Ambassador
Independence Day Speech by Ambassador Janet E. Garvey
Celebration of 232st Anniversary of Independence Day
— July 4, 1776 —
At the U.S. Embassy
July 2, 2008
Their Excellencies the Ministers of State
Dear Colleagues, Ambassadors and Heads of International Organizations,
Distinguished guests,
Fellow Americans,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Thank you for taking time to be here today to help us celebrate the 232nd birthday of the United States of America. You may wonder why we are celebrating the Fourth of July today – July 2nd. Well, in addition to the logistical requirements that enabled us to enjoy this terrific band from the US Naval base in Naples, Italy, there is an historic reason. It was on July 2nd 1776, that the Continental Congress voted to declare independence from Great Britain. You may have noticed that some of us are wearing lapel pins with the American flag and our home state flag. As some of you know, I am from Massachusetts – one of America’s most historic states. Among the many things my state has contributed to our national history, one of the most distinguished is the Adams family. John Adams, our second President, was instrumental to the adoption of our Declaration of Independence. After that vote he wrote to his beloved wife Abigail, “The 2nd of July 1776 will be the most memorable day in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival…it ought to be solemnized with pomp and parades, with shows, games, guns bells, bonfires and illuminations, from one end of the continent to the other, from this time forward, forevermore.”
Indeed, all over America on Independence Day, families and friends will celebrate with fireworks, parades and barbeques. It is a fun and casual family occasion, but its historical importance goes to the core of who we are and what we believe as a nation. In July, 1776 our Founding Fathers signed a “Declaration of Independence” which not only marked the birth of a new nation but the birth of a nation built on new principles – that we all are created equal, that we all have fundamental rights, that we all deserve to live under governments chosen by us and accountable to us. We are proud of these values, but they are not America’s alone. They are shared and cherished by the peoples of the world.
Chaque 4 juillet dans une ambassade américaine constitue l’occasion de passer en revue notre relation avec le pays hôte et de voir comment elle cadre avec nos idéaux fondamentaux. J’ai la chance de bâtir sur une très solide fondation de relations bilatérales avec le Cameroun. En 2007, nous avons célébré 50 ans de relations diplomatiques avec le Cameroun. Nos relations d’homme à homme sont fortes, et notre programme du Corps de la Paix, l’un des plus anciens et plus grands dans le monde, en est peut-être la meilleure illustration.
Les hommes d'affaires américains, les artistes, et d'autres particuliers américains contribuent dans plusieurs domaines au raffermissement des relations entre les États-Unis et le Cameroun. Sur le plan académique, les relations avec le Cameroun sont fortes, avec environ 3.000 étudiants camerounais étudiant actuellement aux Etats-Unis. Les sociétés américaines ont d’importants investissements au Cameroun, en particulier dans les secteurs du pétrole et de l’énergie, et les exportations américaines ont augmenté de près de 7% l’année dernière.
We remain one of Cameroon’s largest bilateral donors. Over the last five years, the U.S. government has provided to Cameroon tens of millions of dollars in assistance to protect biodiversity and forests, strengthen agriculture, assist refugees and democracy activists, combat HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases, and help rural communities with small development projects.
Our Department of Defense works to strengthen military professionalism, border and maritime security, and international peacekeeping. We share common interests in protecting Cameroon’s seas from piracy, illegal fishing, narcotics and arms trafficking and other threats.
We hope that through our programs and our overall engagement here that we can work in partnership and friendship to help Cameroon continue to move towards greater democracy. Our nation’s history is a narrative of continuous struggle and improvement, sometimes painful, as we constantly seek a more perfect fulfillment of that vision of our founders and subsequent generations of American patriots.
Of course, we didn’t do it alone. We probably would not have won our war of independence without our French friends. John Adams and Benjamin Franklin spent a great deal of time in France and elsewhere in Europe during those early years, lobbying for support for the new country they had helped create. We would not have prevailed in World War II, succeeded with the Marshall Plan, created the United Nations or achieved all we achieved over the past century without our friends around the world. Democracies need friends and we are grateful for our friendships, including with Cameroon. Friends do not always agree but they listen to each other, share ideas, and speak with candor and honesty.
Sometimes the process of change is frustrating but change is inevitable and is made easier when democratic institutions are strong. I’m convinced that it’s not just individuals but also institutions – parliament, the judiciary, the Electoral Commission, the constitution – which are key to long term stability and prosperity, here as elsewhere.
Much work needs to be done in Cameroon to build those institutions. Frankly, the past year has brought great challenges: the attacks in Bakassi, the unrest in February, setbacks to media freedoms and human rights, and now the postponement of the creation of ELECAM. There has been some laudable progress in fighting corruption, but democracy is hard work and demands constant effort and total commitment. I trust and hope to see progress on Cameroon’s democratic path in the year ahead. As a friend of Cameroon, the United States will support this effort in any way we can. But this journey has to be walked mainly by Cameroonians themselves and on this important day when Americans celebrate our core philosophy of human freedom, I encourage Cameroonians to continue to nurture your democratic institutions and ideals.
As you know, in America this is an exciting election year. All eyes will be on the democratic and republican party conventions when they meet later this summer. The campaigns have been long and intense, but they have galvanized the youth, African Americans, women and Americans of all ethnic backgrounds in an unprecedented way. This election is part of our democratic renewal, whoever wins, and I hope you continue to watch U.S. electoral politics with as much interest as I do.
Thank you again for coming today and I wish you all a very happy Second and Fourth of July. Vive le Cameroun et vive les relations entre le Cameroun et les Etats Unis!