WASHINGTON, July 17 (UPI) -- U.S. President George W. Bush issued a proclamation Saturday designating the week of July 18, 2004 as Captive Nations week.
In his official proclamation, the president called upon the citizens of the United States, "to observe this week with appropriate ceremonies and activities and to reaffirm their commitment to all those seeking liberty, justice, and self-determination."
"We stand in solidarity," Bush said, "with those living under repressive regimes who seek democracy and peaceful changes in their homelands."
Bush also reaffirmed the U.S. intervention in Iraq.
It was not long ago, he said, that allied coalition, partners, "freed the Iraqi people from a dictatorship that routinely tortured and executed innocent civilians." In the intervening months, he said, they have assisted the Iraqi effort to, "establish institutions for the protection of human rights, based on democratic principles, to ensure that freedom will endure in the new Iraq."
During the annual observance of Captive Nations week, which is rooted in the Cold War, the American people are called to reaffirm their commitment to building a world where human rights, democracy and freedom are both respected and protected by the rule of law.
