[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1999, Book I)]
[March 10, 1999]
[Page 339]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks on Arrival in Guatemala City, Guatemala
March 10, 1999

    Mr. President, representatives of the 
Guatemalan Government and people, we thank you for your warm welcome. I 
am honored to have the chance to be greeted here, in a place that 
recalls both Guatemala's marvelous cultural heritage and its past of 
conflicts and pain.
    And I am especially grateful for the chance to meet you today, at a 
time when Guatemala is building a future of democracy, reconciliation, 
and peace. You have ended a cruel war. You have given your people--all 
your people--a chance to shape their destiny and to stand on their own. 
You have faced the past with candor and found the courage to move 
forward. You are teaching the world that no conflict is so bitter, no 
gulf is so wide that it cannot be overcome by the power of good 
government and by people of good will.
    In a few moments, I will have the opportunity to discuss, with a 
broad range of Guatemalan citizens, the progress of peace in your 
country. I will reaffirm America's commitment to shed light on the dark 
events of the past, so that they are never repeated, and to help you 
implement the peace accords in a way that ensures that the human rights 
of the Guatemalan people are always respected.
    Tomorrow I will meet with President Arzu, 
and we will join with the leaders of Central America in a summit in 
Antigua to continue our efforts to build in this hemisphere a community 
of true democracies in which all our nations finally can prosper 
together. That is our common goal. Lo lograremos como socios y como 
amigos.
    Thank you very much.

Note: The President spoke at 4:15 p.m. in the courtyard at the National 
Palace of Culture. In his remarks, he referred to President Alvaro Arzu 
of Guatemala.