Clinton Warns East Europe on Dictatorship

WARSAW, Poland -- President Bill Clinton exhorted Central and Eastern Europe to hold hard to democracy Thursday and warned against "would-be dictators and fiery demagogues" in both the East and the West. Clinton, speaking to the Polish parliament, also said it was only a matter of time before NATO expanded to include the new democracies of Central and Eastern Europe and insisted no country had the right to veto that expansion. "We will not let the iron curtain be replaced with a veil of indifference," he said. "Bringing new members into NATO, as I have said many times, is no longer a question of whether but when and how."Clinton also pledged more than $200 million in U.S. help for Poland and said he would ask Congress for $100 million to bolster NATO's Partnership for Peace plan. "Do not give up or turn back," Clinton told the Polish parliament. "You will not be alone.""Free markets and democracy remain the only proven paths to prosperity and peace," he said. "You must hold hard to those tracks.""The voices of violence and militant nationalism can once again be heard," Clinton said. "Would-be dictators and fiery demagogues live among us in the East and in the West, promoting ethnic and racial hatred, promoting religious division and anti-semitism and aggressive nationalism."Clinton did not name any individuals or political parties but said the forces against democracy are "weak imitators of Hitler and Stalin." He said the danger they pose should nonetheless not be underestimated. "They feed on fear, despair and confusion," he said. "They darken our road and challenge our achievements."Before leaving Warsaw, Clinton visited a monument commemorating children who died during the 1943 rebellion against the Nazi occupiers of the city and the Church of John the Baptist, the oldest church in Warsaw. He also held a second round of talks with Polish President Lech Walesa, who said he was "very satisfied" with Clinton's visit. Clinton said Poland's pioneering role in the fall of Communism gives it a special place in the transition to democracy. "Your success is crucial to democracy's future in Central and Eastern Europe and, indeed, all across the globe," he said. Earlier, he told Polish Prime Minister Waldemar Pawlak, "If we want Europe to be democratic and free, integrated and united, then we're going to have to prove that market economies can work for ordinary citizens."(AP, Reuters)