[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 36, Number 29 (Monday, July 24, 2000)]
[Pages 1650-1651]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 7330--Captive Nations Week, 2000

July 14, 2000

By the President of the United States

of America

A Proclamation

    When President Eisenhower signed the first Captive Nations Week 
Proclamation in 1959, the fate of freedom around the world was still far 
from certain. While the United States and our Allies had defeated Adolf 
Hitler and the Axis Powers in World War II, a partitioned Berlin stood 
as a bleak symbol of a divided Europe, and millions throughout Asia, 
Africa, and South America continued to suffer under communist and 
authoritarian regimes.
    Today, as we embark on a new century, democracy is on the rise 
across the globe. More than half the world's people live under 
governments of their own choosing. The Iron Curtain has been lifted, 
allowing the light of liberty into the nations of Central and Eastern 
Europe. Democratic rule has swept through the countries of Latin 
America, replacing abusive military regimes with elected civilian 
governments. And in Africa and Asia, many nations have finally gained 
independence.
    This rising tide of freedom is no accident of history; it was 
achieved through the courage, determination, and sacrifice of millions 
of men and women here in America and in captive nations around the 
world. Whether speaking out in the halls of the United Nations for those 
silenced by oppressive regimes, standing guard through frigid nights on 
the DMZ in Korea, or sharing the fruits of liberty through the Peace 
Corps, generations of Americans have made sure that our country is an 
ally and source of hope for all people yearning for freedom and dignity. 
Around the globe, freedom-loving people have risked and often sacrificed 
their lives to end oppression, whether uniting against tyranny through 
the Solidarity movement in Poland or defying intimidation and violence 
to vote in free elections in El Salvador and Nicaragua.
    The tide keeps turning toward democracy, human rights, and free 
market economies. Yet there remain tyrants who use brutality, ethnic 
cleansing, guns, and prisons to silence voices of reason and tolerance 
within their countries. As a Nation born of the ideals of freedom, 
justice, and human dignity, America has a solemn obligation to continue 
speaking out on behalf of these still-captive nations and their people 
and lend them our support. We draw strength for this task from the 
knowledge that our cause is right and inspiration from the people of 
former captive nations who are flourishing today.
    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 16 through July 22, 2000, 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 the principles of freedom, human rights, and self-
determination for all the peoples of the world.

[[Page 1651]]

    In Witness Whereof,I have hereunto set my hand this fourteenth day 
of July, in the year of our Lord two thousand, and of the Independence 
of the United States of America the two hundred and twenty-fifth.
                                            William J. Clinton

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 8:45 a.m., July 18, 
2000]

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