Новини

21 травня 2004 року до Київського національного університету імені Тараса Шевченка прибув з приватним неофіційним візитом 41-й Президент США – Джордж Герберт Уолкер Буш. Екс-президент прибув в рамках свого європейського турне до Києва, одним із важливих візитів якого, був візит до класичного університету. Заповнена студентами, викладачами та поважними персонами актова зала червоного корпусу дружньо зустріла колишнього політичного діяча Америки, де він поділився своїм досвідом.

Пан Джорж згадав ті роки (кінець 70-х), коли він викладав в одному з американських університетів і навіть був доцентом та радив студентам щоб вони об’єднувались і самі робили перші кроки до демократизації, адже головне для України – це удосконалення демократії. Згадаймо, роки Радянського союзу, коли Україна виступала одним із ключових моментів мирної політики. А отже є над чим задуматися.

Приємною несподіванкою для Екс-президента стало число зростання ринкової економіки за останні 13 років української незалежності, а особливо – що середньостатистичне життя українця стало набагато кращим, ніж було раніше.

Буш старший, зауважив, що дуже довго чекав на цю поїздку, щоб поділитися своїми думками в провідній інституції Вищої освіти.
Нагадаємо, що перший офіційний візит президента США в Україну був в 1991 році, а за роки багато чого змінилося.

Відомо, що Київський національний університет імені Тараса Шевченка має чільне місце в усьому світі, як відмітив Джордж Буш: “Це невичерпне джерело освіти і науки, яке постійно поповнюється знаннями і досвідом українських студентів та вчених.”

President George H.W. Bush
Kyiv National Taras Shevchenko University

Kyiv, Ukraine
May 21, 2004
Remarks Prepared For Delivery

Thank you for that warm welcome, and my thanks for that very kind introduction.

Acknowledgments : Victor Pinchuk (Member of Parliament; Founder/Interpipe Group); Prof. Oleg Tretyak (First Vice Rector); Leonid Kravchuk (Former President of Ukraine); U.S. Ambassador John Herbst; all government officials; members of the diplomatic corps; distinguished guests; ladies and gentlemen ...

Let me start by saying that this is a trip I have been looking forward to making for some time. I am delighted to have been invited back to Ukraine, and back to Kyiv.

I am also honored to have been invited to share a few thoughts about our world here in the grand Conference Hall of this wonderful university, which enjoys a special status as a respected, leading institution of higher learning.

Since the time of its foundation 170 years ago, what is known today as Kyiv National Taras Shevchenko University has been a cradle of progressive thinking - fueling the intellect and the highest aspirations of the Ukrainian people, upholding your innate freedom-loving spirit. And before I go any further, here before this distinguished audience I want to salute the University staff, particularly the professors, who are contributing so much to Ukraine's future by your service.

Not many people know this, but I spent a year in the late 1970s teaching as an adjunct professor of business at Rice University in Houston, Texas - and I loved my brief time in the world of academia. Teaching, as I discovered, has its own rewards - and it is, as I put it, a genuine service.

Of course, my appreciation for what a superb academic team can accomplish has been greatly enhanced in recent years with the launching of the George Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University. What started out only five years ago is already one of the most respected master's degree programs in the country - and a big part of this success is thanks to a friend of mine, Dr. Roman Popadiuk, who I was proud to nominate to serve here in Kyiv as our first Ambassador after Ukraine declared its long-sought independence in 1991.

At the heart of our Bush School is the idea that society is best served when informed citizens participate in the debate to help tackle the big issues of their times. Only through fair and open competition in the marketplace of ideas can true, lasting, enlightened progress be established and then harnessed to spread the hope of peace with prosperity.

We started our school to help inculcate into future generations the idea that, despite the controversy that sometimes erupts in our old but ever-young democracy, public service remains a noble calling - and that good people of all political persuasions can and should get involved in the process.

This year, as in the United States, you have a raging battle of ideas taking place as part of the run-up to Ukraine's presidential election this Fall - a fact that, by itself, underscores how dramatically Ukraine has changed for the better since my last visit here 13 years ago in August of 1991. That visit came right on the heels of a historic visit to Moscow, where for the first time we signed a treaty with the Soviets to reduce - not to limit, but to reduce - our nuclear arsenals (START I).

