[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 137 (Thursday, October 17, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1904]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       SUPPORT FOR NATO EXPANSION

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. ROBERT T. MATSUI

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, October 16, 2002

  Mr. MATSUI. Mr. Speaker, I rise to express my support for House 
Resolution 468, which this body overwhelmingly passed on October 7, 
2002. This resolution expresses the support of the House for 
enlargement of NATO that will take place at the Prague Summit next 
month. The resolution endorses the candidacy of countries that satisfy 
the membership criteria of the alliance and are willing and able to 
contribute to the security of the North Atlantic community and the war 
against terrorism. An enlarged NATO that is prepared to grapple with 
the challenges presented by conventional and unconventional threats is 
in America's vital interest.
  Only a vibrant and strong NATO will be able to meet these formidable 
challenges. And this requires the candidate countries to remain 
committed to the shared democratic values of respect for the rule of 
law and minority rights. The full protection of minority rights of the 
ethnic communities of Central and Eastern Europe will extend the zone 
of democracy and ensure the security that is a direct consequence of 
genuine stability.
  An important but not exclusive element of the respect for civil and 
minority rights is the restoration of religious and educational 
properties to those ethnic communities, such as the Hungarian 
minorities in Romania and Slovakia, where they had been confiscated by 
earlier totalitarian regimes. Restitution of these communal properties 
has been too slow.
  I urge these new democracies to immediately and vigorously pursue the 
process of restitution until satisfactorily and fully completed. 
Resolution of this important question will constitute the kind of 
demonstrable commitment to democracy and shared Western values that 
will serve these countries well both before and after Prague. It will 
also be favorably received by the United States that deems fair 
treatment of religious and national minorities to be indispensable for 
a democracy.

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