[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 139 (Wednesday, July 19, 2000)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 44641-44642]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-18425]


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                         Presidential Documents 
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  Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 139 / Wednesday, July 19, 2000 / 
Presidential Documents  

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 Title 3--
 The President

[[Page 44641]]

                Proclamation 7330 of July 14, 2000

                
Captive Nations Week, 2000

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                When President Eisenhower signed the first Captive 
                Nations Week Proclamation in 1959, the fate of freedom 
                around the world was still far from certain. While the 
                United States and our Allies had defeated Adolf Hitler 
                and the Axis Powers in World War II, a partitioned 
                Berlin stood as a bleak symbol of a divided Europe, and 
                millions throughout Asia, Africa, and South America 
                continued to suffer under communist and authoritarian 
                regimes.

                Today, as we embark on a new century, democracy is on 
                the rise across the globe. More than half the world's 
                people live under governments of their own choosing. 
                The Iron Curtain has been lifted, allowing the light of 
                liberty into the nations of Central and Eastern Europe. 
                Democratic rule has swept through the countries of 
                Latin America, replacing abusive military regimes with 
                elected civilian governments. And in Africa and Asia, 
                many nations have finally gained independence.

                This rising tide of freedom is no accident of history; 
                it was achieved through the courage, determination, and 
                sacrifice of millions of men and women here in America 
                and in captive nations around the world. Whether 
                speaking out in the halls of the United Nations for 
                those silenced by oppressive regimes, standing guard 
                through frigid nights on the DMZ in Korea, or sharing 
                the fruits of liberty through the Peace Corps, 
                generations of Americans have made sure that our 
                country is an ally and source of hope for all people 
                yearning for freedom and dignity. Around the globe, 
                freedom-loving people have risked and often sacrificed 
                their lives to end oppression, whether uniting against 
                tyranny through the Solidarity movement in Poland or 
                defying intimidation and violence to vote in free 
                elections in El Salvador and Nicaragua.

                The tide keeps turning toward democracy, human rights, 
                and free market economies. Yet there remain tyrants who 
                use brutality, ethnic cleansing, guns, and prisons to 
                silence voices of reason and tolerance within their 
                countries. As a Nation born of the ideals of freedom, 
                justice, and human dignity, America has a solemn 
                obligation to continue speaking out on behalf of these 
                still-captive nations and their people and lend them 
                our support. We draw strength for this task from the 
                knowledge that our cause is right and inspiration from 
                the people of former captive nations who are 
                flourishing today.

                The Congress, by Joint Resolution approved July 17, 
                1959 (73 Stat. 212), has authorized and requested the 
                President to issue a proclamation designating the third 
                week in July of each year as ``Captive Nations Week.''

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the 
                United States of America, do hereby proclaim July 16 
                through July 22, 2000, as Captive Nations Week. I call 
                upon the people of the United States to observe this 
                week with appropriate ceremonies and activities and to 
                rededicate ourselves to the principles of freedom, 
                human rights, and self-determination for all the 
                peoples of the world.

[[Page 44642]]

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                fourteenth day of July, in the year of our Lord two 
                thousand, and of the Independence of the United States 
                of America the two hundred and twenty-fifth.

                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 00-18425
Filed 7-18-00; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3195-01-P