Accompanying me to Ukraine that day on Air Force One, the President's plane, was the Soviet Vice President, Gennady Yanayev - who was a noteworthy guest for two reasons. First, he was surely the highest ranking Soviet official ever to ride on Air Force One; and second, later that month, he would participate in a failed coup against Mikhail Gorbachev.

When we arrived here that bright day, I will never forget how - in addition to the Soviet and American anthems - they also played Ukraine's national anthem. Nor, I might add, will I ever forget the thousands of people who lined the streets to give us a warm, and for me, emotional welcome.

After my lunch with Leonid Kravchuk, a man I respect, I was highly honored to have been given the chance to address what was then called the Supreme Soviet here in Kyiv - and during my remarks I sought to affirm the support of the United States for those who explore the "frontiers of freedom." My message that day was, I hope, a clear message to all: That the United States of America would always welcome and support those reformers who joined us on the path to a New World Order.

Of course, little did I, or anyone, realize that before the end of the month the failed coup against Gorbachev would unleash a series of events that ultimately set Ukraine and the other Soviet Republics on the path to independence.

Hindsight is always 20/20, as the saying goes, and standing here today you might say that visit - coming as it did in August of 1991 - marked the daybreak of the new world order. For after August of 1991, we could more clearly see the way forward. We knew freedom had finally prevailed in the Cold War. And we knew a new and more hopeful era for mankind lay ahead.

That next month, in September, I had another visit with then-Chairman Kravchuk - this time in Washington -and I remember how he bluntly me told that the Ukrainian people wanted total freedom.

Dealing with Russia and Ukraine were critical issues as we dealt with the dissolution of the Soviet Union, so it was with a sense of relief and wonder that we watched on December 1st as 90 percent of your countrymen voted for independence. Just a week later, on December 8th, I had a historic conversation with Boris Yeltsin - who was meeting with newly-elected President Kravchuk and President Stanislav Shushkevich of Belarus.

During our conversation, Yeltsin read what sounded to be a prepared statement covering an agreement he had just signed with his two counterparts. "This accord," he intoned, "consisting of 16 articles, is basically a creation of a commonwealth or group of independent states." In short, Yeltsin had just told me that he - and the presidents of Ukraine and Belarus - had decided to dissolve the Soviet Union.

Suffice it to say, those were dramatic days indeed; and looking back today, one might be tempted to think that the outcome of those heady events was preordained. I can assure you nothing could be further from the truth. Had your leaders acted irresponsibly or precipitously, for example, that could have prompted a crackdown from the Soviet Army. But because Ukraine's leaders acted not out of self-interest but rather in the national interest, there would be no repeat of the Prague Spring here in Kyiv.

My point in recounting these events is to salute Ukraine for the key role it played in the peaceful, legal transfer of power away from the center at a time when the stakes could not have been higher. To that point in history, revolutions were usually marked by brutal bloodshed followed by prolonged periods of anarchy; but as we saw with the Velvet Revolution led by Vaclav Havel in Czechoslovakia, and as we saw with Lech Walesa and Solidarity in Poland, what transpired here 13 years ago marked a new and more hopeful chapter for mankind. Near the end of the bloodiest century in history, your peaceful, unrelenting revolution of ideas cast aside the bloody Revolution of 1917.

This is a particularly important point for any students with us here today, because history rarely affords us the opportunity to shape geopolitical events in such fundamental ways - and looking back, I hope the historians will say we got it right. I hope they will note how we tried to conduct ourselves in ways that enhanced the long-term prospects for peace and prosperity, while also seizing the opportunity to liberate tens of millions of once-oppressed peoples who have just as much claim to freedom as any American.

So it is deeply moving for me to return to Kyiv, and to see how far you have moved down the path to freedom -a path you are still marching with pride and great determination today.

Though I have been here just a short time, I can tell that the Kyiv to which I have returned is a demonstrably more dynamic city. The signs of prosperity are everywhere I look - from the shopping centers and other commercial development, to, yes, even the traffic.

So clearly the economic reforms and the financial turnaround that took hold in the 1990s are paying off. Life is getting better for the average Ukrainian. Gone are the food lines, for one, and yet there is still so much to do.

Over the past 13 years, the heady atmosphere that accompanied Ukraine's quest for independence has gradually given way to the sober realization that the process of self-governance can be difficult and even frustrating work. After all, Ukraine has had to undergo three transformations: from a Communist political system to democratic structures; from a command economy to the market; and from a part of the Soviet Union to an independent state with its own foreign relations. Ukraine has had to manage these transformations simultaneously and, naturally, after decades of oppression it has taken time to plant and nurture the roots of democracy and self-governance.

