President Donald J. Trump Proclaims July 15 through July 21, 2018, as Captive Nations Week
Issued on: July 13, 2018
Two hundred and forty-two years ago, America was founded on the fundamental principle that all men and women are created equal and share an inherent dignity that government must value, respect, and protect. The founding of our great country lit a spark of freedom that spread around the world, unleashing human potential and lifting billions out of poverty. Today, we continue this sacred legacy. We hold in common the responsibility to strengthen the bonds of liberty for future generations to inherit and carry forward.
At the same time, we recognize that many around the world continue to live under the dark shadow of oppression and despotism. During Captive Nations Week, we remember that the rights and privileges we enjoy in the United States are not held by all. We stand in solidarity with those who continue to suffer under governments that stifle basic freedoms and deny the opportunity to build a better life.
President Dwight D. Eisenhower proclaimed the first Captive Nations Week in 1959 during the height of the Cold War. At that time, the United States was locked in an enduring struggle to preserve and advance freedom for nations held captive by totalitarian communist regimes in Eastern Europe, Asia, and elsewhere. These regimes dismissed the very idea of individual rights. Then, as it does today, the United States blazed as a beacon of hope for the oppressed, for lovers of freedom and justice, and for those who strive for the rule of law.
More:
https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/president-donald-j-trump-proclaims-july-15-july-21-2018-captive-nations-week/