    [Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 33, Number 30 (Monday, July 28, 1997)]
    [Pages 1106-1107]
    [Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    <R04>
    Proclamation 7012--Captive Nations Week, 1997

    July 18, 1997

    By the President of the United States

    of America

    A Proclamation

        From its earliest days as a Nation, America has been a champion of
    freedom and human dignity. Our Declaration of Independence was a ringing
    cry against ``the establishment of an absolute tyranny over these
    States'' and affirmed the revolutionary concept that governments derive
    their powers from the free consent of those they govern. For more than
    two centuries our Bill of Rights has guaranteed such basic human rights
    as freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and
    freedom from arbitrary arrest. With such a history and heritage, we can
    feel only outrage that millions of people around the world still suffer
    beneath the shadow of oppression, their rights routinely violated by
    their own governments and leaders.
        Almost four decades ago, our Nation observed the first Captive
    Nations Week to express formally our solidarity with the oppressed
    peoples of the world. Since that time, thanks to our steadfast advocacy
    for democratic reform and universal human rights, and the courage and
    determination of countless men and women around the globe, the world's
    political landscape has undergone a remarkable transformation. Nations
    once dominated by the Soviet Union and its satellite governments have
    blossomed into new democracies, establishing free market economies and
    free societies that respect individual rights. Families and countrymen
    once divided by walls and barbed wire, now walk together in the fresh
    air of liberty. The unprecedented gathering of 44 countries at the Euro-
    Atlantic Partnership Council meeting earlier this month in Madrid
    symbolizes how far we have come in building a stable, democratic, and
    undivided Europe.
        Yet while countries like Poland, Romania, and Estonia are no longer
    among the ranks of captive nations, too many others are still held
    hostage by tyranny, and new nations still fall victim to the scourge of
    oppression. Tragically, even as the wave of freedom and democratic
    reform sweeps across Eastern and Central Europe, former Soviet bloc
    countries, and nations in South America, Asia, and Africa, there are
    still governments that derive their strength, not from the consent of
    their citizens, but from terror, repression, and exploitation. Too many
    leaders still fuel the fires of racial, ethnic, and religious hatred;
    too many people still suffer from ignorance, prejudice, and brutality.
        As we observe Captive Nations Week this year, let us reaffirm our
    commitment to the American ideals of freedom and justice. Let us
    strengthen our resolve to promote respect for human rights and self-
    determination for women and men of every nationality, creed, and race.
    Let us continue to speak out for those who have no voice. It is our
    Nation's obligation to do so, as the world's best hope for lasting peace
    and freedom and as a source of enduring inspiration to oppressed peoples
    everywhere.
        The Congress, by Joint Resolution approved July 17, 1959 (73 Stat.
    212), has authorized and requested the President to issue a proclamation
    designating the third week in July of each year as ``Captive Nations
    Week.''
        Now, Therefore, I, William J. Clinton, President of the United
    States of America, do hereby proclaim July 20 through July 26, 1997, as
    Captive Nations Week. I call upon the people of the United States to
    observe this week with appropriate ceremonies and activities and to
    rededicate ourselves to supporting the cause of human rights, liberty,
    peace, and self-determination for all the peoples of the world.
        In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this eighteenth day
    of July, 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-second.
                                                William J. Clinton

    [Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 10:38 a.m., July 21,
    1997]

    Note: This proclamation was published in the Federal Register on July
    22. This item was not received in time for publication in the
    appropriate issue.

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