For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
April 2, 2001
Pan American Day and Pan American Week, 2001
By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation
This year on Pan American Day and during Pan
American Week, the nations of the Americas celebrate the progress we
have made toward our collective goal of a hemisphere united in freedom
and democracy.
The United States and our
neighboring countries in the Western Hemisphere have a long history of
cooperation. Simon Bolivar first convened the Congress of
Panama in 1826 with the intention of creating an association of states
in the hemisphere. In 1890, a Pan American conference established the
International Union of American Republics. The Union
eventually became the Organization of American States (OAS), which
continues to faith-fully serve its member states. The OAS
charter, in affirming the shared commitment, states that "the true
significance of American solidarity and good neighborliness can only
mean the consolida-tion . . . of a system of individual liberty and
social justice based on respect for the essential rights of man."
Today, we remain united through mutual
interests and the hope for a better future for our
people. This month I will join the democratically elected
leaders of the hemisphere in Quebec City for the third Summit of the
Americas. At this conference, we will build on efforts at
previous Summits to promote our shared objectives of representative
democracy, free trade, and using the power of free markets to better
the lives of the poor. We will also build on our mutual interest in
encouraging respect for human rights and improving relations among all
the countries of the hemisphere.
Even with
our significant progress, however, challenges remain. Cuba
is the only country in the hemisphere that will be missing from the
Quebec Summit. It is my sincere hope that our neighbor will
soon rejoin the fraternity of democracies and that the Cuban people
will again know freedom.
During Pan American
Week and the Summit of the Americas, we reflect on and renew our common
dedication to ensuring that the benefits of development are broadly
shared. We also look forward to building even closer
relationships among our countries for the sake of future
generations. We have a responsibility to leave our children
a hemisphere that honors the commitment of our predecessors,
strengthening bonds that connect us as nations and as
people. We want to make this the Century of the Americas.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President
of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in
me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby
proclaim April 14, 2001, as Pan American Day and April 8 through April
14, 2001, as Pan American Week. I call upon all the people
of the United States to observe this day and week with appropriate
ceremonies and activities.
IN WITNESS
WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand
this second day of
April, in the year of our Lord two thousand one, and of the
Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and
twenty-fifth.
GEORGE
W. BUSH
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