[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 35, Number 23 (Monday, June 14, 1999)]
[Pages 1059-1060]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks at a Welcoming Ceremony for President Arpad Goncz of Hungary

June 8, 1999

    President and Mrs. Goncz; ladies and gentlemen: In the early 1850's, 
the great Hungarian patriot Lajos Kossuth came to this country and to 
this house to seek support for restoring liberty to his nation. He said 
then, ``To find the sunlight of freedom, we must come to America.'' 
Kossuth would be proud today that his statement no longer holds--that 
the sunlight of freedom shines in Hungary, and all across the world.
    In the past year, I have had the privilege to welcome to the White 
House extraordinary leaders who risked their lives in the

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struggle for liberty, were imprisoned for their beliefs and activism, 
and now have emerged in freedom's sunlight as the Presidents of their 
nations: Kim Dae-jung of South Korea; Vaclav Havel of the Czech 
Republic, Nelson Mandela of South Africa. Today, with freedom at last 
shining brightly in Hungary, I have the great honor and pleasure to 
welcome President Arpad Goncz, our friend, our partner, our ally.
    Let me begin with a few words about our common enterprise in Kosovo. 
For 77 days we have been working to achieve a simple set of objectives 
there: the return of refugees with safety and self-government; the 
withdrawal of all Serbian forces; the deployment of an international 
security force with NATO at its core. Last Thursday Serb authorities 
accepted a peace plan that embodies those conditions. Today in Bonn, we 
took another important step forward--the G-8 countries now have agreed 
to language of a United Nations Security Council resolution that will 
help us to realize these basic goals: peace with security for the people 
of Kosovo and stability for the region as a whole.
    The key now, as it has been from the beginning of this process, is 
implementation. A verifiable withdrawal of Serb forces will allow us to 
suspend the bombing and go forward with the plan. NATO is determined to 
bring the Kosovars home, to do so as an alliance acting together, and in 
a way that ultimately can strengthen the relationship between Russia and 
the West.
    Our great writer E.L. Doctorow once said, ``The devastating history 
of 20th century Europe, which you and I might study in a book or look at 
as tourists, is housed in the being of Arpad Goncz.'' In World War II he 
fought in resistance and was wounded by Nazi fire. In 1956 he rose with 
fellow citizens against Stalinist oppression. And after Soviet tanks 
crushed the uprising, he was sentenced to life in prison.
    Released after 6 years, he became a translator, bringing Western 
ideals to Hungary, and through his own plays and stories, challenged 
Hungarians to think about the nature of tyranny and the meaning of 
freedom. After NATO's resolve and the courage of central Europeans 
helped to bring down the Iron Curtain, the Hungarian people chose this 
great man to lead them.
    Now, Hungary is one of the fastest growing economies in Europe, with 
America its largest foreign investor. Hungary has acted to protect the 
rights of its own minority groups and worked for the rights of ethnic 
Hungarians in other nations. Hungary has stood with the United States as 
a NATO Ally against ethnic cleansing in Kosovo and for a more positive 
future for all the peoples of central and Eastern Europe. Hungary is 
leading the way toward what people dreamed of throughout the long cold 
war.
    I am very proud of the alliance between our countries, the 
friendship between our people. I am grateful for the contributions of 
Hungarian-Americans to the fabric of our present greatness and good 
fortune. And I am very honored to welcome here the President of Hungary.
    President Goncz, welcome back to America and to the White House.

Note: The President spoke at 9:45 a.m. on the South Lawn at the White 
House, where President Goncz was accorded a formal welcome with full 
military honors. In his remarks, he referred to Maria Zsuzsanna Gonter, 
wife of President Goncz. The transcript released by the Office of the 
Press Secretary also included the remarks of President Goncz.