[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.