NEW YORK.- Governor George E. Pataki rules out having the International Freedom Center on the Memorial quadrant. He stated, "I strongly believe in this nation's core principle of freedom and I personally believe that the celebration of freedom is not inconsistent with the goals of memorializing our nearly 3,000 lost heroes. The creation of an institution that would show the world our unity and our resolve to preserve freedom in the wake of the horrific attacks is a noble pursuit.

"But freedom should unify us. This Center has not. Since June, we have offered the International Freedom Center (IFC) the time they needed to clarify their intentions and work with stakeholders to reach a consensus. Today there remains too much opposition, too much controversy over the programming of the IFC and we must move forward with our first priority, the creation of an inspiring memorial to pay tribute to our lost loved ones and tell their stories to the world.

"Therefore, the IFC cannot be located on the Memorial quadrant. I have asked the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC) to work with the IFC to explore other locations for the Center. In addition, I am directing the LMDC to continue its efforts to identify programming for the Memorial quadrant that will tell the story of September 11th.

"I would also ask all parties to now join together and unite behind fulfilling our solemn obligation to the families of those we lost. We must reclaim the spirit that we saw the days and weeks after September 11th, a spirit of unity, resolution and purpose and we must come together to build a lasting memorial for the generations to come."

Statement of the International Freedom Center: "We are deeply disappointed that the will could not be found to continue the development of the International Freedom Center at this hallowed site. It is the site for which the IFC was created-at the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation's request, and as an integral part of Daniel Libeskind's master site plan. We do not believe there is a viable alternative place for the IFC at the World Trade Center site. We consider our work, therefore, to have been brought to an end.

We are profoundly sorry to see: This significant blow to the idea of a living memorial that emerged from a comprehensive public process; The loss of a museum of freedom at the place where freedom was so brutally challenged; The failure to accept the offer of nine great universities to offer cultural programming on freedom issues in the heart of Lower Manhattan; and This setback to one of the most ambitious and promising service and civic engagement programs in this country.

Hundreds of people contributed to the IFC's development, including some of the world's best thinkers on the subject of human freedom. To all these people we offer our profound thanks for their hard work over the past four years. Freedom is humankind's greatest, most ennobling idea, and its surest antidote to terror and tyranny.

Finally, we wish those still involved in the important work of creating the Memorial the best of luck in the months and years ahead."