For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
June 15, 2001
Remarks by the President in Address to Faculty and Students
of Warsaw University
Warsaw University
Warsaw,
Poland
Listen to the President's Remarks
5:45 P.M. (L)
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very
much. Mr. President, thank you very much for your gracious
hospitality that you and your wife have shown Laura and
me. Mr. Prime Minister, members of the government,
distinguished members of the clergy, distinguished citizens, and this
important friend of America, students, Mr. Rector, than you very much
for your warm greeting.
It's a great honor for me to visit this great
city -- a city that breathes with confidence, creativity and success of
modern Poland.
Like all nations, Poland still faces
challenges. But I am confident you'll meet them with the
same optimistic spirit a visitor feels on Warsaw's streets and sees in
the city's fast-changing skyline. We find evidence of this
energy and enterprise surrounding us right now in this magnificent
building. And you can hear it in the air. Today's own --
Poland's orchestra called Golec's -- (laughter and applause) -- is
telling the world, "on that wheat field, I'm gonna build my San
Francisco; over that molehill, I'm gonna build my
bank." (Laughter and applause.)
Americans recognize that kind of optimism and
ambition -- because we share it. We are linked to Poland by
culture and heritage, kinship and common values.
Polish glass makers built and operated the New
World's first factory in Jamestown, Virginia in
1608. Seeking the right to vote, those same Poles also
staged the New World's first labor strike. They succeeded.
(Laughter.) It seems the Poles have been keeping the world
honest for a long period of time.
Some of the most courageous moments of the
20th century took place in this nation. Here, in 1943, the
world saw the heroic effort and revolt of the Warsaw Ghetto; a year
later, the 63 days of the Warsaw Uprising; and then the reduction of
this city to rubble because it chose to resist evil.
Here communism was humbled by the largest
citizens' movement in history, and by the iron purpose and moral vision
of a single man: Pope John Paul II. Here Polish
workers, led by an electrician from Gdansk, made the sparks that would
electrify half a continent. Poland revealed to the world
that its Soviet rulers, however brutal and powerful, were ultimately
defenseless against determined men and women armed only with their
conscience and their faith.
Here you have proven that communism need not
be followed by chaos, that great oppression can end in true
reconciliation, and that the promise of freedom is stronger
than the habit of fear.
In all these events, we have seen the
character of the Polish people, and the hand of God in your
history. Modern Poland is just beginning to contribute to
the wealth of Europe -- yet, for decades, you have
contributed to Europe's soul and spiritual strength. And all
who believe in the power of conscience and culture are in your debt.
Today, I have come to the center of Europe to
speak of the future of Europe. Some still call this "the
East" -- but Warsaw is closer to Ireland than it is to the
Urals. And it is time to put talk of East and West behind
us.
Yalta did not ratify a natural divide, it
divided a living civilization. The partition of Europe was
not a fact of geography, it was an act of violence. And wise
leaders for decades have found the hope of European peace in the hope
of greater unity. In the same speech that described an "iron
curtain," Winston Churchill called for "a new unity in Europe, from
which no nation should be permanently outcast."
Consider how far we have come since that
speech. Through trenches and shell-fire, through death camps
and bombed-out cities, through gulags and food lines men and women have
dreamed of what my father called a Europe "whole and
free." This free Europe is no longer a dream. It
is the Europe that is rising around us. It is the work that
you and I are called on to complete.
We can build an open Europe -- a Europe
without Hitler and Stalin, without Brezhnev and Honecker and Ceaucescu
and, yes, without Milosevic.
Our goal is to erase the false lines -- our
goal is to erase the false lines that have divided Europe for too
long. The future of every European nation must be determined
by the progress of internal reform, not the interests of outside
powers. Every European nation that struggles toward
democracy and free markets and a strong civic culture must be welcomed
into Europe's home.
All of Europe's new democracies, from the
Baltic to the Black Sea and all that lie between, should have the same
chance for security and freedom -- and the same chance to join the
institutions of Europe -- as Europe's old democracies have.
I believe in NATO membership for all of
Europe's democracies that seek it and are ready to share the
responsibilities that NATO brings. (Applause.) The question
of "when" may still be up for debate within NATO; the question of
"whether" should not be. As we plan to enlarge NATO, no
nation should be used as a pawn in the agendas of others. We
will not trade away the fate of free European peoples. No
more Munichs. No more
Yaltas. (Applause.) Let us tell all those who
have struggled to build democracy and free markets what we have told
the Poles: from now on, what you build, you
keep. No one can take away your freedom or your country.
(Applause.)
