The following opening address was given by Dr. Pak at the Fifth HULA Conference at the Hotel Palace in Madrid, Spain, on October 1, 1986. Chaired by former Colombian President Julio Cesar Turbay Ayala, the theme of the conference was "The Political Ideal for the Unity of Latin America." Part of the activities including a courtesy call on His Majesty Juan Carlos de Borbon, King of Spain.

President Turbay Ayala, Ambassador Chaves, distinguished ministers, ambassadors, ladies and gentlemen. It is a great honor to meet you and welcome you to Spain, which is the very root of your great IberoAmerican culture. Like all of you I am greatly impressed with this beautiful city of Madrid. For a long time now I have wanted to hold an AULA conference here, and we felt that this would be a most fitting occasion for us to gather together.

Let me begin by saying just a few words to Ambassador Chaves. Mr. Ambassador, congratulations! In little more than two years' time, you have guided this organization of AULA to a commendable level of achievement. Under your leadership, AULA has taken a giant leap forward and has become one of the most distinguished and effective organizations in promoting the goals of unity and freedom for Latin America.

I would also like to congratulate President Turbay Ayala, who has served as AULA conference chairman on a number of occasions and who has been instrumental in providing inspiration and commitment to our common ideal.

My personal regards to the distinguished participants of this conference, especially to the 12 former presidents of Latin American nations. From the viewpoint of performance and experience you are of the very highest caliber. The group gathered in this room can assure that HULA continues on the proper path-which ultimately will lead to the fulfillment of the noble ideals of the great liberator Simon Bolivar.

It is a personal honor for me to present a warm greeting on behalf of Reverend Sun Myung Moon, who is the founder of this distinguished organization. Reverend Moon was invited by the Korean government to participate in the opening ceremonies of the Asian Games in Seoul, Korea. Reverend Moon has a very special personal interest in this particular competition because his third daughter, Un Jin Moon, was chosen by the Korean Athletic Committee to participate in the equestrian competition. I have the good news to tell you that in the team competition, Korea's equestrian team won the bronze medal a few days ago.

About one week from now, there will be an individual equestrian competition. Un J in Moon, the youngest member of the team, will be the nation's representative in that competition, and we look forward to her winning a gold medal.

I left Reverend Moon in Korea three days ago and he asked me to convey his best wishes and kindest regards to all of you. His wish is that I express a special thanks to all who visited with him last year in Seoul.

Twenty-one years ago, Reverend Moon made his first visit to Latin America. He was tremendously impressed by your nations, their traditions, histories, and cultures. When Reverend Moon began his work in the United States in 1971, he quickly found a responsiveness and a courtesy among Hispanic-Americans.

In December 1976, Reverend Moon began News World Communications in New York. Our first North American newspaper was English-language, but by early 1978 we added a four-page Spanish-language supplement, which eventually opened the way for Noticias del Mundo, New York's largest Spanish-language daily. In 1981 we also began Ultimas Noticias, a daily centered in Montevideo, Uruguay. Of course, Reverend Moon also created The Washington Times, the newspaper President Reagan reads every morning and the nation's most important English-language newspaper.

Shortly after the founding of Noticias del Mundo in 1980, Reverend Moon began CAUSA International, a sponsoring organization of AULA. CAUSA concerns itself with promoting grassroots unity among the citizens of this hemisphere. CAUSA has reached out to tens of thousands of Latin American young people in an effort to provide them with the highest quality education on the dangers of Marxism-Leninism and to promote the God-affirming ideals common to our Judeo-Christian tradition.

In its role as a service organization, CAUSA has also provided food, medicine, hospital equipment, and other goods and services to the needy in a number of Latin American countries. Our exposure to Latin America has made us aware of her potential and the greatness of her people. Your writers, your social thinkers, your heroes, the founders of your nations, they all foresaw the future greatness of your continent. Two elements are essential to achieve this destiny: unity and liberty. It was to advance these objectives that in 1983 Reverend Moon asked Ambassador Chaves to assume responsibility for the development of AULA.

As the work of AULA progressed, Reverend Moon realized that the ideal of unity and liberty was deeply ingrained in the Latin American tradition. Today we even use as one of the mottoes of this conference the words of Simon Bolivar: "In the union of our nations lies the glorious future of our peoples." Bolivar's thought can be found reflected in the writings of others such as San Martin, Morazan, and Jose Marti. There is, it would seem, a historical mandate to fulfill the ideal of unity and liberty.

Before we speak too much about ideals, there is one question we need to answer. Why is Reverend Moon doing this? Why is he spending so much money on conferences such as this one which net no real monetary return? There are a number of reasons. Many times in Latin America, people have told me that they feel a kinship with me, and I feel the same toward them. I like tango and Latin music. I also think I have Latin passion in my blood.

Certainly one of the roots of Latin culture is the great nation of Spain, whose hospitality we are presently enjoying. However, another significant root is the great indigenous civilizations of the Americas. It has been confirmed by archeological studies that the Indian population originally came from Asia. In that sense you might say that Reverend Moon, Ambassador Han, and myself are distant relatives who want to lend you, our cousins in Latin America, a helping hand, along with cheers and admiration.

Another reason we are concerned about Latin America is that your part of the world has often been ignored or mistreated by other peoples. The consequence of such insensitivity is resentment, which has now led to a Cuba and a Nicaragua in our hemisphere.

How can Latin America deal with its external debt and counteract terrorism while advancing democratic institutions and assuring the well-being of future generations? It can best do so by promoting unity and freedom. The expression united we stand and divided we fall has become a truism. Nevertheless, the truth is that Latin America is being victimized today by communism and by economic exploitation because it remains divided.

For us unity is not a lofty unattainable ideal. It is an urgent necessity if we are to avoid further Marxist penetration in the Western hemisphere and if Latin America is to maintain her great tradition and her cultural identity. Ultimately, the fate of Latin America will affect the United States, and the fate of the United States will affect Asia and the whole world. Reverend Moon feels we cannot wait until these problems are too great to deal with. We must address them now, on the present front line of democracy, which is Latin America. To fail to do this would be fatal to the free world.

There is another reason why Reverend Moon is working in Latin America and promoting Latin American unity. Quite simply, he believes in the human family, and the scale of that family is global.

God intended that there be one family of man, transcendent of race, nation, and creed. Reverend Moon has dedicated his entire life to achieving that end, and he is promoting various projects to advance this objective in Latin America, North America, Africa, Europe, and Asia. Through this work, he seeks to liberate mankind from disease, ignorance, and all forms of tyranny and to achieve liberty and justice for all.

However, there is nothing more acutely important to him at this time than seeing Latin America united under a common constitution and inspired by a moral renaissance centered on God. Latin America needs to be a model for the rest of the world.

As an unworthy representative of Reverend Moon, I want to reiterate my prayer that the vision of the great liberator Simon Bolivar and of all the liberators of our nations be an inspiration and provide guidance in this effort, and that the next few days be fruitful in the task of advancing this noble and most important cause.

Thank you for your participation here, and let me close by recalling the words of His Holiness John Paul II, who said in response to AULA's work: "The ideal of Latin American unity is deserving of all sorts of efforts, sacrifices, and commitments."

God bless you and let us make this Fifth AULA Conference a most rewarding experience.

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