[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.