[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 22 (Thursday, March 3, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: March 3, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                       PEACE IN NORTHERN IRELAND

                                 ______


                               speech of

                        HON. CHARLES E. SCHUMER

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, March 2, 1994

  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. Speaker, since 1969, we have lost more than 3,000 
individuals to the political violence in Northern Ireland. Women and 
children are afraid to leave their homes in certain sections of 
Belfast. Basic guarantees of due process have been suspended and 
freedom of expression has been restricted throughout the United 
Kingdom. Conditions in many prisons violate international standards. 
The people of Northern Ireland deserve to be granted the rights they 
are due. It's time for the bloodshed to end; it's time to stop fighting 
and start talking.
  The peace initiative outlined by British Prime Minister John Major 
and Irish Prime Minister Albert Reynolds was an important first step. 
But it was only a first step, and we are kidding ourselves if we treat 
it as anything more than that. The initiative contains no definite 
proposals for bringing about peace and no definite timeframe for 
negotiations. It includes many positive statements, but compelling 
rhetoric alone will not save Northern Ireland. If we wait for the 
declarations of the initiative to make a real change in Northern 
Ireland, we will be helplessly sitting by as countless lives continue 
to be lost to violence. More than 2 months have passed since the 
agreement was announced, and we are yet to see any significant strides 
toward peace.
  The United States cannot sit by and watch this opportunity for 
lasting peace to go to waste. By appointing a special envoy to Northern 
Ireland, we can advance the process of negotiations. A special envoy 
would give the talks the support they need to move beyond rhetoric and 
into substance.
  I have already urged President Clinton on a number of occasions to 
appoint a special envoy to Northern Ireland. I will continue to do so 
because I believe this is an issue that is just too important to 
ignore. The lives of innocent people in Northern Ireland are at stake. 
We must act now.

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