AT THE WHITE HOUSE: Remarks by the first lady and the vice-president (05/12/96)

AT THE WHITE HOUSE: Remarks by the first lady and the vice-president

Hillary Rodham Clinton

Below are the full texts of remarks by First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton and Vice-President Al Gore during the White House ceremony held May 1 to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Chornobyl accident.

Thank you and please be seated. And please know how welcome you are here at the White House for this special commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the Chornobyl nuclear tragedy. I want to thank all of you for taking part. But there are a few people I would like to acknowledge who are here in the audience: Sen. Claiborne Pell, Brian Atwood, Ambassador Jim Collins, John Holem, Richard Morningstar, others who have worked on behalf of the United States government to assist those who have dealt on the front lines with the tragedy. I also want to extend a special welcome to the ambassadors who were just introduced to all of you - ambassadors of Ukraine, Belarus and Russia. They have joined us today to recognize the many individuals and organizations who have helped with relief efforts in the aftermath of Chornobyl - and they are here also to join with us in rededicating ourselves to the healing and recovery that must continue into the future.

Ambassador Shcherbak, we are particularly indebted to you. You were one of the first medical doctors to respond to the tragedy at Chornobyl. And in the years since, few have done as much as you, Mr. Ambassador, to educate people around the world about the medical and scientific realities of the Chornobyl disaster, and what they portend for humanity's future. I would like to ask Ambassador Shcherbak to stand, so that we may thank him.

Before the vice-president and I came into this room, we were in the Blue Room with the ambassadors and the wives who are here, and the other dignitaries that I just acknowledged, and Ambassador Shcherbak reminded the vice-president and me that it was on May 1, 10 years ago, that children were encouraged and even required to participate in May Day activities, despite the dangers of fallout and continuing damages from Chornobyl. And those who are in this room, who have worked on behalf of all of the people affected by Chornobyl, know what a terrible aftermath that has caused in the lives of so many children.

That is why it is a great privilege for me to serve as honorary chair of Chornobyl Challenge '96, which has convened experts, advocates and laypeople from across the spectrum to devise new strategies for coping with the aftermath of Chornobyl. Already there have been symposia of scientists, journalists, academics, church leaders, businesspeople and others who are working on these matters. This evening, at St. John's Church, there will be a prayer service for the victims of Chornobyl. Each of these gatherings gives us an opportunity to reflect on what we all need to do as citizens of the world to help those still coping with this unfolding tragedy.

Today's event is one both of mourning, but also of hope. Mourning because the people of Ukraine, Belarus and Russia have suffered so much in the years since the explosion and fire at Chornobyl's unit 4 reactor. Today, let us pray for those who lost their lives, and those who live each day with uncertainty about their own health and well-being.

But we are also here for a celebration of hope. As we so often see when tragedies occur, here and around the world, Americans and others respond with concern and compassion. They, and you, the entire human family, have answered the worst of man-made catastrophes with the best of human nature.

Even before the gravity of Chornobyl was fully revealed, offers of humanitarian assistance began pouring in. And they have continued year after year.

The private voluntary organizations, including those represented in this room, have supplied well over 1,000 tons of medicine and medical equipment and supplies to people in affected areas. Those donations alone are worth more than $100 million.

Private voluntary organizations have also established special hospitals for those people - many of whom are children - afflicted with thyroid cancers, leukemia, and other disorders stemming from exposure to radioactive elements. As part of the recovery effort, American doctors have gone to the former Soviet Union and patients have come to the United State for care.

Other organizations here today have focused on the disaster's environmental consequences. Some are helping address the overwhelming public health challenges faced in the region. And still others are helping to study and evaluate the long-term effects of the disaster. Through these and other activities the private volunteer community continues to focus the world's attention on the consequences and lessons of Chornobyl.

But these organizations cannot - and should not - do this work alone. I am pleased that the generosity of private volunteers has augmented humanitarian relief efforts by the United States government, particularly the delivery of medicines and treatment.

