[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George H. W. Bush (1991, Book I)]
[June 12, 1991]
[Pages 640-642]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks Following Discussions With President Alfredo Cristiani Buckard 
of El Salvador and an Exchange With Reporters
June 12, 1991

    President Bush. Mr. President, with your permission, let me just say 
that I was delighted to spend time talking and working today with a 
close friend of the United States, President Cristiani of El Salvador. 
And in greeting one of your predecessors, Dwight Eisenhower declared 
that: ``Friends and countries are not measured by the extent of 
territory or the size of their population. They are measured by their 
dedication to their friends, to common values, priceless values that 
free men possess above even life itself.''
    Thirty years later, those words still ring true. Through trying 
circumstances, El Salvador holds fast to its democratic traditions. And 
seven times in 10 years, your courageous countrymen have voted in free 
and fair elections, proving to the world that, in Lincoln's words, ``the 
ballot is stronger than the bullet.''
    Mr. President, time and again you and the people of El Salvador have 
proved your doubters to be wrong. Political rights have flourished 
despite hardship and despite war. And your people enjoy freedom of 
speech like never before. Exiles who once feared for their lives have 
returned, come back

[[Page 641]]

home to campaign for office and build parties.
    You also have begun to lay liberty's cornerstone, the rule of law. 
And you've strengthened the judicial system. You've expanded civilian 
authority over the police and military and you've committed yourself to 
dramatic reductions in armed forces. And you've strengthened protections 
for human rights.
    Soon, the trial of those accused in the 1989 Jesuit murders will 
begin, and we know that you will press to see justice done in the case 
of this despicable crime.
    But as newly-freed people around the globe are learning, political 
freedom is connected to economic freedom. And here, too, your nation has 
taken dramatic strides. When you freed exchange rates, wiped out price 
controls, and clamped down on government spending, your farmers, your 
workers, your investors responded with a burst of creativity and growth. 
Inflation fell last year, and exports rose by 17 percent. And in spite 
of guerrilla attacks on economic targets, your economy grew faster than 
it has since 1978, up 3.4 percent.
    This progress cannot continue indefinitely unless peace finally 
comes to El Salvador. Fortunately, you have led your people toward peace 
and reconciliation. You extended the hand of forgiveness in your 
Inaugural Address, and you told your country that time for negotiations 
had come and you offered to negotiate without precondition. Throughout 
your country and the world, people of goodwill agree that time for peace 
has come.
    And now the FMLN guerrillas must show in word and deed that they 
want peace and its natural counterpart, democracy. The guerrillas agreed 
to negotiate a cease-fire for September of 1989. They showed no 
eagerness at all to meet that deadline. And then they promised the 
foreign ministers of the European Commission a cease-fire by May 30th. 
But they were not truly committed to that deadline either. And the 
killing and destruction, regrettably, continues.
    So, the world must ask: How many more Salvadorans must die before 
the guerrillas understand that Salvadorans want peace and freedom, not 
violence and war? I urge the guerrillas to return to the negotiating 
table and stay there until a cease-fire is reached.
    Mr. President, difficult steps lie ahead. But the world understands 
your commitment to peace, and democracy. The United States and the 
international community fully support your efforts for peace, and we 
will support sound peace accords in your brave land.
    We both serve at a time when freedom and democracy are sweeping the 
globe. Here in the Americas we are building something unprecedented in 
human history--the world's first completely democratic hemisphere. And 
under your leadership, El Salvador has taken a place in that democratic 
community, and within your borders hope flourishes. People have gotten 
into the spirit of national reconciliation and they now tolerate 
opposing views and they support democratic institutions, and they have 
dedicated themselves to preserving human rights. These ingredients 
cannot help but produce peace. And when they do, your people will 
remember that your leadership made peace possible.
    Mr. President, I salute you, sir, for your courage and your 
leadership. You have my full confidence and support, the full confidence 
and support of our entire administration. And Godspeed you, and God 
bless your work on the road to peace for El Salvador. We are delighted 
you came here, sir.
    All yours.
    President Cristiani. Mr. President, first of all, I would like to 
not only thank your kind words that you have just expressed, and I 
certainly receive them not personally, but in the name of all 
Salvadorans.
    As you have expressed, the people of El Salvador have undergone 
quite a task. Hardship has been the name of the game in El Salvador for 
the past 10, 12 years. And the Salvadorans have always shown in general 
that they want peace, that they want democracy, and they want freedom. 
And the freedom of those who want their rights respected is also 
something that is cherished by all Salvadorans.
    And let me just say that the appreciation of the people of El 
Salvador because they have found that in this quest for peace, freedom, 
and democracy, that we have

[[Page 642]]

found a true partner in the United States. And certainly under your 
leadership, Mr. President, this has been increased to levels where we 
cannot but be grateful forever.
    We believe that it has been with the support of the United States 
and other friendly nations that El Salvador has been able to overcome 
the hardships, and that, because of this support, it certainly motivates 
us to continue to work even harder to achieve what we all want to see in 
El Salvador, a truly peaceful society living and progressing as any 
other country in the world is doing.
    I would like to also thank you in the name of all our delegations 
for the kindness that you have shown and also the support that we have 
received from your words and that we go back encouraged to even work 
harder in order to get peace for our people as soon as possible.
    And just let me end by saying also that we lived through your 
endeavors in the Persian Gulf and that from the Salvadoran people there 
is nothing but admiration as to your leadership. The way you handled the 
situation in the Gulf war was something that should be copied by anyone 
who wants to become a leader in their own countries. And we certainly 
can understand the difficulty of that decision that you had to take when 
you had to send young people to die for a cause, but a cause that was 
just and was right. And a cause that we certainly respected, and not 
only respected but also supported fully from our position in El 
Salvador. And we certainly would like to say that there is great 
admiration for yourself and for the people of the United States for 
risking everything in order to preserve the rights anywhere in the 
world. And this is something that also encourages to move forward in 
this task.
    Please let me just end, Mr. President--I know that you have 
expressed once before that you do not like this to be remembered very 
often, but also we would like to wish you a very happy birthday. We hope 
that the difficulties that you just went by with your health are 
certainly over and gone with. And we hope that you can certainly say--we 
can certainly say happy birthday for many, many years more.
    Thank you very much, Mr. President.
    President Bush. Thank you, sir. Thank you so much.

Address on Democratic Policy

    Q. Mr. President, are you going to bash the Democrats tonight?
    President Bush. Stay tuned.
    Q. They're saying all kinds of nasty things about you today.
    President Bush. Oh, it's so discouraging. All I have is pleasant 
things to say about them, because we've got to work together to get a 
lot done. That's what we're trying to do.
    Q. Are you going to release the other $40 million for El Salvador?
    President Bush. I'll tell you one thing--you're not going to hear 
anything if this thunderstorm comes through here and blasts us off our 
own lawn.
    Q. Sir, do you think you can change perceptions that you're more of 
a foreign policy President than a domestic President?
    President Bush. Well, the truth always will out--that's the way I 
look at it. It will be good. This isn't going to be a harsh attack--and 
that's what this is going to be about----
    Q. Are you going to take the high road?
    President Bush. ----feel the one I feel most comfortable on. 
However----[laughter]

                    Note: President Bush spoke at 1:21 p.m. at the South 
                        Portico of the White House. Prior to his 
                        remarks, the two Presidents met privately in the 
                        Oval Office and with U.S. and Salvadoran 
                        officials in the Cabinet Room, and then attended 
                        a luncheon in the Old Family Dining Room. A tape 
                        was not available for verification of the 
                        content of the question-and-answer session 
                        following the Presidents' remarks.