[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 43, Number 42 (Monday, October 22, 2007)]
[Pages 1361-1362]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks on Presenting the Congressional Gold Medal to the Dalai Lama

October 17, 2007

    Madam Speaker and Senator Byrd; Mr. Leader; members of the 
congressional delegation, particularly Senators Feinstein and 
Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen; Senator Thomas--God rest his soul; 
distinguished guests, particularly our friend Elie Wiesel; and Your 
Holiness: Over the years, Congress has conferred the gold medal on many 
great figures in history--usually at a time when their struggles were 
over and won. Today Congress has chosen to do something different. It 
has conferred this honor on a figure whose work continues and whose 
outcome remains uncertain.
    In doing so, America raises its voice in the call for religious 
liberty and basic human rights. These values forged our Republic. They 
sustained us through many trials, and they draw us by conviction and 
conscience

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to the people of Tibet and the man we honor today.
    Nearly two decades have passed since the Dalai Lama was welcomed to 
the White House for the very first time. Members of both of our 
political parties and world leaders have seen His Holiness as a man of 
faith and sincerity and peace. He's won the respect and affection of the 
American people, and America has earned his respect and affection as 
well.
    As a nation, we are humbled to know that a young boy in Tibet--as a 
young boy in Tibet, His Holiness kept a model of the Statue of Liberty 
at his bedside. Years later, on his first visit to America, he went to 
Battery Park in New York City so he could see the real thing up close. 
On his first trip to Washington, he walked through the Jefferson 
Memorial, a monument to the man whose words launched a revolution that 
still inspires men and women across the world. Jefferson counted as one 
of America's greatest blessings the freedom of worship. It was, he said, 
``a liberty deemed in other countries incompatible with good government 
and yet proved by our experience to be its best support.''
    The freedom of belief is a yearning of the human spirit, a blessing 
offered to the world, and a cherished value of our Nation. It's the very 
first protection offered in the American Bill of Rights. It inspired 
many of the leaders that this rotunda honors in portraits and in marble. 
And it still defines our way of life.
    Consider where we gather today. This great symbol of democracy sits 
quietly near a Catholic parish, a Jewish synagogue, a Muslim community 
center, a Greek Orthodox cathedral, and a Buddhist temple--each with 
faithful followers who practice their deeply held beliefs and live side 
by side in peace. This diversity is not a source of instability; it's a 
source of strength. This freedom does not belong to one nation; it 
belongs to the world.
    One of the tragic anomalies of the past century is that in an era 
that has seen an unprecedented number of nations embrace individual 
freedom has also witnessed the stubborn endurance of religious 
repression. Americans cannot look to the plight of the religiously 
oppressed and close our eyes or turn away. And that is why I will 
continue to urge the leaders of China to welcome the Dalai Lama to 
China. They will find this good man to be a man of peace and 
reconciliation.
    Throughout our history, we have stood proudly with those who offer a 
message of hope and freedom to the world's downtrodden and oppressed. 
This is why all of us are drawn to a noble and spiritual leader who 
lives a world away. Today we honor him as a universal symbol of peace 
and tolerance, a shepherd for the faithful, and a keeper of the flame 
for his people.
    I congratulate His Holiness on this recognition. I'm so honored to 
be here with you, sir. Laura and I join all Americans in offering the 
people of Tibet our fervent prayer that they may find days of prosperity 
and peace.
    And now I ask the Speaker and Senator Byrd to join me for the gold 
medal presentation.

Note: The President spoke at 1:51 p.m. in the Rotunda at the U.S. 
Capitol. In his remarks, he referred to Nobel Prize winner and author 
Elie Wiesel.