Administration of William J. Clinton, 1998 / Apr. 1 551

Exchange With Reporters Prior to from our two nations, part of the African Cri- Discussions With President Abdou sis Response Initiative. Diouf of Senegal in Dakar I’d like to thank the Senegalese soldiers and the United States Armed Forces. I’d like April 1, 1998 to especially thank the distinguished officers African Crisis Response Force who briefed us—Lieutenant Colonel Diallo and Major Erckenbrack. And I’d also like to Q. Mr. President, are you—how important express my appreciation to the other Sen- do you feel an African force is—[inaudible]? egalese soldiers and gendarmes who were The President. Well, I think it’s poten- standing there who have served with multi- tially very important because an African Cri- national peacekeeping forces in Haiti and sis Response Force can enable the Africans Bosnia, Africa and the Middle East. to stop problems before they get out of hand. Senegal is respected around the world for And of course, the President and I are going its tradition of peacekeeping and humani- to review one of the training exercises here tarian efforts. You are a leader among the in Senegal. We’ve had one in Uganda. We more than 15 African countries that regularly will have one in Ghana. President Mandela contribute troops to United Nations peace- said that he would be interested in participat- keeping missions. I thank Senegalese troops ing, so I’m encouraged by that. I think there’s for their commitment to peace, and I thank an enormous sense among African leaders our American troops for your work here. that if they have infrastructure and the train- Africa and America have a great stake in ing to do it, they could solve a lot of their the success of the soldiers like those Presi- own problems. I’m very excited about it. dent Diouf and I have seen here today. Q. Will you be talking to—[inaudible]— Where bullets and bombs prevent children about reports of—[inaudible]—party politics from going to school and parents from going here? There is criticism that perhaps the rul- to work, amid chaos and ruin, these soldiers ing party has too much power and is too con- and other like them can bring security, hope, trolling. and a future. The President. Well, we’ll discuss the Terrible violence continues to plague our whole range of things. But the main thing world, and Africa has seen some of the worst. I want to do today is to thank the President In some cases, children, often against their for the support that he’s given to peacekeep- will, have stood on the frontlines of armies ing around the world and to—[inaudible]— as cannon fodder for the ambitions of others. Senegal’s long experience with elected Presi- A few days ago, I met in Rwanda with some dencies and to work on this African Crisis of the survivors of the 1994 genocide there. Response Initiative. As I said to them, let me say again, we must find better ways to prevent such horrors from NOTE: The exchange began at approximately 11 a.m. at the Presidential Palace. In his remarks, occurring. the President referred to President Nelson While peace has started to take hold in Mandela of South Africa. A tape was not available many nations that once knew only violence, for verification of the content of this exchange. Ethiopia, Mozambique, Angola, Liberia, and elsewhere, tensions linger in some of these nations, and violence continues in others, like Remarks to Senegalese Troops Burundi, Somalia, and Sudan. Buried land- Trained for the African Crisis mines prevent children from walking in safe- Response Initiative in Thies, Senegal ty in too many African countries. Millions of April 1, 1998 refugees still remain driven from their homes. In the debris of war, poverty and dis- President Diouf, distinguished leaders of ease thrive. Senegal and the United States, members of The international community needs new the Senegalese and American Armed Forces, tools to keep the peace in volatile areas and ladies and gentlemen. We have just seen a cope with humanitarian crises. The African training exercise involving dedicated soldiers Crisis Response Initiative program, which

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