Today, these efforts convey a message of compassion and healing that tells the victims of Chornobyl that the world will not forget them or the tragedy they have endured.

Two years ago, and again last year, I was in the former Soviet Union, and I had the opportunity to visit hospitals in Ukraine, Belarus and Russia. I met with patients, many of them children, suffering from Chornobyl's aftermath. I talked with doctors and nurses who told me they were seeing increases in respiratory illness, heart disease, birth defects, male infertility and other reproductive problems. They told me about abnormally high rates of thyroid cancer and thyroid diseases in children - diseases that before the catastrophe rarely appeared in people so young.

In Kyiv, I talked to pregnant women who worried about what Chornobyl would mean for their children - and their children's children.

And at each hospital I visited, I saw extraordinary work being done by health care professionals under extremely trying circumstances. Doctors and nurses face chronic shortages of medicine and supplies - everything from syringes and simple antibiotics to chemotherapy medications and MRI machines.

Thanks to the contributions of our government and many organizations - and to the partnerships that our hospitals have established with hospitals in these three countries - lives are literally being saved every day.

Just in the brief time I was in Miensk, I saw American doctors from Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh sharing new treatment techniques with their counterparts in Belarus.

I watched soldiers deliver large boxes of blankets, syringes, bandages and medicine provided through Operation Provide Hope, a program run by the United States military that sends surplus medical supplies and equipment to the former Soviet Union. I was able to pass out crayons and coloring books donated by American companies, and even Boston Celtics caps that the team had sent.

Of course, this was just a fraction of the American relief work going on. And a fraction of the work that remains to be done by all of us.

As we celebrate today the many good and important deeds that were born of this tragedy, let's not forget that humanitarian assistance is not a short-term investment. the people and nations of Ukraine, Belarus and Russia are struggling to build the infrastructure and institutions needed to sustain democracy and repair the human spirit after harsh decades of totalitarianism. It is our duty, it is our moral responsibility, as believers in freedom and democracy - to help them.

Chornobyl is rare in the litany of global tragedies. Unlike bombings, wars, earthquakes, other natural and man-made disasters, we may never fully know the extent of damage done by the explosion and fire at Chornobyl 10 years ago.

Some of the more obvious aftereffects are well-documented. But what about the ultimate impact on the environment? On the food chain? On human genetics? And what about our own capacity to recognize that a tragedy like Chornobyl affects not just the people of Ukraine, Belarus and Russia, but people in every nation of the world?

The history of the people in the region of Chornobyl is a history of endurance. The nuclear disaster was a horrible chapter in that history. But from that crucible has emerged an opportunity to create something far better in its place. An opportunity to add another chapter that speaks to the resilience of the people of Ukraine, Belarus and Russia, and to the caring and compassion of our entire global family.

We are very grateful for all of you in this room, and for the many, many others you represent, who through your work, your prayers and your continued commitment to this important effort have already made a difference, and will continue to do so.

There is certainly much more that we need to be doing, and Chornobyl Challenge '96 I hope will identify those efforts. But we have three people here today, who have been deeply involved in assessing and evaluating, understanding and working to ameliorate the consequences of Chornobyl. First we will hear from our vice-president, he will talk to us about the efforts and commitment of the administration and the United States government. Next, we will hear from Alex Kuzma, who as the coordinator of Chornobyl Challenge '96 will talk to us about the commitment of the American relief community. And finally we will hear from Vova Malofienko, a courageous 11-year-old who will tell of his personal story about the treatment he has been receiving in this country for Chornobyl-related illnesses.

And now, I have the honor of introducing a man whose attention to Chornobyl and its aftermath has never wavered, who in many respects tried to warn all of us about some of the issues we are now dealing with, because of his commitment to the environment and to the future that we all share together in this world - the vice-president of the United States.

