[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 9]
[House]
[Pages 12715-12716]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



  INAUGURATION OF NEW SLOVAK PRESIDENT, THE HONORABLE RUDOLF SCHUSTER

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Mica) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, on behalf of Members of Congress, I wish to 
extend sincere congratulations to the Honorable Rudy Schuster, who will 
be inaugurated as Slovakia's first popularly-elected president.
  In just a few short hours, on June 15 in Bratislava, the capital of 
Slovakia, a dynamic new leader will assume the presidency of one of 
Eastern Europe's most promising democracies. This is a significant step 
for the Slovak Republic, a country that only gained its independence in 
January of 1993.
  For nearly 1,000 years the Slovak people have been dominated by 
others, so the popular election of Rudy Schuster and his inauguration 
is a special milestone in the history of this newly-emerging 
independent Nation.
  It has been my great pleasure to personally know this man, who will 
assume the Slovak presidency. Rudy Schuster has been an outstanding 
mayor of Slovakia's second largest city, Kosice. In that city, Rudy 
Schuster has worked to spur economic and community development. He

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championed historic preservation and restoration. He provided minority 
housing and promoted privatization.
  I have had the opportunity to see firsthand both the achievements of 
this dynamic leader and observe his ability to effectively govern. How 
fortunate the people of Slovakia and the West are to have such a 
capable and visionary individual helping to lead this new Nation at 
this time.
  The people of Slovakia are to be commended for looking to the future 
with Rudy Schuster's election. Working with the new progressive 
parliamentary coalition, the potential for solving some of Slovakia's 
difficult challenges holds great promise.
  As Mr. Schuster assumes the office of president, it is critical that 
he and his country's other leaders work together to address the 
problems of unemployment, privatization, and alignment with Western and 
European economic and security organizations.
  It is essential that Slovakia, which borders five European nations, 
now take its rightful place as a full participant in the European and 
Western marketplace. It is critical that in the future, Slovakia be 
admitted to NATO, as it now shares 87 percent of its borders with this 
Western security alliance. It is vital to American interests that this 
new democracy of 5 million people strategically located in the very 
heart of Europe succeeds as it makes the difficult transition from 
socialism to free enterprise.
  With the popular election of Rudy Schuster as president, Slovakia has 
a golden opportunity to prosper and set an example for other former 
Soviet bloc countries. The Slovaks have survived domination by other 
people, monarchies, other countries, communism, and Hitler. These 
resilient people have waited a long time to elect their own president.
  How pleased I am, as the grandson of a Slovak immigrant, to 
congratulate my friend and a great leader on the occasion of his 
inauguration, the Honorable Rudy Schuster, the first popularly elected 
president of the Slovak Republic. June 15 will be a great day for those 
who respect and promote democracy, for without intervention, without 
the pain and the agony that we have seen in other parts of the world 
recently, the people of Slovakia have demonstrated that even those who 
have been the most oppressed can never have the spirit of freedom and 
self-determination permanently separated from their souls.

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