[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 35, Number 41 (Monday, October 18, 1999)]
[Pages 2052-2053]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Statement on the Death of Former President Julius Nyerere of Tanzania

October 14, 1999

    On behalf of the American people, Hillary and I extend our deepest 
sympathies to the family of former President Julius Nyerere, to 
President Mkapa, and the people of Tanzania. President Nyerere's death 
is a great loss for Tanzania, for Africa, and for the international 
community as a whole.
    President Nyerere was a pioneering leader for freedom and self-
government in Africa. Many African leaders sought his guidance as they 
crafted their own new societies.
    President Nyerere dedicated his life to a vision rooted in the 
belief that all people have a responsibility to protect those who cannot 
protect themselves. He practiced this ethic personally, aiding not only 
courageous African leaders but also ordinary victims of regional 
conflict; he opened Tanzania's borders to refugees from wars in 
Mozambique, Rwanda, Burundi, Congo, and Uganda.
    President Nyerere's legacy of determination and compassion lives on 
in the generous

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people of Tanzania today. We join our friends in Tanzania and Africa in 
celebrating his achievements and mourning his death. Our thoughts and 
prayers are with his family and his fellow citizens.