Our task is to pursue a policy of patiently
encouraging freedom and carefully pressuring tyranny - a policy that looks
toward evolution not revolution - a policy that depends on peace, not war.
More is involved than our policy toward Poland
alone. We must show in West Berlin that we have no intentions of yielding
to false Soviet claims or fierce Soviet threats - that we believe history
will in time yield a free and united Berlin and a free and united Europe.
We must convince the Russians that we are rebuilding our defensive strength
so that the route of military force can no longer be open to them. And
we must prove to the men in Moscow that colonialism is doomed everywhere
in the world, including Eastern Europe.
But the next administration must also devise
a specific policy for Poland and Eastern Europe - and I would suggest seven
points:
First, we must arm ourselves with more flexible
economic tools. We must be willing to recognize growing divisions in the
Communist camp, and be willing to encourage those divisions. My amendment
to the Battle Act would permit the President to use our economic strength
to promote peaceful change behind the Iron Curtain whereever this would
help wean the so-called captive nations away from their Kremlin masters.
In the 85th Congress this amendment was defeated by one vote. In the 86th
Congress it passed the Senate but died in the House. In the 87th Congress,
under new Presidential leadership, it must become law.
Second, we must never - at any summit, in
any treaty declaration, in our words or even in our minds - recognize Soviet
domination of Eastern Europe. Poland's claim to independence and liberty
is not based on sentiment or politics. It is deeply rooted in history,
in culture and in law - and no matter what pressures the Soviets may exert,
we do not intend to see that claim abandoned.
Third, we must strengthen the economic and
cultural ties between Poland and the United States - by expanding reciprocal
trade, tourism, and information services. We can encourage the investment
of American capital and technology. We can recognize the needs of Polish
ships and airlines. And, perhaps most important of all, we can open our
doors to refugees from the terror of tyranny.
Fourth, we can increase the exchange of students,
teachers, and technicians - to give more Poles an opportunity to see the
blessings of liberty - and to give us an opportunity to assist the Poles
in building an independent economy, particularly in agriculture and the
management of medium-sized industry. The facts of the matter are that there
are 10 times as many students here on Government grants from the Ryukyu
Islands as there are from all of Poland. I think we can do better.
Fifth, we must strive to restore the traditional
identification which Poland and Eastern Europe have had with the European
community instead of the Soviet empire. We should invite all satellite
nations to participate in all-European projects - to share in intellectual
and cultural exchanges, to lower barriers to travel and trade, to work
toward the resolution of ancient disputes. For Poland back through the
centuries has belonged to the European tradition of freedom and national
independence. It has been a part of European culture, of European economy
and European history. And even the Soviet Union cannot rewrite that history.
Sixth, we must eliminate Poland's fear of
the West - fears that are very real - and this includes, in particular,
a fear of Germany. We must make plain our intention that disputes between
West and East be settled by peaceful negotiations, not by force - that
never again will Eastern European nations be violently stripped of their
territories and resources. We cannot impose a boundary settlement on other
nations - but we can encourage peaceful and mutual accommodation in the
spirit of free Europe.
Seventh, and finally, we must make use of
our frozen Polish funds to remind the people of that nation that we share
their traditional pride in culture, learning, and human welfare - and offer
to use these funds to build a national library and archives, a housing
district, new schools, or - and I thing this would be particularly effective
- the reconstruction of the Warsaw Castle.
When I was in Warsaw in 1955, I found no Poles
who enjoyed the gaudy Soviet Palace of Culture. And I believe that the
millions of dollars worth of zlotys we have idle in Poland - acquired from
our surplus food sales - could be put to no better use than to answer this
new symbol of Soviet arrogance by rebuilding this traditional symbol of
Polish independence.
I know that some will say that all of
this is wasted effort - that the people of Poland, however brave, are in
a prison from which there is no early escape. But is this reason to ignore
their needs? Is this an excuse for inaction? Have we forgotten the
words: "I was hungry and you gave me to eat, naked and you covered me,
sick and you visited me. I was in prison, and you came to me."