    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2006, Book I)]
    [June 27, 2006]
    [Pages 1222-1223]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks Following a Meeting With the National Endowment for Democracy
    Award Recipients
    June 27, 2006

        It has been my honor to welcome four amazing individuals to the Oval
    Office. These four folks are from the continent of Africa. They're here to
    receive the National Endowment for Democracy's award, which is an award
    to honor courage and fortitude and strength in promoting freedom.
        And we have had an amazing discussion. My spirits are enriched by
    talking to freedom lovers and freedom fighters. We've got a man from the
    Sudan who talked eloquently about free press.
    We had a doctor from Zimbabwe who
    talked about the human condition and the need for the United States to
    make sure we stay engaged with the democracy movements and help people
    who are hungry.
        I talked to two really unusual ladies, one from the
    Democratic Republic of Congo.

    [[Page 1223]]

    She is very concerned about free elections, and she wants to make sure
    people in the rural part of her country are represented in free
    elections.
        And then we had an amazing discussion with a lady from Sierra
    Leone but who's working in Liberia. And
    one of the most amazing stories is when she recounted the fact that she
    was escaping Liberia in the mid-1990s and had to get on a fishing boat
    to escape the authorities who wanted to bring--to do her harm because
    she expressed her desire for people to be free.
        Again, I want to thank all of you for doing what you have done. I'm
    proud to be in your company. I'm proud to have you here in the Oval
    Office. I thank you for being witness to this universal fact: that
    liberty is universal in its application; that people everywhere desire
    to be free; that freedom is not just--belongs to the American citizens,
    freedom belongs to everybody. And you're courageous in your fight and
    your desire to spread the concept of freedom.
        Congratulations on winning a very important award. Congratulations
    on being so courageous. Thank you all for coming.

    Note: The President spoke at 2:22 p.m. in the Oval Office at the White
    House. In his remarks, he referred to National Endowment for Democracy's
    2006 Democracy Award recipients Alfred Taban Logune, Reginald Matchaba-
    Hove, Immaculee Birhaheka, and Zainab Hawa Bangura.