Proclamation 5954—Pan American Day and Pan American Week, 1989

The people of the Americas share a deep love of liberty and dedication to the principles of democracy; the vast majority of nations throughout this hemisphere have freely elected governments. For the past century, these nations have been united in a unique international alliance that is known today as the Organization of American States. Pan American Day and Pan American Week celebrate the ideals we share as members of that alliance, as well as our collective commitment to political and economic freedom.

The peoples of the Americas represent the joining of European, African, Asian, and native American cultures. Centuries ago, these diverse cultures blended and emerged stronger. Our common past, our common values, and a desire for hemispheric unity for the sake of future generations motivated our forefathers to establish the Inter-American system one hundred years ago. Today, the Organization of American States is the proud successor to the Pan American Union, which evolved from the International Union of American Republics formed in 1890. Through the years, the Organization has faithfully served member states and their changing needs.

The United States firmly believes in the value of the Inter-American system and in the vision of freedom and representative democracy to which members are committed by the Charter of the Organization of American States. We support efforts to reevaluate and reinvigorate the system so that it can continue to be a formidable opponent of totalitarianism and drug trafficking and an effective instrument for promoting democracy, human rights, economic development, and peace in the region.

Now, Therefore, I, George Bush, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim Friday, April 14, 1989, as Pan American Day and the week of April 9 through April 15, 1989, as Pan American Week. I urge the Governors of the fifty States, the Governor of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and officials of other areas under the flag of the United States of America to honor these observances with appropriate ceremonies and activities.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this thirteenth day of April, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and eighty-nine, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirteenth.

GEORGE BUSH