the remaining captive nations under Communist party 
dictatorships in the People's Republic of China, Vietnam, Laos, North 
Korea, and Cuba. Unresolved issues

[[Page E1541]]

also remain in the Russian Federation, to mention Chechenia as only one 
example.
  In humble pride, it is a source of satisfaction that I have been 
playing a role in this nearby 40-year tradition begun by the 86th 
Congress and President Eisenhower and indelibly imprinted in our 
history by President Reagan and the ``evil empire'' concept. In short, 
for our own well-being and peace, a tradition of America's dedication 
to expressive freedom, democracy, free market economy, human rights, 
national independence, and the surcease of empires and imperial 
``spheres of influence''.
  Definitely certain that all who commemorated this 39th observance 
share these convictions and civic pride, I deem it an honor to submit 
the proclamation and the list of its distinguished supporters:

                   Captive Nations Week Proclamation

       Whereas, the Captive Nations Week Resolution, which 
     Congress passed in 1959 and President Eisenhower signed into 
     Public Law 86-90, has been proclaimed by every president 
     since, with identical support by Governors and Mayors across 
     our Nation; and
       Whereas, reflecting the foresight of that Congress and 
     supports, Public Law 86-90 has been uniquely vindicated by 
     the demise of the Soviet Union and the liberation of the most 
     captive nations in Central and East Europe, Central Asia, 
     Africa, and Central America; and
       Whereas, in the total picture and for our national 
     interest, it is imperative to recognize the reality of 
     numerous other captive nations still remaining under 
     totalitarian, communist party dictatorship and the residual 
     Russian Federation structure of imperial control: among 
     others, Mainland China, North Korea, Vietnam, Cuba, Idel-Ural 
     (Tatarstan), Chechenia, the Far Eastern Republic; and
       Whereas, like the former USSR and with a long record of 
     massive human rights violations, the People's Republic of 
     China is in essence an empire under communist party rule, 
     consisting of the Chinese, Tibetan, divided Turkestan, and 
     Inner Mongolian captive nations; and
       Whereas, with its own unresolved cases of non-Russian and 
     Siberyak self determination drivers, the Russian Federation, 
     centered in Moscow, continues to strive imperially for a 
     ``sphere of influence'' in eastern Europe, causing former 
     captive nations like Poland, Lithuania, geopolitical 
     strategic Ukraine, and others to seek their preserved 
     independence and full integration in a free Europe through 
     our assistance in the forms of NATO, aid, and investment; and
       Whereas, in the true spirit that crucial foreign issues are 
     not foreign to our world leadership, economic well-being, and 
     even American lives, Congress by unanimous vote passed P.L. 
     86-90, establishing the third full week in July each year as 
     ``Captive Nations Week,'' and inviting our people to observe 
     in that true spirit the week with appropriate prayers, 
     ceremonies, and activities in support of the just aspirations 
     of the still remaining captive nations and the preservation 
     of the freedom of the former captive nations,
       Received as of today, July 25, 1997 the following Governors 
     and Mayors have issued proclamations of the week: The Hon. 
     Paris N. Glendening of Maryland; The Hon. Fife Symington of 
     Arizona; The Hon. Christine Todd Whitman of New Jersey; The 
     Hon. John Engler of Michigan; The Hon. George Allen of 
     Virginia; The Hon. Tommy Thompson of Wisconsin; The Hon. 
     Frank O'Bannon of Indiana; The Hon. Frank Keating of 
     Oklahoma; The Hon. Lawton Chiles of Florida; The Hon. Terry 
     E. Brandstad of Iowa; The Hon. Bob Miller of Nevada; The Hon. 
     Lincoln Almond of Rhode Island; The Hon. Mel Carnahan of 
     Missouri; The Hon. Gary E. Johnson of New Mexico; the Hon. 
     Pete Wilson of California; The Hon. Zell Miller of Georgia; 
     The Hon. William Weld of Massachusetts; The Hon. Tom Ridge of 
     Pennsylvania and the Mayors; Rudolph Giuliani of New York; 
     Richard Reardon of Los Angeles; and Edward Rendell of 
     Philadelphia.

     

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