[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 220 (Thursday, November 14, 2019)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 62429-62430]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-24876]


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  Federal Register / Vol. 84 , No. 220 / Thursday, November 14, 2019 / 
Presidential Documents  

[[Page 62429]]


                Proclamation 9965 of November 8, 2019

                
World Freedom Day, 2019

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                Thirty years ago, the people of East and West Berlin 
                came together to tear down a symbol of totalitarianism. 
                For more than 10,000 days, the Berlin Wall stood as a 
                troubling reminder of a deeply divided world, an evil 
                obstacle to freedom and individual liberty. When the 
                wall finally came down, it marked a triumphant defeat 
                of communism, a monumental victory for democratic 
                principles, and a righteous end to the nearly five-
                decades-long Cold War. On World Freedom Day, we 
                remember those who suffered as they longed for freedom 
                behind the Iron Curtain, and we recognize those 
                relentlessly fighting today to break free from the 
                shackles of oppression.

                Any system of government that impedes the God-given 
                rights of the people is destined to fail because the 
                flame of liberty cannot be extinguished. As President 
                Ronald Reagan said at the Brandenburg Gate in West 
                Berlin, ``The totalitarian world produces backwardness 
                because it does such violence to the spirit, thwarting 
                the human impulse to create, to enjoy, to worship.'' On 
                that fateful day in 1989, we saw--with every falling 
                piece of rubble--that the human impulse for freedom 
                cannot long be suppressed. Regimes that attempt to stop 
                the free flow of ideas, the right of a people to choose 
                their own government, and the blessings of free 
                enterprise will inevitably suffer the same fate as the 
                Berlin Wall.

                While authoritarian powers seek to collapse the 
                progress and alliances that have developed in the three 
                decades since the fall of the Berlin Wall, the United 
                States stands firm in our commitment to uphold the 
                democratic values at the bedrock of every free society. 
                Today, our Nation works in tandem with our allies and 
                partners to safeguard the precious freedoms that fuel 
                prosperity and ensure stability around the globe. Bad 
                actors will continually try to weaken our cause and sow 
                discord, but democratic bonds will always prevail.

                This World Freedom Day, we pay tribute to the heroes 
                who helped liberate Eastern and Central Europe from 
                communist oppression, securing liberty for millions. We 
                also reaffirm our support of those everywhere who 
                pursue the noble cause of freedom.

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the 
                United States of America, by virtue of the authority 
                vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the 
                United States, do hereby proclaim November 9, 2019, as 
                World Freedom Day. I call upon the people of the United 
                States to observe this day with appropriate ceremonies 
                and activities, reaffirming our dedication to freedom 
                and democracy.

[[Page 62430]]

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                eighth day of November, in the year of our Lord two 
                thousand nineteen, and of the Independence of the 
                United States of America the two hundred and forty-
                fourth.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 2019-24876
Filed 11-13-19; 11:15 am]
Billing code 3295-F0-P