Next year, NATO's leaders will meet in
Prague. The United States will be prepared to make concrete,
historic decisions with its allies to advance NATO
enlargement. Poland and America share a
vision. As we plan the Prague Summit, we should not
calculate how little we can get away with, but how much we can do to
advance the cause of freedom. (Applause.)
The expansion of NATO has fulfilled NATO's
promise. And that promise now leads eastward and southward,
northward and onward.
I want to thank Poland for acting as a bridge
to the new democracies of Europe, and a champion of the interests and
security of your neighbors, such as the Baltic states, Ukraine,
Slovakia. You are making real the words: "For your freedom
and ours."
All nations should understand that there is no
conflict between membership in NATO and membership in the European
Union. My nation welcomes the consolidation of European
unity, and the stability it brings. We welcome a greater role for the
EU in European security, properly integrated with NATO. We
welcome the incentive for reform that the hope of EU membership
creates. We welcome a Europe that is truly united, truly
democratic, and truly diverse -- a collection of peoples and nations
bound together in purpose and respect, and faithful to their own
roots.
The most basic commitments of NATO and the
European Union are similar: democracy, free markets, and common
security. And all in Europe and America understand the
central lesson of the century past. When Europe and America
are divided, history tends to tragedy. When Europe and
America are partners, no trouble or tyranny can stand against us.
Our vision of Europe must also include the
Balkans. Unlike the people of Poland, many people and
leaders in Southeast Europe made the wrong choices in the last
decade. There, communism fell, but dictators exploited a
murderous nationalism to cling to power and to conquer new
land. Twice NATO had to intervene militarily to stop the
killing and defend the values that define a new Europe.
Today, instability remains and there are still
those who seek to undermine the fragile peace that holds. We
condemn those, like the sponsors of violence in Macedonia, who seek to
subvert democracy. But we've made progress. We
see democratic change in Zagreb and Belgrade; moderate governments in
Bosnia; multi-ethnic police in Kosovo; the end to violence in southern
Serbia. For the first time in history, all governments in
the region are democratic, committed to cooperating with one another,
and predisposed to join Europe.
Across the region, nations are yearning to be
a part of Europe. The burdens -- and benefits -- of
satisfying that yearning will naturally fall most heavily on Europe,
itself. That is why I welcome Europe's commitment to play a
leading role in the stabilization of Southeastern Europe. Countries
other than the United States already provide over 80 percent of the
NATO-led forces in the region. But I know that America's
role is important, and we will meet our obligations. We went
into the Balkans together, and we will come out
together. And our goal must be to hasten the arrival of that
day. (Applause.)
The Europe we are building must include
Ukraine, a nation struggling with the trauma of
transition. Some in Kiev speak of their country's European
destiny. If this is their aspiration, we should reward
it. We must extend our hand to Ukraine, as Poland has
already done with such determination.
The Europe we are building must also be open
to Russia. We have a stake in Russia's success -- and we
look for the day when Russia is fully reformed, fully democratic and
closely bound to the rest of Europe. Europe's great institutions --
NATO and the European Union -- can and should build partnerships with
Russia and with all the countries that have emerged from the wreckage
of the former Soviet Union.
Tomorrow, I will see President Putin, and
express my hopes for a Russia that is truly great -- a greatness
measured by the strength of its democracy, the good treatment of
minorities and the achievements of its people.
I will express to President Putin that Russia
is part of Europe and, therefore, does not need a buffer zone of
insecure states separating it from Europe. NATO, even as it
grows, is no enemy of Russia. Poland is no enemy of
Russia. America is no enemy of
Russia. (Applause.) We will seek a constructive
relationship with Russia, for the benefit of all our peoples.
I will make the case, as I have to all the
European leaders I have met on this trip, that the basis for our mutual
security must move beyond Cold War doctrines. Today, we face
growing threats from weapons of mass destruction and missiles in the
hands of states for whom terror and blackmail are a way of life. So we
must have a broad strategy of active non-proliferation;
counter-proliferation; and a new concept of deterrence that includes
defenses sufficient to protect our people, our forces, and our allies;
as well as reduced reliance on nuclear weapons.
And, finally, I'll make clear to President
Putin that the path to greater prosperity and greater security lies in
greater freedom. The 20th century has taught us that only
freedom gets the highest service from every citizen -- citizens who can
publish, citizens who can worship, citizens who can organize for
themselves -- without fear of intimidation, and with the full
protection of the law.
This, after all, is the true source of
European unity. Ultimately, it's more than the unity of
markets. It is more than the unity of
interests. It is a unity of values.
Through a hard history, with all its
precedents of pain, Europe has come to believe in the dignity of every
individual: in social freedom, tempered by moral restraint;
in economic liberty, balanced with humane values.
