[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 33 (Tuesday, March 22, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: March 22, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
         ST. PATRICK'S DAY STATEMENT BY THE FRIENDS OF IRELAND

  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, recent months have seen far-reaching 
developments which have raised hope for peace and reconciliation in 
Northern Ireland.
  The Friends of Ireland is a bipartisan group of Senators and 
Representatives opposed to violence and terrorism in Northern Ireland 
and dedicated to maintaining a United States policy that promotes a 
just, lasting, and peaceful settlement of the conflict that has cost 
more than 3,100 lives over the past quarter century.
  Last week, the Friends of Ireland released its annual St. Patrick's 
Day statement. I believe it will be of interest to all of our 
colleagues who are concerned about this issue, and I ask unanimous 
consent that it may be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the statement was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

      Statement by the Friends of Ireland, St. Patrick's Day, 1994

       The Friends of Ireland in the United States Congress join 
     more than 44 million Irish Americans, and indeed Irish people 
     everywhere, in celebrating our Irish heritage on this St. 
     Patrick's Day. We welcome to Washington the Prime Minister of 
     Ireland, An Taoiseach, Albert Reynolds. And we renew our 
     commitment to a peaceful resolution of the conflict which has 
     plagued Northern Ireland for the past quarter century.
       One year ago, the Congressional Friends of Ireland joined 
     ``friends of Ireland everywhere in urging all parties to make 
     special efforts this year to bring about peace and 
     reconciliation in Northern Ireland.'' The last twelve months 
     have indeed seen historic developments which have raised 
     hopes that at long last the parties to the conflict in 
     Northern Ireland may be ready to begin the hard task of 
     reconciliation. It is truly a time of opportunity.
       Most especially, we welcome the peace initiatives 
     culminating in the December 15 Joint Declaration by Prime 
     Minister Reynolds and British Prime Minister John Major. The 
     Declaration has been widely acclaimed in Ireland and the 
     United Kingdom and throughout the world, and President 
     Clinton and Irish Americans have welcomed it as the most 
     hopeful path toward peace and justice in Northern Ireland in 
     many years. We fully support the Declaration, which provides 
     a framework for continued dialogue aimed at achieving a 
     peaceful and secure future throughout the island of Ireland. 
     Building upon the Declaration, we urge continued dialogue 
     between and among the two governments and all political 
     parties which seek a constitutional way forward towards 
     solving the problems of Ireland. We welcome the joint 
     affirmation of the Irish and British governments on February 
     19 to such a process. Both the British and Irish governments 
     have gone the extra mile for peace, and we commend their 
     commitment to achieving the earliest possible end to the 
     conflict.
       The Friends of Ireland continue to support a united Ireland 
     achieved through peaceful consent, and we welcome the 
     statement by the British Government in the Declaration that 
     ``it is for the people of the island of Ireland alone, by 
     agreement between the two parts respectively, to exercise 
     their right of self-determination on the basis of consent, 
     freely and concurrently given, North and South, to bring 
     about a united Ireland, if that is their wish.''
       As the Irish Government stated in the Declaration, ``the 
     democratic right of self-determination by the people of 
     Ireland as a whole must be achieved and exercised with and 
     subject to the agreement and consent of a majority of the 
     people of Northern Ireland.''
       The Declaration assures that no avenue is foreclosed with 
     regard to the future status of Northern Ireland. It also 
     assures that a pre-determined outcome will not be forced on 
     either community. Both communities in Northern Ireland should 
     be reassured by these guarantees.
       Most important, the Declaration is inclusive. It welcomes 
     to the peace table all who oppose the violence that has 
     achieved nothing and cost so much in the past 25 years.
       The Friends of Ireland unequivocally condemn the violence 
     which has claimed more than 3,100 lives--the majority of whom 
     have been civilians--in the 25 year history of the conflict.
       We condemn the continuing violence of all paramilitary 
     groups in Northern Ireland, both Republican and Loyalist. We 
     note that since the Troubles began, more Catholic civilians 
     have been killed by the IRA, than have been killed by British 
     security forces. We also note that Loyalist paramilitary 
     groups such as the UFF and UVF, which routinely and 
     deliberately target civilians for assassination, have in 
     recent years been responsible for an increasing number of 
     deaths in Northern Ireland.
       The Friends of Ireland condemn the recent upsurge of IRA 
     bombing attacks in densely populated locations, such as 
     Heathrow Airport, with the attendant risk of numerous 
     casualities. We deplore the recent reciprocal paramilitary 
     murders in Northern Ireland and hope that they will not 
