Home > 2003 Presidential Documents > pd09jn03 Remarks at a Multilateral Meeting With Arab Leaders in Sharm el-Sheikh,...pd09jn03 Remarks at a Multilateral Meeting With Arab Leaders in Sharm el-Sheikh,...
Week Ending Friday, June 6, 2003
Letter to Congressional Leaders Transmitting Designations Under the
Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Act
May 29, 2003
Dear __________ :
I transmit herewith my designation of the following four foreign
persons and three foreign entities as appropriate for sanctions under
section 804(b) of the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Act, 21 U.S.C. 1901-
1908, and report my direction of sanctions against them under that Act:
Juan Jose Esparragoza Moreno
Jose Albino Quintero Meraz
Hector Luis Palma Salazar
United Wa State Army
Leonardo Dias Mendonca
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Fuerzas Armadas
Revolucionarias de Colombia, ``FARC'')
United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (Autodefensas Unidas de
Colombia, ``AUC'')
Sincerely,
George W. Bush
Note: Identical letters were sent to Richard G. Lugar, chairman, Senate
Committee on Foreign Relations; John W. Warner, chairman, Senate
Committee on Armed Services; Charles E. Grassley, chairman, Senate
Committee on Finance; Pat Roberts, chairman, Senate Select Committee on
Intelligence; Orrin G. Hatch, chairman, Senate Committee on the
Judiciary; Henry J. Hyde, chairman, House Committee on International
Relations; Duncan Hunter, chairman, House Committee on Armed Services;
Christopher Cox, chairman, House Select Committee on Homeland Security;
Porter J. Goss, chairman, House Permanent Select Committee on
Intelligence; F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr., chairman, House Committee on
the Judiciary; and William M. Thomas, chairman, House Committee on Ways
and Means. This letter was released by the Office of the Press Secretary
on June 2.
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Monday, June 9, 2003
Volume 39--Number 23
Pages 697-735
Week Ending Friday, June 6, 2003
Remarks Prior to Discussions With President Jacques Chirac and an
Exchange With Reporters in Evian-les-Bains, France
June 2, 2003
President Bush. First of all, I want to thank Jacques for his warm
hospitality. We've had a really good meeting. This morning we talked
about our common desires to grow our economies. I thought it was a very
interesting and fantastic meeting; I really did.
Today I'm going to meet with Jacques here in a little bit and ask
his advice on the Middle East. He's a man who knows a lot about the
Middle East, he has got good judgment about the Middle East, and we will
spend some time discussing that.
I know there's a lot of--a lot of people in both our countries
wondering whether or not we could actually sit down and have a
comfortable conversation. And the answer is: Absolutely. We can have
disagreements, but that doesn't mean we have to be disagreeable to each
other. And so I'm very glad I came
[[Page 710]]
and would say absolutely that this has been a very helpful and a
positive meeting. Thank you, sir, for your hospitality.
[At this point, President Chirac spoke in French, and no translation was
provided.]
President Bush. We've agreed to take one question apiece. Terry
[Terry Moran, ABC News], do you want to ask a question?
President's Upcoming Visit to Egypt
Q. Mr. President, can you tell us your expectations for the summit
in Sharm el-Sheikh? And what are you hearing from the region?
President Bush. Well, first let me talk about my expectations for
the G-8. They have been met. I was hoping to come to Europe and to say
that a united Europe working with America can do a lot of good; it can
do a lot of good on issues such as fighting terror or working on matters
such as proliferation. We can do a lot of good to help those who suffer
in the world. And so the expectations--at least as far as I'm
concerned--have been met here.
My expectations in the Middle East are to call all the respective
parties to their responsibility to achieve peace, and to make it very
clear that my country and I will put in as much time as necessary to
achieve the vision of two states living side by side in peace.
I fully understand this is going to be a difficult process. I fully
understand we need to work with our friends, such as France, to achieve
the process. I know we won't make progress unless people assume their
responsibilities. The first message is, I will dedicate the time and
energy to move the process forward. And I think we'll make some
progress. I know we're making progress.
[A question was asked and answered in French, and no translation was
provided.]
France-U.S. Relations
President Bush. Yes, and I want to thank President Chirac's support
in the latest resolution in the United Nations. Listen, we must be
frank, we went through a difficult period. I understand his position. He
made it very clear to me in the very beginning. There was no question
where Jacques Chirac stood, and I made it--I made it clear where I
stood. And that's why I can say we've got good relations, because we're
able to be very honest with each other.
But when it came time to focus on a free Iraq, a healthy Iraq, a
prosperous Iraq, we're in agreement, and we will move together to ensure
that the Iraqi people have now got the capacity to run their own
country. It's going to take them time to get there. It's a difficult
situation in Iraq, but we are committed to a free Iraq, and together we
can make that happen more quickly than if we were still at odds on the
issue.
Thank you, Jacques, appreciate it.
[A question was asked and answered in French, and no translation was
provided.]
Note: The President spoke at 11:42 a.m. at the Hotel Royal. A tape was
not available for verification of the content of these remarks.
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Monday, June 9, 2003
Volume 39--Number 23
Pages 697-735
Week Ending Friday, June 6, 2003
Statement on the Detention of
Aung San Suu Kyi in Burma
June 2, 2003
I am deeply concerned by reports from Burma of the detention of Aung
San Suu Kyi and members of her political party as well as reports that
military authorities have closed her party headquarters in Rangoon. The
military authorities should release Aung San Suu Kyi and her supporters
immediately and permit her party headquarters to re-open.
