FOR THE RECORD: Condoleezza Rice addresses students in Kyiv (12/18/05)

FOR THE RECORD: Condoleezza Rice addresses students in Kyiv

Following is the text of remarks by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice during a town hall meeting with students at Kyiv's Taras Shevchenko University on December 7. The text is as provided by the U.S. Department of State.

I'm honored to be here in Kyiv, and I have been here before several times, but this is my first as secretary of state. And as a professor myself, I'm just delighted to have a chance to come to a university and talk to university students. And so, after I make a few remarks, I hope you've been thinking about what questions you'd like to ask because that's really what I came to do is to take your questions so that we can have a dialogue.

I'm pleased to speak with you here at Ukraine's oldest and most distinguished university. It's the one that bears the name of this nation's great national writer, Taras Shevchenko. The Ukraine in which Shevchenko was born a serf has endured itself centuries of domination at the hands of neighbors, but over time there has developed in this nation a distinct and impassioned voice that has cried out for liberty and justice and independence. This was the great voice of Ukraine, and Shevchenko helped to liberate it in poetry.

For decades after the poet's death, however, the voice of Ukraine was not still fully sovereign. And even when your long-awaited day of independence came, the promise of democracy was not fulfilled. For many years, there were some who thought that the Ukrainian people, because of their culture or their history, were not ready for democracy. But, last November, Ukrainians showed that they were indeed ready for democracy and they dispelled these cynical doubts.

When the voice of Ukraine spoke, it burst forth in an unprecedented call for freedom and democracy and rule of law. Hundreds of thousands of citizens, perhaps some of you here today, braved frigid temperatures and the fear of violence, and pitched tents and reclaimed a stolen election. You showed the world that liberty is the desire of all freedoms, of all people and the destiny of all nations.

Today, the voice of Ukraine is speaking and it is setting high expectations for all who govern this country, expectations that should be viewed as challenges to be met, not a threat to be mitigated. Of course, it is never easy for a democratic movement to transition from the streets of protest to the halls of government. Setbacks and frustrations and disappointments are inevitable, nonetheless, the virtue of democracy is the power it gives its citizens to correct their government and strengthen their nation.

The Ukrainian people desire a clean and fair democracy, and their government must respond to that just demand. Corruption is a political cancer and attacks on the poor, and it must be confronted directly through government action and greater democratic reform, through more transparent and accountable institutions, a freer and more watchful media and a rule of law that no individual can violate with impunity. In every challenge before this nation, Ukraine's democratic reformers must cooperate in good faith to fulfill the promise of your democratic revolution.

Today, the voice of Ukraine is speaking and it is expressing a vision of Ukraine as distinct as the nation that it is, and it's distinct as a distinct nation as it advances in this region. Just as we grasped the rich potential of the Orange Revolution last year, a revolution that inspired people around the world, the United States now imagines a Ukraine that serves as an anchor of democratic stability in Europe and Eurasia.

The United States will help Ukraine to implement the necessary political and economic reforms to achieve the goal of membership in the European Union and the World Trade Organization. We will continue to support your desire to maintain good relations with your neighbors, especially with Russia. And if you decide that your future lies within NATO, then America will help you to meet those challenges as well.

Today, the voice of Ukraine is speaking and it is growing ever louder in support for the democratic aspirations of all people. The Orange Revolution was not just a triumph for your nation alone. You spoke for voiceless individuals everywhere who suffered silently in the shadows of fear. Through the weblogs and photographs you posted online, and the hopeful sights and sounds carried worldwide by satellite television, the voice of Ukraine resounded loudly across nations as far away as Lebanon and Palestine and Iraq and as close as Kyrgyzstan. And they inspired citizens to launch unprecedented democratic transformations of their own.

Ukraine is now helping to pioneer the cause of reform along the modern frontiers of freedom, whilst stretching into the Caucasus and running deep through the broader Middle East. Your contribution of troops to Iraq made a vital difference, and we respect your decision to bring them home. We appreciate Ukraine's continued help for the training of Iraqis who will defend their country. And we applaud your leadership of a community of democratic choice, and we encourage you to continue supporting the aspirations of the people of Iraq and Afghanistan and Belarus, the last tyranny in Europe.

Ukraine is now successfully defining itself as a global problem solver, from your work in combating the proliferation of dangerous weapons, to your support for the war on terrorism, to your compassionate efforts to help the victims of Pakistan's recent earthquake. And we in America will never forget that you responded, too, when Americans were in need after Hurricane Katrina.

For decades, many viewed Ukraine as an object in some larger struggle, be it the Cold War or the collapse of communism or the status quo of the previous decade. But today, because the free voice of Ukraine is finally speaking, because you, the people of this great nation, are realizing your destiny through democratic reform, the United States is dealing with its Ukrainian partner on its own terms. And together we are forging a true partnership, defined not as two nations focused on one and other, but as two nations working in concert to advance common purposes.

The historic purpose of our new partnership is engraved on the monument to Taras Shevchenko that stands proudly in my nation's capital, Washington, D.C., the very monument at which President [Viktor] Yushchenko gave a speech and laid a wreath during his recent trip to Washington. The statue's inscription reads, "Dedicated to the liberation, freedom and independence of all captive nations." For now and for the future, our two countries must remain so dedicated. And we must support all people who long to find and express true voices of their free nations.

Thank you. And now I look forward to taking your questions or comments.

* * *

Parting comment to students after the the question and answer session:

It was really fun to spend some time with you and you're the - not just the future of Ukraine, you're the present of Ukraine, too. So all the best to you in your studies and all the best to you in defending and protecting your democracy."

| Home Page |