Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 119.djvu/3856

 119 STAT. 3838

PROCLAMATION 7969—DEC. 16, 2005

women braved threats of violence to vote for a provisional government. In October, Iraqis voted in even greater numbers to approve a draft constitution for their country, and on December 15, they will return to the polls to elect a Council of Representatives. Millions of Afghans voted in September in the first free legislative elections in Afghanistan in decades. Countries of the former Soviet bloc are emerging as thriving democracies. A free press is gaining ground in Kyrgyzstan, and civil institutions are being strengthened in Ukraine and Georgia. We have witnessed good progress this year, and America will continue this historic work to advance the cause of freedom. We remain confident in this cause because we have seen the power of freedom to overcome the dark ideologies of tyranny and terror. Freedom enables men and women to live lives of dignity. And freedom gives the citizens of a nation confidence in a future of peace for their children and grandchildren. As we observe Human Rights Day, Bill of Rights Day, and Human Rights Week, we renew our commitment to building a world where human rights are respected and protected by the rule of law and where all people can enjoy freedom and dignity. NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim December 10, 2005, as Human Rights Day; December 15, 2005, as Bill of Rights Day; and the week beginning December 10, 2005, as Human Rights Week. I call upon the people of the United States to mark these observances with appropriate ceremonies and activities. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this ninth day of December, in the year of our Lord two thousand five, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirtieth. GEORGE W. BUSH

Proclamation 7969 of December 16, 2005

Wright Brothers Day, 2005 By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation On December 17, 1903, a wooden aircraft lifted from the sands of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, remaining airborne for 12 seconds and covering a distance of 40 yards. That first powered flight was a heroic moment in our Nation’s history and in the story of mankind. On Wright Brothers Day, we celebrate the journey that began at Kitty Hawk and commemorate the imagination, ingenuity, and determination of Orville and Wilbur Wright. The American experience in air and space is an epic of endurance and discovery. The past 102 years have brought supersonic flight, space travel, and the exploration of the Moon and Mars. Charles Lindbergh’s solo, nonstop passage across the Atlantic Ocean and the record-breaking flights of Amelia Earhart captured the public’s imagination and encouraged the growth of aviation. Americans such as Chuck Yeager, the first man to break the sound barrier, and Alan Shepard, the first Amer-

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