George Voinovich: “Today we have three new members in NATO--Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic. I have long been an ardent supporter…”

“Today we have three new members in NATO--Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic. I have long been an ardent supporter of what we use to call ``the Captive Nations.'' There are many events that I remember as mayor of Cleveland and Governor of Ohio where we celebrated the resolve of these people to one day taste the freedoms that we have here in America. In those days, I often wondered if I would ever witness a free Poland or a free Hungary or other nations that used to be dominated by the then-Soviet Union. This morning I attended a reception sponsored by the Polish American Congress where Prime Minister Buzek shared with me that he wondered if it would happen in his lifetime that he would see a free and independent Poland--going from the iron curtain to solidarity to NATO. And let me say--it's just wonderful that these nations now have self-determination and they are making great progress politically and economically from where they were 20 or even 10 years ago. I am very proud that I was one of those who encouraged the inclusion of these three nations into the NATO alliance. And as NATO opened its arms to these three nations, I hope NATO will open its arms to take in the Republic of Slovenia as a member. This would be an additional of particular importance considering the events happening in Kosovo today. I strongly support the NATO membership of the Republic of Slovenia.”