Senate Ratifies NATO Enlargment Letter from the President of the Baltic American Freedom League to the Baltic American Community

CONGRATULATIONS! IT’S PARTY TIME!

DEAR COLLEAGUES:

THURSDAY, MAY 8, THE SENATE VOTED UNANIMOUSLY, 96 TO 0, TO ADMIT ESTONIA, LATVIA, LITHUANIA AND FOUR OTHER CANDIDATE COUNTRIES TO NATO. SENATORS NOT VOTING WERE THOMAS CARPER (D-DE), EDWARD KENNEDY (D-MA), JOSEPH LIEBERMAN (D-CT) AND LISA MURKOWSKI (R-AK) .

PRESIDENT GEORGE BUSH SIGNED THE RATIFICATION RESOLUTIONS AT A WHITE HOUSE CEREMONY THIS AFTERNOON. NO HOUSE ACTION IS REQUIRED.

THIS HISTORIC EVENT DID NOT COME ABOUT BY ACCIDENT, BUT IS DUE TO YOUR HARD WORK AND PERSISTENCE TO GET THE BALTIC NATIONS INTO NATO. WITH MEMBERSHIP IN NATO BALTIC SECURITY WILL BE FORTIFIED. THANK YOU.

“AS COCHAIR OF THE SENATE BALTIC FREEDOM CAUCUS, I WOULD BE REMISS TO NOT EXPRESS PARTICULARLY ARDENT SUPPORT FOR THE ACCESSION OF ESTONIA, LATVIA AND LITHUANIA TO NATO. THROUGH WORKING WITH GROUPS LIKE THE BALTIC AMERICAN FREEDOM LEAGUE, THE U.S. – BALTIC FOUNDATION AND THE JOINT BALTIC AMERICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE, I HAVE FIRSTHAND KNOWLEDGE OF THE LARGE GRASSROOTS PUBLIC SUPPORT ACROSS THE U.S. FOR INCLUSION OF THESE NOBLE NATIONS IN NATO. THESE ORGANIZATIONS DESERVE RECOGNITION FOR THEIR DECADES OF WORK TO HELP LIBERATE AND SECURE THE FUTURE OF THE BALTICS. MR. PRESIDENT, I ASK UNANIMOUS CONSENT THAT THIS STATEMENT BE INTRODUCED IN THE RECORD.”

SENATOR GORDON H. SMITH
UNITED STATES SENATE
MAY 7, 2003

COCHAIRMAN OF THE HOUSE BALTIC CAUCUS REPRESENTATIVE JOHN SHIMKUS (R-IL) ISSUED THE FOLLOWING STATEMENT OF CONGRATULATIONS TO THE BALTIC AMERICAN COMMUNITY: “I KNOW THAT MANY HAVE SUFFERED AND PERSEVERED IN ORDER TO SEE THE FULFILLMENT OF THE EMERGING DEMOCRACIES OF LATVIA, LITHUANIA AND ESTONIA BE BROUGHT FULLY INTO NATO. CONGRATULATIONS TO THE FREEDOM FIGHTERS WHO FOUGHT SOVIET OCCUPATION AND TO THE CURRENT LEADERS WHO ARE BRINGING THE BALTIC NATIONS INTO THE MAINSTREAM OF EUROPE.”

IN HIS OPENING STATEMENT SENATOR RICHARD LUGAR (R-OH) CHAIRMAN OF THE SENATE FOREIGN RELATIONS COMMITTEE STATED: ” THE ACHIEVEMENT OF “‘EUROPE, WHOLE, FREE AND AT PEACE “‘ WILL LIKELY BE REMEMBERED AS THE GREATEST LEGACY OF AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY IN THE 20TH CENTURY.”

“TODAY, LITHUANIA, LATVIA AND ESTONIA HAVE WORKED HARD TO BECOME MARKET ECONOMIES, TO WATCH THEIR DEMOCRACIES FLOURISH. THE FACT THEY WANT SO MUCH TO BE PART OF NATO IS AFFIRMATION OF GREAT HOPE AND GREAT OPTIMISM FOR EUROPE. I AM GLAD WE STOOD BY THESE COUNTRIES DURING THE DARK HOURS OF SOVIET OCCUPATION,” SAID THE COCHAIRMAN OF THE BALTIC CAUCUS SENATOR RICHARD DURBIN (D-IL).

SENATOR GEORGE VOINOVICH MEMBER OF THE BALTIC CAUCUS DECLARED, “THOSE COUNTRIES ALREADY MAKE SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTION THAT STRENGTHEN THE TRANS-ATLANTIC RELATIONSHIP.”

SENATOR JOHN McCAIN (R-AZ) NOTED THAT, “THE DEMOCRACIES…ADD A MORAL AND STABILITY DIMENSION TO THE ALLIANCE” AND THAT ” IT WELCOMES INTO THE ALLIANCE A LARGE GROUP OF NATIONS THAT RESOLUTELY SUPPORT AMERICAN LEADERSHIP.”

THE UNITED STATES WAS THE THIRD COUNTRY TO RATIFY THE ENLARGEMENT RESOLUTIONS. THE FIRST ONE WAS CANADA AND THE SECOND WAS NORWAY. All 19 MEMBERS OF NATO MUST AGREE ON A PROSPECTIVE MEMBER’S QUALIFICATIONS TO JOIN NATO. NATO HOPES TO ADMIT THE SEVEN CANDIDATES BY MAY 2004.

THE UNANIMOUS VOTE CONTRASTED WITH THE HEATED DEBATE THAT SURROUNDED THE LAST ROUND OF ENLARGEMENT FIVE YEARS AGO, WHEN THE SENATE VOTE 80-19 TO ADD THE CZECH REPUBLIC, HUNGARY AND POLAND.

IN AN AMENDMENT APPROVED BY A VOICE VOTE, THE SENATE INSTRUCTED PRESIDENT BUSH TO RAISE THE UNANIMITY ISSUE WITH NATO’S POLICY-MAKING BODY, THE NORTH ATLANTIC COUNCIL–WITHIN 18 MONTHS. THE AMENDMENT ALSO ASKS NATO TO CONSIDER A POLICY FOR SUSPENDING MEMBERS THAT NO LONGER ADHERE TO DEMOCRATIC PRINCIPLES.

THROUGH THEIR ACCESSION TO NATO, THE BALTIC COUNTRIES WILL NOW BE ABLE TO LIVE IN GREATER SECURITY, WHILE THE UNITED STATES AND NATO IS GAINING VALUABLE ALLIES THAT VALUE FREEDOM AND REPRESENTATIVE GOVERNMENT. THANK YOU AGAIN FOR YOUR TREMENDOUS WORK DID.
VALDIS V. PAVLOVSKIS
PRESIDENT
BALTIC AMERICAN FREEDOM LEAGUE

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