[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.
____________________