PM Transcripts

PRIME MINISTER
FOR MEDIA SUNDAY, 18 JULY 1982
CAPTIVE NATIONS WEEK, 18 to 24 JULY
In Captive Nat~ ions Week the Government is mindful of its
significance and its relevance for Australians. We recall
during this week the tragic and sometimes brutal events which
have put an end to the independence of many nations. It is
a week of both remembrance and conrmitment: remembrance of
those who have suffered and died in their quest for individual
and national freedoms; and a commitment not to accept, and to
do all we can to alleviate, the denial of independence that
continues to be endured in many nations today.
There are many recent examples of how easily national freedoms
can be destroyed. The Soviet military presence in Afghanistan,
the Soviet-ba ked Vietnamese occupation of Kainpuchea,
and the measures taken to stifle free expression and basic
liberties in ' Poland are part of a long Soviet record of such
intervention. We remember in partLicular this week all those
people who have been the victim of the world's greatest
expansionist power, the Soviet Union. We recall the heroism
of men and women who have resisted their subjugation and who
continue today in their efforts to win back the freedoms
which are rightfully theirs.
Captive Nations Week, however, is more than an occasion for
remembrance and regret. It is also a time to review our
commitment to policies that affirm the value of freedom.
Freedom is part of Australia's past, its presentand its
future. -We are proud of our tolerance of individual views
and our commitment to individual freedoms. We are grateful
for the contributions made by many people, who have been
forced to leave their homelands, towards making our country
a richer and more truly multicultural society. These aspects
of Australian life need to be constantly protected and nurtured.
We need to remember that the freedom which we enjoy and often
take for granted is denied to many nations.
Captive Naticons Week reminds us that peace and freedom will
be lost by dEfault if those nations which seek to preserve
them leave the actual defence to others. The preservation
of freedom requires constant vigilance, constant awareness
and a preparEdness to make sacrifices. Free nations need to
remain aware that their freedom involves obligations. Only
through f ulf illing those obligations can free nations ensure
that the future belongs not to those who seek to impose a
single dogmatic ideology but to those who aim to liberate
the diverse energies of free people.