Welcome change, Clinton tells nation

By Sridhar Krishnaswami

WASHINGTON, JAN. 1. The U.S. President, Mr. Bill Clinton ushered in the new millenium with a call to Americans not to fear change but instead welcome, embrace and create it. ``We must never forget the meaning of the 20th century or the gifts of those who worked and marched, who fought and died for the triumph of freedom,'' the President said from the Lincoln Memorial.

``If the story of the 20th century is the triumph of freedom, what will the story of the 21st century be? Let it be the triumph of freedom wisely used to bring peace to a world in which we honour our differences and even more our common humanity. Such a triumph will require great efforts from us all,'' the President said, going on to point out that this would require standing up to the forces of hatred and bigotry, terror and destruction.

Washington witnessed an extravagant firework display ushering in a new year, a new century and a new millennium with thousands of people watching the spectacle at the Lincoln Memorial. In a reference to the booming economy, the President said, ``The sun is still rising on America''. Earlier, the President, the First Lady and their daughter Chelsea dined with some 300 guests, including personalities from various fields. The dinner at the White House was not the only scheduled event for the Clintons on New Year's Eve. During the course of the day the Clintons listened to children from Bangladesh, Indonesia, Jordan, Mexico, Nigeria and Russia call for a new century to be built on peace, prosperity, security, unity and cooperation. ``For all the billions of people who came before us, it has been left to this generation to lead the world into a millennium, to use our freedom widely, to walk away from war and hatred toward love and peace,'' the President said.

But for a few glitches, things worked out well for this country on New Year's eve, particularly in the transition at midnight to the New Year. There were no reports of any major incidents anywhere, including the carefully monitored public utility systems. Although major airlines had cancelled many New Year's eve flights on account of the Y2K problem, those which operated did encountered no problems.

Federal, State and local authorities kept a vigil for possible terrorist activities and movements of suspected terrorists but as night fell and the festivities started, officials in big cities like New York and Washington D.C. that had planned major events, heaved a sigh of relief as nothing untoward happened. But some big cities like Seattle cancelled the December 31 gala for security reasons.

Law enforcement agencies did not report any significant developments on New Year's eve or even leading up to the final celebrations. There were minor scares such as the one at a border crossing with Canada near Buffalo, New York, where a vehicle was thought to be carrying some chemical component.

The New Year's eve was indeed a special occasion for Mr.Clinton who started the day by receiving news that his Russian counterpart, Mr. Boris Yeltsin had stepped down. The U.S. President will be stepping down after two terms next year and is in the process of putting final touches to his legacy to both domestic and foreign policy. On Monday, Washington will play host to talks between Israel and Syria at Shephardstown, West Virginia.

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