    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1997, Book II)]
    [July 11, 1997]
    [Pages 944-945]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks to the Citizens of Bucharest, Romania
    July 11, 1997

        The President. Thank you. Mr. President, thank you for your
    wonderful welcome. And to the young student who just spoke, Semida
    Munteanu, if she is a representative of the youth of Romania, the future
    of this nation is in good hands.
        I am proud to be the first American President to visit a free
    Romania----
        Audience members. U.S.A.! U.S.A.! U.S.A.!
        The President. I am proud to stand in University Square, where so
    many have sacrificed for freedom. Most of all, I am proud to see in this
    vast crowd the face of a new Romania, moving beyond the past to build a
    bright future of possibility for all your people. Congratulations.
        Audience members. U.S.A.! U.S.A.! U.S.A.!
        The President. America knows that Romania's destiny lies in an
    undivided, democratic, peaceful Europe, where every nation is free and
    every free nation is the partner of the United States. To all the people
    of Romania who love freedom so dearly: I come to Romania because of all
    you have already done; I come because I know what you still can do; I
    come because of all that we must do together to achieve your destiny in
    the family of freedom.
        No people have suffered more under Communist repression. No people
    paid a higher price for the simple right to live in freedom. No people
    faced greater challenges in the struggle to start anew. But though your
    path has been steep and hard, you are going forward. And for that, we
    salute you.
        In America, we have seen your spirit, your endurance, your
    determination symbolized by the feat of one of your young Romanian
    athletes. At the end of the New York marathon last fall, a runner named
    Anuta Catuna came from behind to close the lead and earn her way to
    victory in one of America's most prized races. Like her, Romania has set
    its sights and its heart on the long run. And like her, the Romanian
    people have won the world's respect for moving so far, so fast, and for
    believing in yourselves and your future. Like her marathon race, the
    marathon of freedom is not a sprint; it takes steady and persistent
    commitment to stay the course. After more than 200 years, America now
    knows the journey of democracy is never over; it must be traveled every
    single day.
        But what progress you have made. You have launched bold economic
    reforms to give your people the chance to make the most of their own
    lives. In the short term, I know there are costs to this market reform.
    But in the long term, the rewards are far greater, in better jobs, new
    opportunities, more trade and investment from around the world for your
    people. And in recent years, we have learned from other nations'
    experience that those who reform the fastest make the most progress for
    their people.

    [[Page 945]]

    Romania has been making up for lost time, and the whole world is taking
    notice.
        You have turned old grievances to new friendships, within your
    borders and beyond. You have forged landmark treaties with Hungary and
    Ukraine. You have brought ethnic Hungarians into democratic government
    for the first time. You are giving minorities a greater stake in your
    common future. Together you are doing something that people all over the
    world must do, you are reaching across the lines that divide you to
    build one Romania. And for that, I salute you.
        You have shown the way of responsible leadership here in your own
    region. In Bosnia, it was Romanian engineers who repaired the first
    train crossing the Sava River so that critical aid could reach the
    Bosnian people after years of deprivation. In Albania, Romania's
    peacekeeping battalion has played a key role in promoting stability and
    securing free elections. Your nation, at its own initiative and its own
    expense, has helped your faltering neighbors get their feet back on the
    ground. And for that, the world salutes you. Of course, there is more
    work to do. I come here to say that America will do that work with you.
        Audience members. U.S.A.! U.S.A.! U.S.A.!
        The President. The values that govern Romania today, liberty,
    openness, tolerance, free markets, these are values shared by the
    community of democracies Romania is joining. The community includes
    security cooperation through the Partnership For Peace. It includes
    strong ties of trade and investment. It includes institutions like the
    European Union. And of course, it includes NATO.
        I welcome Romania's deep desire to contribute even more fully to
    Europe's security and strength. I welcome your desire to join NATO. I
    want that, too, for Europe, for America, and for you. And I say to you
    today, stay the course, and Romania will cross that milestone.
        To all nations who embrace democracy and reform and wish to share
    the responsibilities of membership, I reaffirm from this plaza of
    freedom: The door to NATO is open. It will stay open, and we will help
    you to walk through it.
        NATO has committed to review aspiring members in 1999. Romania is
    one of the strongest candidates. And if you stay the course and manifest
    the love of liberty we all see here today, there can be no stronger
    candidate. Stay the course. Stay the course. The future is yours.
        Audience members. Clinton! Clinton! Clinton!
        The President. Thank you.
        In the meantime, your President and I have agreed to establish a
    strategic partnership between our nations, a partnership important to
    America because Romania is important to America, important in your own
    right, important as a model in this difficult part of the world. Romania
    can show the people of this region and, indeed, people throughout the
    world that there is a better way than fighting and division and
    repression. It is cooperation and freedom and peace.
        Mr. President, citizens of Romania, my visit has been brief, but our
    friendship will endure the test of time. As long as you proceed down
    democracy's road, America will walk by your side.
        The great Romanian-born playwright Ionesco once said, ``There has
    always been at every living moment of culture a will to renewal.'' Here
    in Bucharest, I see that will to renewal all around. I am reminded of
    the words of your hymn, once forbidden but never forgotten: ``Wake up,
    Romanian.'' You have shown the world, and you have shown me here today,
    that Romania has awakened, awakened to democracy, awakened to freedom,
    awakened to security, awakened to your destiny. And because of you, the
    world has awakened to Romania. May the light of your freedom shine
    forever, and may God bless the Romanian people and the future of our two
    peoples together.
        Thank you, and God bless you.

    Note: The President spoke at 5:25 p.m. in University Square. In his
    remarks, he referred to President Emil Constantinescu of Romania and
    student Semida Munteanu, who introduced the President. The transcript
    issued by the Office of the Press Secretary also included the remarks of
    President Constantinescu.