I have read reports that there were some - including in Ukraine itself-who, early on, doubted that the country could stand on its own. But now, more than a dozen years since the fall of the USSR, Ukrainian statehood is stronger than ever.

As you have charted your own course to the future, you have instituted some badly needed and, thus, welcome internal economic reforms - particularly in the agricultural and energy sectors. Last year, your Gross Domestic Product grew by a remarkable 9.4 percent - driven by exports of manufactured goods, and the booming construction sector. More importantly, ordinary Ukrainians are beginning to feel the benefits: household income and consumption have risen dramatically.

Ukraine has also outlined some ambitious political goals in the international community designed to strengthen your political stability and economic security. Here, of course, I am referring to the Ukraine's stated Euro-Atlantic aspirations as far as joining NATO, the EU, the WTO are concerned. These are worthy ambitions.

Lest there be any doubt, the United States wants to see Ukraine develop as a stable, independent, democratic, economically prosperous country, a country that increasingly draws closer to these kinds of institutions that promote human rights and the rule of law - and which encourage positive, mutually-beneficial relations with its neighbors.

Of course, as one of many who worked hard to drastically reduce the global threat of nuclear conflict, I am particularly pleased to salute Ukraine for keeping its word to return strategic nuclear weapons to Russia - and for signing the Non-Proliferation Treaty. When the Soviet Union broke up, Ukraine had on its territory the third largest strategic nuclear arsenal in the world - greater than those of the United Kingdom, France and China combined.

Your responsible action on this vital issue since then has enhanced the security of the region, and indeed the world..

Moreover, by joining the "coalition of the willing," as the President of the United States has referred to it, Ukraine is also making a significant, positive, and praiseworthy contribution to the global war against terror. Some might be surprised to know that you have sent 1,600-plus troops to Iraq - the fourth largest contingent - to help secure the blessings of liberty for the 25 million Iraqis who suffered too long under the brutality of Saddam Hussein. But I, for one, am not surprised.

Following my speech here in 1991, I visited the memorial at Babi Yar - where 50 years before Nazi occupiers had systematically murdered tens of thousands of Ukrainians, Jews, and others. What happened there during that time was evil, pure and simple.

To Ukraine's credit, then, you have not stood idly by while a shadowy new agent of evil in our world - terrorism -has bored its way into modern society. Owing perhaps to the fact that it was not until a short time ago that you reclaimed your long-lost freedom, you inherently recognize the insidious nature of this threat - and are willing to help lead a global coalition in turning it back.

And knowing the President of the United States as I do, I know he greatly values the important contribution that Ukraine is making to the stabilization effort in Iraq. Moreover, I know he mourns the three combat fatalities your brigade there has suffered operating in the Al-Kut region. There have been calls in some quarters for the withdrawal of your troops; but President Kuchma has stood firm in his commitment, and freedom- loving people everywhere thank Ukraine for its efforts and sacrifices.

Thirteen years on, then, Ukraine has indeed come a long way - and can point to so much with pride. As the New World Order has entered its second decade, the Ukraine I see today is more confident, more dynamic, and looking to the future as never before.

Yet before the New World Order can take full hold here or anywhere, it is critical to make sure old habits from the old order do not seep back into society. You cannot fully embrace the future by resorting to the ways of the past.

When I left here in August of 1991,1 noted that I was returning home and would soon start campaigning for reelection. As I was soon to discover, it would not be a particularly pleasant year ahead; and to be sure the outcome in that 1992 election was not what we had hoped for. As Winston Churchill once put it, I received the "Order of the Boot".

Losing an election is never easy, because you feel you have let so many people down. Campaigns are not so much about the top person on the ticket as they are about the ideas for which he or she stands - ideas, which, in turn, band together political parties. I fought hard on the campaign trail every day of 1992, and did my best to advance ideas to help move America forward. At the end of the day, however, the American people decided to take a new course -and as President, I respected the majesty of the democratic process. I was always mindful that the Office of the Presidency is bigger than any one person, and the people had spoken in a vigorously fought but fair election. I give my opponents great credit for the successful campaign they waged.

