    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1997, Book II)]
    [November 22, 1997]
    [Pages 1631-1633]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks on Arrival and an Exchange With Reporters in Denver, Colorado
    November 22, 1997

        The President. Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to make a few
    remarks about the conference that I'm about to leave for, of Asia-
    Pacific leaders in Vancouver. But before I do, I'd like to say a couple
    of words about a topic the city of Denver is very much focused on now.
        Recently, this wonderful city has witnessed several vicious, violent
    crimes. The Justice Department has opened a civil rights investigation
    into at least one of those cases; therefore, I cannot comment
    specifically on it. But I can say this: We must not, and I know the
    people of Denver will not, tolerate acts of violence that are fed by
    hate against people of another color. And we must not tolerate violence
    and hatred targeted against police officers, the people who put their
    lives on the line for us every day. And finally, we must honor and
    support the efforts of our fellow Americans, like the courageous woman
    here in Denver, who act to prevent or mitigate such violence.
        These tragic incidents are painful illustrations of why our recent
    White House Conference on Hate Crimes and our race initiative are so
    important and why we have to do more to combat acts like this and to
    prevent them, by removing the poison that breeds them from all our
    hearts.
        Let me also say it is wonderful to be back in Denver. I appreciate
    Governor Romer and Congressman Skaggs and Congresswoman DeGette for
    flying out here with me. And I was glad to be greeted by Mrs. Webb and a
    number of other officials. I want to thank the people of Denver again
    for the wonderful job they did in hosting the Summit of the Eight this
    summer. I'd also like to say a special word of appreciation to
    Congressman Skaggs, as he leaves his career in Congress, for all that he
    has done.
        Now, as you all know, I'm on my way to Vancouver for a summit of
    leaders of the Asia-Pacific region, to continue our efforts to build a
    community of Asia-Pacific nations dedicated to working together for
    security, prosperity, and peace.
        America is and must remain a Pacific power as we enter the 21st
    century. Our security demands it. We fought 3 wars in Asia in this
    century; 37,000 American troops still stand guard for freedom in Korea;
    a profound transition is underway in China, the most populous nation in
    the world. Our prosperity requires it because Asia buys nearly a third
    of what we sell abroad, supporting millions of high-paying American
    jobs. More than ever, America's future and Asia's future are joined.
        With such deep stakes in the region, our security and our economic
    interests must go hand in hand, including strengthening our security
    alliances in the region with Japan and other nations; building a
    constructive relationship with China; promoting peace on the Korean
    Peninsula, where I am very pleased that we have a glimmer of hope in the
    initiation next month

    [[Page 1632]]

