    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1993, Book I)]
    [June 15, 1993]
    [Pages 857-858]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    [[Page 857]]

    Statement on International Broadcasting Programs
    June 15, 1993

        Today I am pleased to take an important step in the promotion of
    democracy by putting in place my proposal for strengthening one of the
    most effective foreign policy tools we have, our international
    broadcasting programs, for the spread of our values, our ideas, and our
    democratic way of life can help strengthen our security and support
    others around the world in their struggle for freedom.
        I am pleased to be joined in this effort by the Director of the U.S.
    Information Agency, Dr. Joseph Duffey, and the Chair of the Board of
    International Broadcasting, Congressman Dan Mica. These programs have
    been and will be an essential part of our efforts to promote democracy
    and advance America's interests abroad.
        Our plan proposes a proud rebirth of America's broadcasting programs
    to reflect this post-cold-war era. Our proposal preserves Radio Free
    Europe and Radio Liberty, which played such an important role in
    bringing freedom to Central and Eastern Europe and to the states of the
    former Soviet Union. It retains our other important broadcasting
    services, such as Voice of America, Radio Marti, and TV Marti, which
    have played such an important role in bringing truth and hope abroad.
    And our plan reorganizes our foreign broadcasting services to make them
    stronger, more efficient, and more capable of meeting this era's new
    challenges of fostering democracy and civic reconstruction.
        Our victory in the cold war was due not only to the strength of our
    forces but also to the power of our ideas. While we acted to contain
    Soviet expansionism, we also sought to inspire freedom's spirit where
    repression reigned. Voice of America long played an important role in
    that effort. And to advance that same cause, 40 years ago we began a
    radio service, Radio Liberty, which aimed to join freedom's advocates
    behind the Iron Curtain with freedom-loving Americans. The founders of
    this and the other American radio services understood that truth is one
    of our most potent weapons in the fight against communism and
    totalitarianism.
        The heroes of the cold war's end, such as Polish President Lech
    Walesa and Czech President Vaclav Havel, have often noted the importance
    they attach to Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty to their own historic
    work on behalf of liberty and democracy. Radio Free Europe and Radio
    Liberty, together with our other broadcasting services, have
    persistently challenged the ability of repressive leaders to deny
    history, disfigure truth, and manipulate minds. From Havana to Ho Chi
    Minh City, from Pretoria to Prague, our foreign broadcast services
    helped prove a lesson that Americans must never forget: An informed and
    enlightened populace is the mightiest adversary tyranny can ever face.
        Today, the challenges have changed for the states that were once
    held captive behind the Iron Curtain. Freedom's work is not completed.
    Most of these states are undergoing a difficult process of consolidating
    democracy's gains and building prosperity's foundations. The resulting
    economic and political tensions in many of these nations have bred
    demagogs and warlords who threaten to reverse democracy's recent
    progress. These states and many others still need a source of news that
    is reliably free from the manipulation of their own governments. No
    nation has more credibility to provide such news than the United States.
    That is why our radio and other international broadcasting services will
    continue to be vital as we seek to help strengthen new democracies and
    bolster the development of democratic institutions where they do not yet
    exist.
        The plan we are announcing today will make those services stronger
    and better suited to this era:
        We will continue the operation of Radio Free Europe and Radio
    Liberty. Many of our broadcasting services, including both of these
    radios and Voice of America, will undergo some changes in structure and
    budget.
        We will create a new and independent Board of Governors that will
    oversee not only Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty but the Voice of
    America and other foreign broadcasting services as well. Located within
    the United States Information Agency, it will replace and perform
    similar tasks to the Board of International Broadcasting. The new board,
    which the President shall appoint with the advice and consent of the
    Senate, will ensure independence, coher-

    [[Page 858]]

    ence, quality, and journalistic integrity in our surrogate and other
    broadcast services.
        This new board will play an important role in determining the best
    mix of broadcasting functions: telling America's story to the rest of
    the world, reporting objective international news, providing accurate
    in-country news where a free press is not yet developed, and from time
    to time helping to transmit our Government's official views abroad.
        This new board will also take a leadership role in helping to create
    a new Asian Democracy Radio to provide accurate local and international
    information for the people of Asia whose governments still suppress the
    truth.
        In addition, we will continue the good work of our important
    broadcasting services aimed at speeding the arrival of freedom in Cuba,
    Radio Marti and TV Marti. The current structure of these entities and
    their boards will remain.
        We will encourage the establishment of independent news-gathering
    and broadcast operations in the countries of Eastern Europe and the new
    independent states themselves, where they can be rewoven into the fabric
    of democratic life.
        By bringing our broadcasting resources together under one roof, we
    can achieve substantial savings while at the same time providing for
    greater flexibility to target and shape our broadcasts as may be
    warranted by changing international circumstances and audience
    interests. We can also take better advantage of the remarkable
    technological developments in worldwide broadcasting that are imminent.
        The plan we are announcing today was developed through the hard work
    and cooperation of many individuals, but I particularly want to
    acknowledge the leadership of Congressman Dan Mica and Dr. Duffey. I
    also want to acknowledge the high degree of professionalism and
    dedication among those individuals who have done so much to create the
    excellence of the Voice of America, Radio Free Europe, and Radio Liberty
    and our other broadcasting services. They spent years of their lives,
    and often risked their own lives, to bring accurate news and the message
    of democracy to people who have been denied both, and we will continue
    to rely on their excellent service.
        I have said that my foreign policy is premised on promoting
    democracy, improving our security, and revitalizing our economy. The
    plan we are announcing today assists us in doing all three.