The situation in Burma has long been of concern to the United
States. We have urged Burmese officials to release all political
prisoners and to offer their people a better way of life, a life
offering freedom and economic progress. We welcomed the release of Aung
San Suu Kyi from house arrest more than a year ago. This step gave the
military regime an opportunity to enter into a substantive dialog with
Aung San Suu Kyi and all political groups to promote national
reconciliation and democracy. This is still the only path to peace and
prosperity for all of Burma's people.
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Monday, June 9, 2003
Volume 39--Number 23
Pages 697-735
Week Ending Friday, June 6, 2003
Remarks at a Multilateral Meeting With Arab Leaders in Sharm el-Sheikh,
Egypt
June 3, 2003
Well, Mr. President, thank you very much for hosting this important
meeting. I want to thank the leaders for coming, Your Majesties and His
Royal Highness. Prime Minister Abbas, I want to thank you and your
delegation for coming as well.
I'm the kind of person who, when I say something, I mean it. I mean
that the world needs to have a Palestinian state that is free and at
peace. And therefore, my Government will work with all parties concerned
to achieve that vision.
I believe now is the time to work to achieve the vision. All of us
have responsibilities to achieve the vision.
You, sir, have got a responsibility, and you've assumed it. I want
to work with you, as do the other leaders here.
We must not allow few people, a few killers, a few terrorists to
destroy the dreams and the hopes of the many. Israel has got
responsibilities. Israel must deal with the settlements. Israel must
make sure there's a contiguous * territory that the Palestinians can
call home.
* White House correction.
The leaders at the table have got a responsibility. The biggest
responsibility that they have, it seems like to me, is to fight off any
source of funding to terror, is to prevent the terrorists from gaining a
foothold. I know that is the commitment of the leaders here; I have
talked to them about that. It's in their own self-interests to fight off
terror. It's in their own self-interests to enable the Palestinian state
to emerge.
So this is an historic meeting. It's the beginning of a long process
and a tough process. But no matter how difficult it is, you have my
commitment that I will expend the energy and effort necessary to move
the process forward.
I believe that, as I told the Crown Prince, the Almighty God has
endowed each individual on the face of the Earth with--that expects each
person to be treated with dignity. This is a universal call. It's the
call of all religions, that each person must be free and treated with
respect. And it is with that call that I feel passionate about the need
to move forward, so that the world can be more peaceful, more free, and
more hopeful.
Mr. President, thank you for convening this meeting. Tomorrow we've
got important meetings as well. This is the beginning of a process where
all of us must not allow the few to destroy the hopes of the many.
May God bless our work.
Note: The President spoke at 1:50 p.m. at the Movenpick Conference
Center. Participating in the meeting with the President were: President
Hosni Mubarak of Egypt; Crown Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia; King
Abdullah II of Jordan; King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa of Bahrain; and
Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) of the Palestinian Authority. A
tape was not available for verification of the content of these remarks.
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[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents]
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Monday, June 9, 2003
Volume 39--Number 23
Pages 697-735
Week Ending Friday, June 6, 2003
Remarks Prior to Discussions With President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt in
Sharm el-Sheikh
June 3, 2003
President Mubarak. Today we have met with the President of the
United States, President George Bush, to affirm our common commitment to
seize this historic moment to advance the peace cause forward.
President Bush gave impetus to the peace process by his vision of
two states, Israel and Palestine, living in peace and security. This
vision means that, alongside the existing state of Israel, a new state
for the Palestinians will emerge.
We welcome the roadmap rising from this vision and adopted by the
Quartet, especially since it has been accepted by both the Israeli and
Palestinian Governments. We particularly express our appreciation for
President Bush's strong personal commitment for its full implementation.
The roadmap provides for ending the occupation that began in 1967
and resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by 2005, through
fulfillment of all sides to their own obligations. Peace obligations are
built on the foundations of the Madrid Conference, the
[[Page 712]]
principles of land for peace, and U.N. Security Council Resolutions 242,
338, and 1397, and the initiative of Saudi Crown Prince Saud Abdullah
Aziz, which was unanimously endorsed by the Arab League Summit in
Beirut.
We support the determination of the Palestinian Authority to fulfill
its responsibility to end violence and to maintain law and order, as
announced by Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas. We will continue to support
the Palestinian Authority's efforts to uphold these commitments in order
to allow it to consolidate its authority in democratic and accountable
institutions. We will ensure that our assistance to the Palestinians
goes solely to the Palestinian Authority, and we will continue to
support efforts to improve the quality of life of the Palestinian
people.
We call on Israel to simultaneously fulfill its own responsibilities
to rebuild trust and restore normal Palestinian life and to carry out
its other obligations under the roadmap, thus promoting progress toward
the President's vision.
We affirm our position again against terror and violence. We will
continue to fight the scourge of terrorism against humanity and reject
the culture of extremism and violence in any form or shape, from
whatever source or place, regardless of justifications or motives, being
fully aware of their danger as a plague that threatens the peace and
stability of the whole world. We will use all the power of the law to
prevent support reaching illegal organizations, including terrorist
Other Popular 2003 Presidential Documents Documents:
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