[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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