"The revolutions of 1989," said Pope John Paul
II, "were made possible by the commitment of brave men and women
inspired by a different, and ultimately more profound and powerful,
vision: the vision of man as a creature of intelligence and
free will, immersed in a mystery which transcends his own being and
endowed with the ability to reflect and the ability to choose -- and
thus capable of wisdom and virtue."
This belief successfully challenged
communism. It challenges materialism in all its
forms. Just as man cannot be reduced to a means of
production, he must find goals greater than mere
consumption. The European ideal is inconsistent with a life
defined by gain and greed and the lonely pursuit of self. It
calls for consideration and respect, compassion and forgiveness -- the
habits of character on which the exercise of freedom depends.
And all these duties, and all these rights are
ultimately traced to a source of law and justice above our wills and
beyond our politics -- an author of our dignity, who calls us to act
worthy of our dignity.
This belief is more than a memory, it is a
living faith. And it is the main reason Europe and America
will never be separated. We are products of the same
history, reaching from Jerusalem and Athens to Warsaw and
Washington. We share more than an alliance. We
share a civilization. Its values are universal, and they pervade our
history and our partnership in a unique way.
These trans-Atlantic ties could not be severed
by U-boats. They could not be cut by checkpoints and barbed
wire. They were not ended by SS-20s and nuclear
blackmail. And they certainly will not be broken by
commercial quarrels and political debates. America will not
permit it. Poland will not allow it. (Applause.)
This unity of values and aspiration calls us
to new tasks. Those who have benefited and prospered most from the
commitment to freedom and openness have an obligation to help others
that are seeking their way along that path. That is why our
trans-Atlantic community must have priorities beyond the consolidation
of European peace.
We must bring peace and health to Africa -- a
neighbor to Europe, a heritage to many Americans, a continent in
crisis, and a place of enormous potential. We must work
together to shut down the arms trafficking that fuels Africa's wars;
fight the spread of AIDS that may make 40 million children into
orphans; and help all of Africa share in the trade and promise of the
modern world.
We must work toward a world that trades in
freedom -- a world where prosperity is available to all through the
power of markets; a world where open trade spurs the process of
economic and legal reform; a world of cooperation to enhance
prosperity, protect the environment, and lift the quality of life for
all.
We must confront the shared security threats
of regimes that thrive by creating instability, that are ambitious for
weapons of mass destruction, and are dangerously
unpredictable. In Europe, you're closer to these challenges
than the United States. You see the lightning well before we
hear the thunder. Only together, however, can we confront
the emerging threats of a changing world.
Fifty years ago, all Europe looked to the
United States for help. Ten years ago, Poland did, as
well. Now, we and others can only go forward
together. The question no longer is what others can do for
Poland, but what America and Poland and all of Europe can do for the
rest of the world. (Applause.)
In the early 1940s, Winston Churchill saw
beyond a world war and a Cold War to a greater project: "Let
the great cities of Warsaw and Prague and Vienna banish despair even in
the midst of their agony," he said. "Their liberation is
sure. The day will come when the joy bells will ring again
throughout Europe, and when victorious nations, masters not only of
their foes but of themselves, will plan and build in justice, in
tradition, and in freedom a house of many mansions where there will be
room for all."
To his contemporaries who lived in a Europe of
division and violence, this vision must have seemed
unimaginable. Yet, our fathers -- yours and mine --
struggled and sacrificed to make this vision real. Now it is
within our grasp. Today, a new generation makes a new
commitment: a Europe and an America bound in a great
alliance of liberty -- history's greatest united force for peace and
progress and human dignity. The bells of victory have
rung. The Iron Curtain is no more. Now, we plan
and build the house of freedom -- whose doors are open to all of
Europe's peoples and whose windows look out to global challenges
beyond. Our progress is great, our goals are large, and our
differences, in comparison, are small. (Applause.) And
America, in calm and in crisis, will honor this vision and the values
we share.
Poland, in so many ways, is a symbol of
renewal and common purpose. More than half a century ago, from this
spot, all one could see was a desert of ruins. Hardly did a
single unbroken brick touch another. This city had been
razed by the Nazis and betrayed by the Soviets. Its people
were mostly displaced.
Not far from here is the only monument which
survived. It is the figure of Christ falling under the cross
and struggling to rise. Under him are written the words:
"Sursum corda" -- "lift up your hearts."
From the determination in Polish hearts,
Warsaw did rise again, brick by brick. Poland has regained
its rightful place at the heart of a new Europe and is helping other
nations to find their own.
"Lift up your hearts" is the story of
Poland. "Lift up your hearts" is the story of a new
Europe. And, together, let us raise this hope of freedom for
all who seek it in our world.
God bless. (Applause.)
END
6:11 P.M. (L)
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