Joe Biden said democracies must defend the values that define “us”. (File)
Washington:
US President Joe Biden on Thursday called out Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela while referring to the work done by Congressman John Lewis, a civil rights activist, during his opening remarks at the Summit. for Democracy.
He said that Congressman John Lewis was a great fighter for democracy and civil rights around the world and inspired by other great leaders – Gandhi and Mandela.
“Democracies are not all alike. We don’t agree on everything. But the choices we will make together today will determine, in my opinion, the course of our shared future. us for generations to come,” Biden said.
“Congressman John Lewis was a great advocate for American democracy and civil rights around the world, learning from and inspired by other great leaders like Gandhi and Mandela. In closing, as he was dying, he reminded our country when he said” ‘Democracy is not a state, it is an act,’ he added.
Biden said democracies must defend the values that define “us”.
“We must stand for justice and the rule of law for freedom of speech, freedom of assembly and the press, freedom of religion, for the inherent human rights of each individual,” he said.
Lewis was one of the “Big Six” leaders of groups that held March 1963 in Washington. He fulfilled many important roles in the civil rights movement and its actions to end legalized racism in the United States. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 1987 until his death in 2020.
He died of pancreatic cancer.
Biden delivered his opening remarks on the first day of a virtual ”Summit for Democracy”, focusing on the challenges facing different democracies.
Washington invited 110 counties to a summit with China, Russia, Saudi Arabia and dozens of other countries uninvited.
