FOR THE RECORD: The president's speech at the Liberty Medal ceremony (09/25/05)

FOR THE RECORD

The president's speech at the Liberty Medal ceremony

Following is the text of the speech delivered by President Viktor Yushchenko on September 17 in Philadelphia after he received the Liberty Medal. The text was released by the press office of the president of Ukraine.

Ladies and gentlemen!

I am grateful to the United States and U.S. government. I am thankful to the award committee. I am honored to be with you at this wonderful place. I would like to express my special gratitude to the Ukrainian community.

You know, it is very warm and pleasant to see posters reading "Greetings from Tysmenytsia" or "Greetings from Ternopil," hundreds of people dressed in national costumes and dozens of national flags thousands of miles away from my motherland. Thank you so much for this.

Thank you for loving Ukraine however far you live from your country.

I am honored to celebrate your Constitution Day in the city where it matured. More than 200 years ago a bell that bears a divine inscription pealed out to declare its birth.

The sound of that bell still echoes around the world. Nations hear the bell and understand its language. Only freedom can protect such precious things as children, family, work and welfare. Only democracy can make people respect their natural rights granted by the Creator.

Signing the Constitution, its fathers were aware of their lofty mission. "We work for the benefit of all mankind," said Thomas Jefferson. Our history proves that he was right.

The authors of the Constitution and Declaration knew that their creation had absorbed all precious treasures of freedom. Ukraine also contributed its share to that experience.

The Ukrainian nation is proud of writing Europe's first constitution. Its author, Pylyp Orlyk, was the first national leader who took an oath on the Constitution in 1710. He believed that "rights and liberties are granted to the people by God."

The American Constitution made a breakthrough in that century-long struggle for freedom. I am excited to think this is the place where its triumphant way started. It has been living for almost two centuries. It cannot be stopped by iron curtains or barbed-wire fences. Polish Solidarity, the Czechs' Velvet Revolution and the fall of the Berlin Wall show that democracy changed the whole European continent. The Ukrainian nation is the first to continue these changes in the 21st century.

The peaceful and spectacular Orange Revolution demonstrated its power of freedom. It showed that Ukrainians respected human dignity, justice and independence. These values remain in the hearts of millions of people. They took to streets to battle for these principles. They stood up and won!

Dear ladies and gentlemen:

I am honored to be decorated with the Philadelphia Liberty Medal.

I am grateful to the Philadelphia Foundation and all the noble people who nominated and supported me. Dear friends, thank you for your respect and support. Thank you for believing in my hard work.

Thank you for this honor. I would like to reiterate that millions of my fellow citizens will share it with me. They deserve this award for their patience, courage and dignity. I am dedicating this award to all citizens of the free and democratic Ukraine.

The Ukrainian nation chose its democratic way to the future. We will never turn back.

"When freedom takes root, its growth can never be stopped," said George Washington. "Freedom cannot be stopped," repeated the people, standing in the Orange maidan. We will never break this oath.

Freedom and democracy helped the American nation turn deserts and prairies into this wonderful and prosperous country. They encourage Ukrainians to restore their country. Our aim is to make all citizens confident in their future and ensure justice.

We regard our country as a territory of a free, prospering economy and high social standards. We regard it as a part of united Europe. We see ourselves in this big family of democratic nations.

Ladies and gentlemen:

This road ahead is challenging, but we are ready to overcome it. We have already started to change our life. I am convinced that only a powerful and free nation can achieve such results so fast. You can freely express your opinion in Ukraine. There are no topics or individuals that cannot be discussed or criticized. Next year we will have our first fair elections.

Ukraine should do much to eradicate poverty. However, millions of people are hopeful. Solidarity and responsibility are becoming a norm for the state.

The government wants to be a partner for businesses.

Our democracy is insipient and we should all learn to live in its bright light.

I am convinced that our nation is strong enough to be responsible for the state and its fate. It will never plunge into civil strife. Responsible politicians are uniting to make the country prosper. Democratic changes will only be introduced democratically.

I appreciate your unique respect for the Constitution, which is also manifested at this ceremonial place.

I am sure we can change the Constitution only when all politicians and people reach mutual understanding. It should belong to generations of people and never be re-written to please politicians.

Dear friends:

We will never forget the solidarity Americans and other democratic nations demonstrated at that decisive time for our nation. We managed to construct a firm bridge that unites us. We built it from such solid materials as our common beliefs in good and evil. I believe we will work hard on this bridge in both directions.

Today, we grieve with the United States over the Katrina disaster. Ukraine was one of the first countries to offer its help. We believe that the American nation will transform its spiritual power into its creative power.

This millennium brings us new challenges, threats and crises. John Kennedy once said that the Chinese used two hieroglyphs to spell the word "crisis." The first means "danger" but the second means "possibilities." I believe that unity of all free nations based on genuinely democratic values will reveal unseen possibilities. We will jointly use them.

Dear friends:

I accept this medal as an oath to loyalty. I will pass it on to my children along with the World War II medals of my father who was a war prisoner. They are equal to me - these are tokens of freedom gained by the nation. They remind us of the price we paid for it and our obligation to preserve this God's precious gift. This is our obligation. We will preserve it.

May God bless America!

May God protect Ukraine!

Thank you.

| Home Page |