[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.