Incidentally, since the '92 election some have suggested - convincingly, I must admit - that the vast majority of those working in the national news media sided with my opponent; but that's a necessary part of the process when you have a free press - sometimes they write and report stuff you don't like. To be honest, I strongly disagreed with almost all of the news reporting we saw in 1992. I thought it was totally biased against me, but then I am hardly the first U.S. President to harbor such hard feelings towards the media.

No less than George Washington, my country's very first president, once complained that the press treated him in "such exaggerated and indecent terms as could scarcely be applied to a Nero, a notorious defaulter, or even to a common pick-pocket." As for me, suffice it to say that, while I always defended freedom of the press as President, today as a private citizen I rejoice in my freedom from the press.

The point is: The give and take of elective politics is never easy - one side wins, other sides lose - but at the end of the day what is far more important than who wins or who loses is maintaining a respect for the process.

I don't think I have ever mentioned this in public, but after Al Gore gave his concession speech following the 2000 election, I called him in his car to tell him how much I respected the way he accepted a tough decision - and because I knew how he must have been feeling at that time. It hurts to lose, as I say, but Al Gore was gracious in defeat -just as I know George W. Bush would have been equally magnanimous had the outcome been different.

Here in Ukraine, we are likewise hopeful that all sides in the forth-coming presidential contest will work to ensure that Ukrainians have the free and fair election you deserve. Indeed, as others have noted, a free and fair election is key to strengthening Ukraine' s relations with the West.

In late March, I know Deputy Secretary Armitage carried a letter from President Bush to President Kuchma on the importance of a free and fair election for U.S.-Ukraine relations and the future of Ukraine. Secretary Powell and his team have strongly conveyed the same point to senior Ukrainian officials. And here I also want to salute Ambassador Herbst, who is reaching out to Ukrainian officials, legislators, and others on a daily basis to discuss the issue.

Moreover, the European Union, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the European Parliament, and the OSCE have all taken strong stands on democracy and election issues in Ukraine, and so there is widespread international interest in this. And why not? What happens here matters. What happens in Ukraine has an impact on peace and stability in this critical region of the world. In the United States - as is the case, I am sure, here in Ukraine - speaking frankly with someone is a sign of respect. So let me be candid and, hopefully, clear on this point. Every election is about making a choice; but in addition to the choice of candidates Ukrainians will have on the ballot this October, how the election itself is conducted will also constitute a choice that your leaders have made about your future. Some are concerned, based on events in recent local elections, that similar mischief may mar the process by which the next president is chosen. If so, that would be tragic.

But I have confidence that in 2004, as in 1991, Ukraine's leaders will act not in their self-interest - but in the national interest. I think they will realize that there is too much as stake, too much to lose, by acting cavalierly or injudiciously - and that it will be far better, instead, to be remembered for having contributed to a peaceful orderly transfer of power.

The ambitious, laudable goals Ukraine has publicly chosen to set for itself- particularly as it relates to joining NATO, the EU, WTO, and other multilateral institutions - are goals that rely on adopting shared values. On October 31st, in that sense, Ukraine has a fantastic opportunity to show the world it is ready to make that next step - that just as it is discharging its domestic constitutional responsibilities with equanimity, so too is it prepared to assume a growing role in the broader world community.

Lord knows, I could wish nothing more for you, because if Ukraine follows this track I have no doubt that brighter days lie ahead. I am sure there are some who are frustrated by the pace of reform - and others who are frustrated by the checks and benefits of democracy that make progress difficult to achieve - and to them I could find no better words than the closing lines from Taras Shevchenko's poem, My Friendly Epistle:

Blest be your children in these lands

By touch of your toil-hardened hands,

And, duly washed, kissed let them be

With lips that speak of liberty!

Then all the shame of days of old,

Forgotten, shall no more be told;

Then shall our day of hope arrive,

Ukrainian glory shall revive,

No twilight but the dawn shall render

And break forth into novel splendor...

These words, which once upon a time satirized the oppression of Ukraine by outside forces, today speak to a new truth - the new Ukraine, with unlimited potential, which has had a new birth in freedom.

Ukraine's day of hope has indeed arrived, and I wish each of you well as you strive to write the next chapter of accomplishment in the epic story that is Ukraine.
So thank you very much for your warm welcome back to Kyiv, good luck to you all, and now I will be happy to answer a few questions. склад канцтоваров канцелярские товары киев


http://kiev.usembassy.gov