     increase. The Friends repeat that it is such indiscriminate 
     bombings and killings that represent the worst abuse of human 
     rights in the Northern Ireland context. We appeal to Sinn 
     Fein and the IRA to accept the Declaration as a basis for 
     further negotiation toward permanent peace and justice. We 
     call for an end to all violence and the entering into of 
     negotiations, so that Northern Ireland may be spared further 
     destruction as the peace process continues.
       The Friends of Ireland commend the high attention that 
     President Clinton has given the situation in Northern 
     Ireland. The President has frequently reaffirmed his 
     commitment and willingness to have the United States 
     contribute to the efforts to bring lasting peace to Northern 
     Ireland. The President has also, in both budgets he has sent 
     to the Congress, requested funding for the International Fund 
     for Ireland.
       The Friends of Ireland also continue to be concerned about 
     human rights abuses in Northern Ireland, and we view recent 
     reports by the U.S. Department of State and internationally 
     recognized human rights organizations with concern.
       Since 1969, more than 340 people have been killed by the 
     police and Army in Northern Ireland, a large number in 
     disputed circumstances. Yet 1993 marked the first year since 
     1969 that no one in Northern Ireland was killed by a member 
     of the British security forces. We welcome this development 
     and hope that it reflects a trend toward stricter control and 
     greater restraint. However, prosecutions of members of the 
     security forces for earlier uses of lethal force have been 
     rare, and convictions have been even rarer. We share the 
     concern of the nationalist community over the need for 
     accountability by members of the security forces. The Friends 
     of Ireland urge the British Government to deal effectively 
     with these concerns by adopting stricter rules to prevent 
     abuses in the use of lethal force.
       We continue to be concerned about the lack of other 
     safeguards in the system of justice in Northern Ireland, 
     which differs in many ways from the system of justice in 
     Great Britain.
       We urge the British Government to take steps to end human 
     rights abuses in Northern Ireland and to address the 
     recommendations made in reports by the Committee on the 
     Administration of Justice in Northern Ireland and other 
     internationally recognized human rights organizations.
       The Friends of Ireland continue to support the work of the 
     International Fund for Ireland, which was established in 1986 
     to promote economic and social development in Northern 
     Ireland and to facilitate and encourage contact and 
     reconciliation between the two communities.
       Since its creation, the Fund has provided assistance to 
     3,000 projects. In 1993, it contributed to 400 new projects, 
     creating 2,600 full-time permanent jobs. Seventy-five percent 
     of the Fund's resources are targeted to the most 
     disadvantaged areas in Northern Ireland and border counties 
     of the Republic of Ireland.
       We also remain concerned about employment discrimination in 
     Northern Ireland. The Fair Employment Act of 1989 was passed 
     by the British Government to address the disparities between 
     Catholic and Protestant unemployment in Northern Ireland, and 
     we commend the positive steps taken under the Act to end 
     discrimination. Nevertheless, the level of Catholic male 
     unemployment remains twice as great as that of Protestants. 
     As Bob Cooper, Chairman of the Fair Employment Commission, 
     characterized the situation, ``while the pendulum is swinging 
     slowly towards the center, there is still some considerable 
     distance to go before it gets there. * * *''
       The Friends of Ireland await the completion in 1995 of the 
     review of employment equality which the British Government is 
     undertaking. This review should examine all ways, including 
     stronger legislation, in which more effective progress can be 
     made to eliminate job discrimination and achieve fair 
     participation by both communities in the workforce.
       Finally, we welcome and firmly endorse the recent call for 
     fair employment and greater investment in Northern Ireland by 
     the leaders of the Catholic, Presbyterian, Anglican and 
     Methodist churches in Ireland. As they noted: ``Investment 
     can contribute to the prosperity of both communities in 
     Northern Ireland, an end to disparities in unemployment, and 
     a reduction in violence.''
       As Friends of Ireland, our hope on this St. Patrick's Day 
     is that 1994 will be the year in which the violence ends and 
     the courageous people of Northern Ireland--Catholic and 
     Protestant--begin at last to live together in peace and 
     prosperity. Important steps have been taken. This opportunity 
     for peace and reconciliation should be embraced. That is our 
     wish for the coming year.
       Friends of Ireland Executive Committee:
       Senate: Edward M. Kennedy, Daniel Patrick Moynihan, 
     Claiborne Pell, and Christopher J. Dodd.
       House of Representatives: Thomas S. Foley, Robert H. 
     Michel, Frank McCloskey, Pat Williams, Joseph M. McDade, 
     Barbara Kennelly, Henry J. Hyde, John P. Murtha, William F. 
     Clinger, Jr., William J. Coyne, James T. Walsh, Richard E. 
     Neal, and Jack Quinn.

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