    [Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 37, Number 21 (Monday, May 28, 2001)]
    [Page 786]
    [Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    <R04>
    Statement on the 80th Anniversary of the Birth of Andrei Sakharov

    May 21, 2001

        Today we honor the memory of Andrei Sakharov on the 80th anniversary
    of his birth. Throughout his life, Andrei Sakharov served as a beacon of
    hope and inspiration for those who value peace and freedom, both in his
    native Russia and around the world. A gifted nuclear physicist, he
    became a powerful advocate for nuclear nonproliferation. Awarded his
    country's highest honors, he became best known for standing up to Soviet
    totalitarianism and becoming a powerful advocate for basic human rights
    and fundamental freedoms.
        He did so at great personal cost. He endured prolonged harassment
    and forced internal exile in Gorky, where he was cut off from friends
    and family. But throughout his trials, Andrei Sakharov never wavered in
    his ``fearless personal commitment in upholding the fundamental
    principles for peace''--a fact recognized by his Nobel Peace Prize
    citation in 1975. After he was allowed to return to public life,
    Sakharov became a prominent voice of democratic opposition and was
    elected to the Congress of People's Deputies, the Soviet Union's first
    democratically chosen body.
        On today's anniversary, it is important for the international
    community to reflect on the great contributions Andrei Sakharov made to
    help advance the freedoms that all peoples of the world should
    rightfully enjoy. Unfortunately, too many people in too many parts of
    the world today do not enjoy these basic freedoms, and those who speak
    out on behalf of freedom are too often jailed, tortured, or murdered.
    Let us resolve to honor Andrei Sakharov's memory by continuing the
    struggle against these injustices.