Pan American Day and Pan American Week, 1997

Proclamation 6987 of April 11, 1997

Pan American Day and Pan American Week, 1997

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

Each year, we pause to reflect on how the 34 free
countries of the Western Hemisphere are inextricably
linked to a shared vision through the common thread of
democracy, free trade, and mutual respect. This vision
can be achieved by continuing our efforts to create a
hemispheric free trade area and by working together to
uphold democracy, defend human rights, and defeat the
scourge of narcotics trafficking.

The citizens of the Americas have made remarkable
progress toward the advancement of democratic values
and institutions, as well as the creation of integrated
markets within which goods may be exchanged freely in a
common market of ideas and innovation. Today, every
country in our hemisphere--with one exception--has made
the promise of democracy a reality. These countries
have recognized that representative democracy is
essential for guaranteeing the basic human rights of
their citizens. Through common effort, we can make this
gift of freedom a reality for all.

The United States applauds the people of Paraguay for
their great accomplishment in resolving last year's
constitutional crisis, and we welcome the central role
of the Organization of American States in defending
democracy in Paraguay. We commend the people and
government of Guatemala for their success in forging a
comprehensive peace accord, and we encourage the spirit
of reconciliation that has firmly taken root throughout
Central America. Americans continue to maintain a
special consideration for the people of Haiti as they
strive to consolidate their new democracy and set the
stage for economic growth. Today, all of us must work
together to encourage the one country--Cuba--that has
not embraced our common purpose to join the community
of democracies.

As the united standard bearers of democracy in the
Western Hemisphere, we now approach a new century of
unprecedented possibilities. Our vision is bold, and
our expectations are high. Our cooperative spirit was
nurtured through the Summit of the Americas, where we
committed ourselves to free trade, representative
democracy, relief from poverty, and respect for the
environment. We are now collaborating closely with
others in the hemisphere to prepare the agenda for the
next Summit of the Americas, to be held in Santiago in
March 1998. Never before has there been such a window
of opportunity to promote a higher standard of living
through improved access to quality education and
adequate health care. Working together, we can prove
that democracy provides the means for improving the
daily lives of all the citizens of the Americas.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, 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 Monday, April 14, 1997, as
Pan American Day and April 13 through April 19, 1997,
as Pan American Week. I urge the Governors of the 50
States, the Governor of the Commonwealth of Puerto
Rico, and the officials of other areas under the flag
of the United States of America to honor these
observances with appropriate ceremonies and activities.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
eleventh day of April, in the year of our Lord nineteen
hundred and ninety-seven, and of the Independence of
the United States of America the two hundred and
twenty-first.