    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1995, Book I)]
    [March 31, 1995]
    [Pages 437-438]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks at an Arrival Ceremony in Port-au-Prince
    March 31, 1995

        The President. President Aristide, Mr. Secretary-General,
    distinguished guests, and citizens of a free and democratic Haiti, bon-
    jour.
        I am deeply honored by President Aristide's invitation to speak with
    you today. In the many months we have known each other, I have learned
    firsthand of President Aristide's tremendous courage. His strength in
    the face of great challenge reflects the unbreakable will of the Haitian
    people. We respect him as the President you elected freely and fairly
    and for his leadership of all Haitians since his return.
        Today we come together as friends. Today, once again, we give life
    to the ideals of democracy, justice, and freedom. Today we celebrate the
    restoration of democracy to your country. Never, never again must it be
    stolen away.
        For centuries, the Haitian people have known little more than blood
    and terror. You have been robbed of opportunity and deprived of basic
    rights. Your children have grown up with too much violence. From Cite
    Soleil to the smallest village in the farthest corner of your land, you
    have sacrificed much in your quest for liberty. Now you stand on the
    brink of a new and more hopeful time. Now you have a chance to make real
    the dreams of those who liberated your nation nearly 200 years ago.
        The tasks ahead will not be easy. Democracy does not flow naturally
    like the rivers, and prosperity does not spring full grown from the
    Earth. Justice does not bloom overnight. To achieve them, you must work
    hard, you must have patience, you must move forward together, with
    tolerance, openness, and cooperation. I believe you can do it, for as
    President Aristide has said, your challenge is great, but your will to
    succeed is greater.
        Your democracy will be maintained and strengthened by free elections
    and respect for the rights and obligations enshrined in your
    Constitution. Your government, the United Nations, and the United States
    will do all we can to guarantee free, fair, and secure elections, first
    in June and then in December. We know from experience that when
    elections are free, fair, and secure, you will participate. That is what
    democracy requires of you, and we know you will do it.
        Your nation has been stripped bare of many of its natural resources.
    But the most important of these resources, you, the people, have
    survived with dignity and hope. As the proverb says, ``Espwa fe viv.''
        Now you have a chance to come together to make the rice fields come
    alive and harvest the corn and millet, to build the schools and clinics
    that promise a better future for your children. We, your neighbors, your
    allies, and your friends, will support your efforts to create jobs, to
    attract investment from beyond your borders, and to rebuild and repair
    your injured land.
        In a few months, the program will begin to pave the 1,000 kilometers
    of your roads. And later this year I will send the American Peace Corps
    here to help to organize the planting of millions of trees. As the roads
    are built and the trees are planted, thousands of you will have jobs. As
    you begin this work, I urge your country men and women who fled the
    terror to return and to help you to rebuild your land and theirs.
        Economic progress will demand much patience. But we will stand with
    you as you tackle the hard and sometimes painful work ahead. Men anpil
    chay pa lou.
        There will be times of great frustration as you build your democracy
    and move toward prosperity. But today, Haiti has more friends than ever
    before. And so once again, I urge each and every citizen of this nation
    to come together in this spirit of unity that President Aristide has so
    eloquently promoted. I can do no better than to repeat his words, ``Say
    no to vengeance, no to revenge, yes to reconciliation.''
        [Inaudible]--take the law into their own hands. Each of you must
    choose, as most of you have already chosen, to build up, not tear down.
    I congratulate you for the patience you have already shown.
        History records that two centuries ago on the eve of your
    independence, and during my nation's Revolutionary War, more than 500 of
    your ancestors came from Haiti to my country and died in the fight to
    bring the United States to life. More than 200 years later, the United
    States is proud to have helped to give you a

    [[Page 438]]

    second chance to build your democracy and bring life to the dreams of
    your liberators.
        I have been told that throughout your land, our soldiers, our
    diplomats, and our volunteers have been greeted by hand-painted signs
    with three simple words. These words go right to their hearts and to
    mine. They are: Thank you, America. Now it is my turn to say, Merci a
    Haiti. Thank you for the warmth of your welcome and your support for all
    who have joined hands with you. Thank you for embracing peace, for
    denying despair, for holding on to hope. Because of your courage,
    because of your determination, freedom can triumph over fear.
        Today we stand in the warm, bright light of liberty, and together we
    can say, Kenbe fem, pa lage. Kenbe fem, pa lage.
        Merci, and thank you.

    Note: The President spoke at 11:16 a.m. at the National Palace. In his
    remarks, he referred to President Jean-Bertrand Aristide of Haiti and
    United Nations Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali. A tape was not
    available for verification of the content of these remarks.