[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 30 (Thursday, March 17, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: March 17, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
          1994 ST. PATRICK'S DAY MESSAGE OF PEACE AND JUSTICE

                                 ______


                           HON. PETER T. KING

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 17, 1994

  Mr. KING. Mr. Speaker, as we do each year on St. Patrick's Day, we 
the undersigned Members of Congress renew our commitment to bringing 
about peace, justice and an end to all violence and discrimination in 
Northern Ireland. And, for the first time in the 16-year history of the 
Ad Hoc Congressional Committee for Irish Affairs, we hold out a glimmer 
of hope that true progress can be made toward achieving those goals in 
1994.
  Just 1 year ago, the prospects for peace in Northern Ireland were 
nonexistent. However, thanks to the hard work and dedication of Sinn 
Fein President Gerry Adams, SDLP leader John Hume, British Prime 
Minister John Major, and Irish Prime Minister Albert Reynolds, we have 
reached a meaningful crossroads in Irish history, where there is a real 
opportunity to end the civil conflict in the North. We commend all of 
them for their leadership and vision, and we applaud President Clinton 
for having the courage to grant a visa to Gerry Adams, so that he could 
bring his message to the American people and they could hear his call 
for a complete demilitarization of Northern Ireland.
  The Joint Declaration of Peace signed in December is a foundation 
upon which a lasting and equitable solution can be negotiated. For this 
to happen, all parties to the conflict, including Sinn Fein, must 
receive the clarifications they seek about the declaration and must be 
given a voice in the negotiations. As Americans, we cannot make peace a 
reality, the solution must come from the Irish people themselves. We 
must keep pressure on the British and Irish governments to act on the 
overwhelming desire of the Irish people for peace, and urge President 
Clinton to fulfill his promise to appoint a special envoy to facilitate 
the peace process.
  There can be no delay. Well-documented human rights violations 
continue to be caused by the violence and terrorism perpetrated by all 
the parties to the conflict there, including not only the IRA and 
Loyalist paramilitary groups, but also the Royal Ulster Constabulary 
and the British-run criminal judicial system. The urgent need for 
action is highlighted in the report ``Political Killings in Northern 
Ireland,'' released by Amnesty International last month, which notes 
that political violence in Northern Ireland has claimed the lives of 
more than 3400 people over the past 20 years, with more than 175 
unarmed people having been killed by British security forces. Perhaps 
most alarming is Amnesty's view that there is convincing evidence that 
British security forces in Northern Ireland practice a policy of 
deliberately killing suspects, rather than arresting them. The gravity 
of this charge cannot be overstated.
  Continued suppression of individual legal, human and civil rights 
only fosters heightened violence and deeper disregard for authority. 
Likewise, peace will not come to people who have been left 
disenfranchized, chronically unemployed and impoverished by generations 
of deep-rooted economic discrimination. We remain steadfast in our 
belief that this Congress cannot allow U.S. business to continue to be 
party to this type of religious discrimination, and call for the prompt 
passage of the Northern Ireland Fair Employment Practices Act (H.R. 
672). We urge President Clinton to fulfill his promise to support 
passage of MacBride Principles legislation at both the State and 
Federal levels.
  We realize that a solution that has eluded men not just for decades, 
but for centuries, will not be easy. But peace and justice in Northern 
Ireland are achievable through leadership, commitment and cooperation 
on policies to end economic injustice and all violence committed by 
civilian, official and paramilitary sources. This is our wish on this 
St. Patrick's Day, and we recommit ourselves to working with all 
parties on behalf of a peaceful and free Ireland.
Thomas J. Manton, Benjamin A. Gilman, Gary L. Ackerman, Douglas 
    Applegate, James H. Bilbray, Peter Blute, Robert A. Borski, William 
    Clay, Michael A. Collins, John Conyers, Jr., Jerry F. Costello, 
    William J. Coyne, Ronald V. Dellums, Richard J. Durbin, Eliot L. 
    Engel, Lane Evans, Gene Green, Maurice D. Hinchey, George J. 
    Hochbrueckner, Martin R. Hoke, Tim Holden, William J. Hughes, Paul 
    E. Kanjorski, Joseph P. Kennedy, Barbara B. Kennelly, Peter T. 
    King, Tom Lantos, Jerry Lewis.
Hamilton Fish, Jr., ALfones D'Amato, Nita M. Lowey, Carolyn B. Maloney, 
    Jim McDermott, John M. McHugh, Martin Meehan, Robert Menendez, Joe 
    Moakley, Susan Molinari, Constance A. Morella, Richard E. Neal, 
    James L. Oberstar, John W. Olver, Frank Pallone, Jack Quinn, 
    Charles B. Rangel, Marge Roukema, Bernard Sanders, George E. 
    Sangmeister, Jim Saxton, Christoper Shays, Louise Slaughter, 
    Christopher H. Smith, Gerald B. Solomon, Peter G. Torkildsen, James 
    T. Walsh, Pat Williams.

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