Al Gore

Thank you very much ladies and gentlemen, and let me begin by thanking you, Mrs. Clinton, for that very nice introduction and very generous introduction, and even more for your moving words about Chornobyl. All of us are in your debt for the hard work that you do to ease the pain and lift the lives of so many people around the world. Your deep concern for the future of the peoples of Ukraine, Belarus, Russia and other nations who were affected by the tragedy of Chornobyl has touched the hearts of all of us here today. And thank you so much for the honor of inviting me to participate with you in this event. I know of how moved you were in visiting the families that included victims of the Chornobyl accident. I also wish to acknowledge Sen. Pell and the others among the distinguished guests who are here: Alex Kuzma, and Vova Malofienko, who will speak in a moment, Ambassador Sergei Martinov and his wife Marguerita, Ambassador Yuli Vorontsov, Ambassador Yuri Shcherbak and Mrs. Shcherbak, Maria. Ambassador Shcherbak and I met with a small group of environmentalists many years ago in Moscow, before the break-up of the old Soviet Union, and he contributed much to my education about these matters. You are rightly honored here with the words of the first lady, today.

To the other distinguished guests who are here, including my colleagues who work along with me, under the president's leadership, on these issues, this is an extremely important occasion, because 10 springs ago, when reactor No. 4 of the Chornobyl nuclear power plant disintegrated in a blast of steam, flaming graphite and deadly radionuclides, the promise of a new season of renewal and hope gave way to a long, sad winter of suffering that remains with us to this day.

From that moment on, life for all of us would never be the same. But especially for those who lived in proximity to the reactor.

Chornobyl caused the complete social disintegration of whole communities. It caused dangerous radiation exposure for over half a million courageous men and women involved in the clean-up and medical care of survivors. In all, well over 50 million curies of radioactivity were released during the accident. Scientists remind us that this is dozens of times the radiation emitted by the atomic explosions over Hiroshima and Nagasaki combined - about 1 million times as much radiation as was released during the Three Mile Island accident of 1979, here in this country.

And the effects of the catastrophe still linger. They are measured in the anxiety of young Ukrainian, Belarusian and Russian parents who hope and pray that their newborns will grow healthy and whole. The effects are measured by the degraded natural resources that trace a poisoned arc across Ukraine, through Belarus, into Russia, and reaching as far as Scandinavia. They are measured by the uncertainty that we all share as we wonder whether one day another Chornobyl might once again unleash its fury.

But as the first lady so eloquently reminds us, out of this mire of tragedy also has emerged great stores of hope, and deep reservoirs of resolve. Selfless men and women - thousands upon thousands of them - risked their lives to protect those of others. And courageous leaders like so many of you here today are working tirelessly still to relieve suffering. Leaders like young Vova Malofienko who have taught the world so much about courage and constancy. We salute you, and we honor you for your heroic efforts. You're a young hero.

And we say today to all those who have worked and who have helped: all Americans stand with you. President Clinton is determined to do whatever our nation can to overcome this tragedy, and to help ensure that all reactors everywhere are safer, cleaner and forever free from the sort of catastrophe we remember on this important anniversary. The president has been working very hard, most recently in the summit meeting in Moscow, to address these issues in a constructive way.

That is also why the United Sates has delivered 100 tons of medical supplies to hospitals in Ukraine and Belarus. In cooperation with several visionary private voluntary organizations, we have launched Operation Provide Hope to send critical supplies to hospitals and cancer wards throughout the region. We have also launched through USAID, under Brian Atwood's leadership, several innovative partnerships between American and Ukrainian and Belarusian health providers to improve the efficiency and quality of health care. Our National Cancer Institute, together with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Department of Energy, are hard at work examining the health effects of the accident on children and clean-up workers so that treatment and care might be improved. And just a few days ago, we delivered over $12 million in additional aid and medical relief to Ukraine and Belarus, including a mobile laboratory enabling Ukraine to test its air, water and soil for contamination more effectively.

