(10 Aug 2000) English/Nat
XFA
In a White House ceremony, Clinton awarded the nation's highest civilian honour - the Presidential Medal of Freedom to 14 people who he said have helped America achieve freedom.
Recipients included the Reverend Jesse Jackson and onetime Democratic presidential nominee George McGovern.
The president also honoured retiring New York Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, whose Senate seat Hillary Clinton is hoping to fill.
Three Senators, an economist, an admiral and a concentration camp survivor were among the diverse group of 14 men and women awarded the nation's highest civilian honour on Wednesday.
The medal ranks second only to the Congressional Medal of Honour, the nation's highest military award.
It's given to individuals who have made special contributions to the security or national interests of the country, world peace, culture or any other significant field.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
"It is my honour on behalf of a proud nation to award each of them the presidential medal of freedom, our highest civilian honour. In the words of our constitution, they have helped us to secure the blessings of liberty by acts of bravery, conscience and creativity."
SUPER CAPTION: (English) Bill Clinton, United States President
Clinton also honoured the Reverend Jesse Jackson for his lifetime achievement on civil rights and humanitarian issues.
Notably, Jackson helped secure the release of three American soldiers held prisoner in Yugoslavia last year.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
"It's hard to imagine how we could have come as far as we have without the creative power, the keen intellect, the loving heart, and the relentless passion of Jesse Lewis Jackson. And God isn't done with him yet."
SUPER CAPTION: Bill Clinton, United States President
Other recipients included retired General Wesley Clark, who led NATO's Kosovo campaign, and Simon Wiesenthal, champion of those who, like him, survived the Holocaust.
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