    of the first permanent peace talks since the end of the Korean war; and
    opening the markets to American goods and services. APEC is an important
    forum for encouraging partnership and progress in these areas.
        In 1993, I convened the first meeting ever of Asia-Pacific leaders
    in Blake Island, where we embraced a common vision of an Asia-Pacific
    community, of shared strength and prosperity and peace. Since then, we
    committed to achieve free trade in the area by 2020. We forged a
    blueprint to achieve our goal. We laid the foundation last year with
    concrete market opening initiatives, including an information technology
    agreement that cuts to zero tariffs in computers, semiconductors, and
    telecommunications. This amounts to a $5 billion cut on the sales of
    American high-tech products abroad, a cut that will lead, we believe, to
    hundreds of thousands of new high-paying American jobs.
        Now, in Vancouver, we'll take the steps to make APEC work for our
    people. One of our top priorities there will be strengthening and
    stabilizing Asia's financial markets so that their economies and ours
    stay on the right track. That's important for America because our
    economic strength is increasingly tied to theirs.
        To lay the groundwork for future growth, I'll also keep pushing to
    reduce barriers of trade to American products. These international trade
    and financial flows have helped to drive Asia's strong growth in the
    past, and if the leaders act aggressively to promote financial stability
    and to keep opening the markets at the same time, Asia's future growth
    prospects, and therefore America's, are stronger.
        Our approach to financial stability stands on two pillars. First,
    each country must take responsibility for putting sound economic
    policies in place, including open and reliable economic information and
    solid financial deregulation--regulation, excuse me--to bolster investor
    confidence.
        Second, the international community must be prepared to help
    countries that are taking the right measures themselves, with the
    International Monetary Fund playing the central role.
        Last week in Manila, our Asian-Pacific financial officials created a
    framework to promote these principles, establishing a process for
    countries to provide speedy financial support on a case-by-case basis to
    help a neighbor bolster its reserve with a second line of defense after
    IMF funding; setting up a regional forum to monitor, identify, and
    address risks to financial stability before they escalate; and
    recommending that in our global economy, where capital flows are faster
    than ever, the IMF create a new window for providing short-term
    financing. I'll be working closely with the other leaders in Vancouver
    to advance this framework for action. I'll also be working to keep on
    tearing down barriers to trade where America's competitiveness is
    strong.
        Already, our exports to Asia are worth $250 billion. Imagine the
    opportunity for our workers and businesses as trade barriers are cut
    further. In all my discussion with Asian and with Latin American
    leaders, my message is clear: We need to keep working to open these
    markets; it's the best path for prosperity, for growth, for good jobs,
    for better lives for people in America and people in all these other
    nations.
        We can build this future of better prosperity, stability, and
    prosperity we committed ourselves to in Blake Island, Washington, in
    1993 if we keep working on it in Vancouver.
        Thank you very much.

    Situation in Iraq

        Q. Mr. President--[inaudible]--sanctions on Iraq?
        The President. I reiterated my position, and I'll be glad to say it
    again. The United States is concerned about the welfare of the people of
    Iraq; we don't want to see them suffer unnecessarily. We took the lead
    in putting in place a policy in the United Nations that permits us to
    expand humanitarian assistance there. But the most important thing is
    that those inspectors need to be back at work, and they need to work
    without impediment. Mr. Butler gave a report today to the United Nations
    Security Council which points out that there are still impediments to
    their work, and he recommends a more robust inspection regime. That is
    what we need to focus on.
        I understand President Yeltsin's position, and I thank him for the
    work they did to end the crisis, at least temporarily--we hope it's
    ended permanently, but we're not sure. But keep in mind, it is more
    difficult for these inspectors to do their work with regard to
    biological and chemical weapons than it is with regard to missile and
    nuclear issues under their jurisdiction. And we have to do more.
        And again I say, I want to compliment the members of the press. We
    sometimes have our

    [[Page 1633]]

    differences, but I think there has been a real effort to make the public
    aware of the storage of chemical and biological agents that Iraq
    admitted having in 1989 and now has no records, cannot produce records
    proving it destroyed--and then the admitted stores that were there in
    1995, just 2 years ago.
        So I just want to--what I emphasized to President Yeltsin is we have
    come a long way by working together, and we have to continue to work
    together. And the decisions about what to do with the inspections should
    be made based on the evidence, the facts, and the professional judgment
    of the inspectors. Neither the political inclinations of the United
    States nor of our allies should control those decisions.
        This is about the future safety not only of the people in Iran and
    on its borders but indeed of the whole world. It's not hard to carry
    this stuff around in small amounts once it's developed.
        So it was a very good conversation, a very forthright one, and I
    thought a constructive one, and I believe it will enable us to take the
    next steps by working together.
        Thank you very much.

    Note: The President spoke at 11:58 a.m. at the Denver International
    Airport. In his remarks, he referred to Jeannie VanVelkinburgh, a
    bystander wounded November 18 while attempting to help an African
    immigrant who was shot at a Denver bus stop; Gov. Roy Romer of Colorado;
    Wilma J. Webb, wife of Mayor Wellington E. Webb of Denver; Richard
    Butler, Executive Chairman, United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM)
    charged with dismantling Iraq's weapons of mass destruction; and
    President Boris Yeltsin of Russia.