That is also the principal reason why the president just recently joined the leaders of the G-7 and Russia and Ukraine at the summit I mentioned a moment ago, called the Summit on Nuclear Safety and Security, to work towards the day when another Chornobyl cannot happen again. The president and his counterparts reaffirmed their commitment to a landmark agreement with Ukraine to mobilize over $3 billion, with more forthcoming, to support Ukraine's decision to close Chornobyl by the year 2000. And we congratulate your government, Mr. Ambassador, on that courageous and decision. And President Kuchma - to his great credit - announced his commitment to close one of Chornobyl's two operating reactors by the end of this year.

This agreement represents a historic opportunity to eradicate one of the world's gravest environmental threats. Safety is indeed a hallmark of this agreement. But so are energy efficiency and economic prosperity. For in working to close Chornobyl, Ukraine and the G-7 have developed a plan to create a valuable and competitive energy sector that treats energy as the scarce and precious commodity that it is. And in so doing, Ukraine will emerge a stronger economic competitor with the means to sustain the courageous course of economic reform on which it has embarked.

Can we meet these goals? President Clinton believes that we can, but only though the concerted efforts of Ukraine and its international partners. We recognize that much work needs to be done, and that many challenges - such as stabilizing the so-called "sarcophagus" which sits over the wreckage of unit 4 - many challenges like this one, still lie before us. But it is our strong belief that the people of Ukraine, Russia and Belarus have the resilience, the will, and the fortitude to overcome Chornobyl's physical and psychological legacies once and for all time. As President Yeltsin said recently about his own country, Russia "must and will" make sure another Chornobyl does not recur. And let me be clear: this appeal to common sense is not simply for one nation - but for all nations. It is a call for all people everywhere who have a stake in the well-being of their families and their environment, and who nurse a passion for freedom and reform.

Indeed, the future look brightest for those with the will for reform, with the will to take their futures into their own hands.

Chornobyl, after all, was not an act of God. It was caused by man. It was a product of a closed authoritarian system that had little concern for the welfare of its people. In retrospect, I think it was no surprise that just like the faulty nuclear reactor it created, the Communist Soviet system itself would soon implode into ash and dust. Chornobyl - perhaps more than any other symbol of the Communist era - exposed the weakness and corruption of the Soviet system. The people of Russia spoke out, with the people of Ukraine and Belarus and the other former republics, and said "enough." As Secretary of State Christopher rightly said just a few weeks ago, and I quote, "Governments that abuse their citizens too often have a similar contempt for their environment." To put it another way, men and women who are deprived of the right to chart their own destiny and defend themselves, their families and communities against abuse, are more often than not the victims of abuse, because they are unable to resist it.

This, perhaps, is the most enduring lesson of Chornobyl - a lesson that we'd do well to remember on this solemn anniversary: that only in freedom can people claim their rightful destiny to live in safety and security. Only in freedom can people insist on public health systems that work and on natural resources that are safeguarded and clean. Only in freedom can people hold bureaucracies accountable for how they manage potentially dangerous technologies.

Today, at long last, the people of Ukraine and Belarus and Russia have enormous opportunities before them. The promise of democracy and reform burns brightly, and the dream of a Europe no longer at risk of nuclear disaster slowly is becoming a reality. But the future of reform cannot be taken for granted. A more prosperous - and democratic - future will only take hold with the active commitment of all those who truly believe in freedom and the right of all people to have a voice in their own political and economic destinies. President Clinton and all of us who work with him are not natural bystanders. We know which forces we want to prevail, and they are the forces of reform. We have a stake in their prevailing, and we have the capacity through economic assistance, through generous private and voluntary efforts, and through rigorous diplomacy, to help them do so. I know, with God's help, that we will not fail.

Thank you all very much. Thank you.

Before introducing the next speaker, I want to add to those that I have acknowledged previously Congressman David Bonior, who has arrived. We appreciate your leadership Congressman Bonior.

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