PROCLAMATION 5954—APR. 13, 1989 103 STAT. 3009 This Administration is committed to maintaining the essential support system for victims and is determined to i^nd additional ways to provide timely restitution to victims and to help them recover from the trauma of victimization. Federal and State dollars alone cannot do the job. Social service agencies, schools, hospitals, businesses, churches, and private citizens play a vital role in assisting victims of crime, and we must continue to support their efforts. Now more than ever, we need to enlist volunteers. I have spoken of a thousand points of light—of all the community organizations that are spread like stars throughout the Nation, doing good. We must ensure that those groups who offer the bright promise of hope and healing to crime victims continue to thrive. We must ensure that crime victims receive our special attention and that the combined efforts of concerned citizens, lawmakers, and crimi- nal justice personnel help to improve and expand services for them. NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE 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 the week beginning April 9, 1989, as Crime Victims Week. As we rededicate om-selves to responding with speed and sensitivity to the needs of innocent crime victims, we must also resolve to educate our citizens about ways to minimize the risk of victimization. As always, we must rely on the courage and generosity of the American people in fighting crime and alleviating the suffering it causes. This week, we have an opportunity to express om* gratitude to those who have worked tirelessly to meet the needs of innocent crime victims and their families. I urge all Ameri- cans to continue to show compassion for the victims of crime, as well as appreciation for those who work for justice. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twelfth day of April, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and eighty-nine, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirteenth. ^ GEORGE BUSH Proclamation 5954 of April 13, 1989 _ Pan American Day and Pan American Week, 1989 By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation The people of the Americas share a deep love of liberty and dedication to the principles of democracy; the vast majority of nations throughout this hemisphere have freely elected govenmients. For the past century, these nations have been united in a unique international alliance that is known today as the Organization of American States. Pan American Day and Pan American Week celebrate the ideals we share as mem- bers of that alliance, as well as our collective commitment to political and economic freedom. The peoples of the Americas represent the joining of European, Afri- can, Asian, and native American cultm:es. Centiuies ago, these diverse cultures blended and emerged stronger. Our common past, our common
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