CSCE: our community of democratic values. (Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe)(James A. Baker address) (Transcript)

It is a pleasure for me to return to the Czech and Slovak Federal Republic and to the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe [CSCE]. I very much regret the brevity of my stay, for the future of both Czechoslovakia and the CSCE is of the highest importance to America, and to the new Europe and the new Atlanticism that we seek to build.

When Thomas Masaryk, Czecholovakia's founding father, departed from New York in 1918 to lead his newly independent country, he offered this farewell to the American people: "May the friendship and community of interest of [our] two democracies, in cooperation with the other democracies of the world, furnish a firm basis for the establishment of a new order in a transformed world."

My government shared that sentiment back in 1918. And, we share it today. For the democratic commitment of today's generation is being tested in a new way--by the challenge of erecting open, civil societies with market economies, based on the rule of law.

Paradoxically, just as Europe's new states grapple with the challenges of political and economic recovery and new nationalist forces unleashed by communism's collapse, Europe's established democracies move toward greater integration through new forms of sovereignty beyond the nation state.

Our common experience since 1975 has demonstrated that CSCE's broad framework and democratic principles can reinforce this progress toward greater democracy, prosperity, and stability. CSCE can unite our entire Euro-Atlantic community and help guide us safely through the transition period that lies ahead. It can serve to unite all Europe on the solid foundation of …