[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 33, Number 15 (Monday, April 14, 1997)]
[Pages 510-511]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 6987--Pan American Day and Pan American Week, 1997

April 11, 1997

By the President of the United States

of America

A Proclamation

    Each year, we pause to reflect on how the 34 free countries of the 
Western Hemisphere are inextricably linked to a shared vision through 
the common thread of democracy, free trade, and mutual respect. This 
vision can be achieved by continuing our efforts to create a hemispheric 
free trade area and by working together to uphold democracy, defend 
human rights, and defeat the scourge of narcotics trafficking.
    The citizens of the Americas have made remarkable progress toward 
the advancement of democratic values and institutions, as well as the 
creation of integrated markets within which goods may be exchanged 
freely in a common market of ideas and innovation. Today, every country 
in our hemisphere--with one exception--has made the promise of democracy 
a reality. These countries have recognized that representative democracy 
is essential for guaranteeing the basic human rights of their citizens. 
Through common effort, we can make this gift of freedom a reality for 
all.
    The United States applauds the people of Paraguay for their great 
accomplishment in resolving last year's constitutional crisis, and we 
welcome the central role of the Organization of American States in 
defending democracy in Paraguay. We commend the people and government of 
Guatemala for their success in forging a comprehensive peace accord, and 
we encourage the spirit of reconciliation that has firmly taken root 
throughout Central America. Americans continue to maintain a special 
consideration for the people of Haiti as they strive to consolidate 
their new democracy and set the stage for economic growth. Today, all of 
us must work together to encourage the one country--Cuba--that has not 
embraced our com

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mon purpose to join the communities of democracies.
    As the united standard bearers of democracy in the Western 
Hemisphere, we now approach a new century of unprecedented 
possibilities. Our vision is bold, and our expectations are high. Our 
cooperative spirit was nurtured through the Summit of the Americas, 
where we committed ourselves to free trade, representative democracy, 
relief from poverty, and respect for the environment. We are now 
collaborating closely with others in the hemisphere to prepare the 
agenda for the next Summit of the Americas, to be held in Santiago in 
March 1998. Never before has there been such a window of opportunity to 
promote a higher standard of living through improved access to quality 
education and adequate health care. Working together, we can prove that 
democracy provides the means for improving the daily lives of all the 
citizens of the Americas.
    Now, Therefore, I, William J. Clinton, President of the United 
States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the 
Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim Monday, 
April 14, 1997, as Pan American Day and April 13 through April 19, 1997, 
as Pan American Week. I urge the Governors of the 50 States, the 
Governor of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the officials of other 
areas under the flag of the United States of America to honor these 
observances with appropriate ceremonies and activities.
    In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this eleventh day of 
April, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-seven, and of 
the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and 
twenty-first.
                                            William J. Clinton

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 11:18 a.m., April 14, 
1997]

Note: This proclamation will be published in the Federal Register on 
April 15.