[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 42, Number 26 (Monday, July 3, 2006)]
[Pages 1233-1234]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks Following a Meeting With the National Endowment for Democracy 
Award Recipients

June 27, 2006

    It has been my honor to welcome four amazing individuals to the Oval 
Office. These four folks are from the continent of Africa. They're here 
to receive the National Endowment for Democracy's award, which is an

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award to honor courage and fortitude and strength in promoting freedom.

    And we have had an amazing discussion. My spirits are enriched by 
talking to freedom lovers and freedom fighters. We've got a man from the 
Sudan who talked eloquently about free press. We had a doctor from 
Zimbabwe who talked about the human condition and the need for the 
United States to make sure we stay engaged with the democracy movements 
and help people who are hungry.

    I talked to two really unusual ladies, one from the Democratic 
Republic of Congo. She is very concerned about free elections, and she 
wants to make sure people in the rural part of her country are 
represented in free elections.

    And then we had an amazing discussion with a lady from Sierra Leone 
but who's working in Liberia. And one of the most amazing stories is 
when she recounted the fact that she was escaping Liberia in the mid-
1990s and had to get on a fishing boat to escape the authorities who 
wanted to bring--to do her harm because she expressed her desire for 
people to be free.

    Again, I want to thank all of you for doing what you have done. I'm 
proud to be in your company. I'm proud to have you here in the Oval 
Office. I thank you for being witness to this universal fact: that 
liberty is universal in its application; that people everywhere desire 
to be free; that freedom is not just--belongs to the American citizens, 
freedom belongs to everybody. And you're courageous in your fight and 
your desire to spread the concept of freedom.

    Congratulations on winning a very important award. Congratulations 
on being so courageous. Thank you all for coming.

Note: The President spoke at 2:22 p.m. in the Oval Office at the White 
House. In his remarks, he referred to National Endowment for Democracy's 
2006 Democracy Award recipients Alfred Taban, Reginald Matchaba-Hove, 
Immaculee Birhaheka, and Zainab Hawa Bangura.