[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.