[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 146 (Saturday, October 8, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: October 8, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN NORTHERN IRELAND

  Mr. BIDEN. Mr. President, at the end of August, the Provisional Irish 
Republican Army [IRA]--a terrorist organization that for the past two 
and one-half decades has waged a bloody war to end what it regards as 
the British occupation of Northern Ireland--declared a ``complete 
cessation of military operations.'' The IRA also signaled its 
commitment to a negotiated settlement by stating that ``an opportunity 
to secure a just and lasting settlement has been created'' and 
declaring that a solution to the Northern Ireland conflict will ``only 
be found as a result of inclusive negotiations.''
  This statement, combined with active and creative diplomatic efforts 
by the Irish and British Governments, has dramatically altered the 
political landscape in Northern Ireland--and provided the most 
opportune moment for bringing peace to that beautiful but troubled area 
in the northeast of the Island of Ireland.
  Indeed, the IRA cease-fire has catalyzed a chain of events that has 
given momentum to the peace process. It now seems apparent, assuming 
the IRA cease-fire holds, that the British Government will soon begin a 
dialog with Sinn Fein, the political party that acts as the political 
arm of the IRA. These discussions will represent the first step in a 
series of talks involving the Irish and British Governments and the 
political parties in Northern Ireland.
  There are many people responsible for the changed circumstances in 
Northern Ireland. Irish Prime Minister Albert Reynolds and British 
Prime Minister John Major deserve significant credit for moving the 
process forward with the Joint Declaration that the two governments 
issued last December. John Hume, leader of the Social Democratic and 
Labor Party [SDLP] of Northern Ireland--the main Nationalist Part in 
the six counties--more than any other individual, has been the 
intellectual architect of most major political initiatives in Northern 
Ireland for the past two decades. The Ulster Unionist Party, the 
leading unionist political party in Northern Ireland, is to be 
commended for not taking a rejectionist path. I also commend Gerry 
Adams, the leader of Sinn Fein, which acts as the political arm of the 
IRA, for taking a first step toward peace.
  Finally, I applaud President Clinton for the role he and his 
administration have played in encouraging the Northern Ireland peace 
process. His decision last winter to grant Mr. Adams a visa to visit 
the United States, in the face of strong opposition by the British 
Government, was an important milestone in moving the IRA toward its 
cease-fire declaration.
  Mr. President, the path toward a permanent resolution of Northern 
Ireland's Troubles--as the conflict there is euphemistically called--
remains fraught with obstacles; 25 years of violence have left a bitter 
legacy of division and distrust, hatred and fear between the 
nationalist and unionist communities in Northern Ireland. During these 
two and one-half decades, over 3,000 people have lost their lives; over 
30,000 have been injured. Because Northern Ireland is a relatively 
small community of just 1.5 million people, there are few that the war 
has not touched directly. Indeed, nearly every person in Northern 
Ireland knows someone--a family member, a friend, a coworker--who has 
been killed or injured as a result of the violence. The economic cost 
of this tragedy is staggering. But the human cost--in lost life, lost 
limbs, broken hearts, and broken dreams--is incalculable. In a very 
real sense, the fabric of the Northern Irish society has been torn 
asunder. Quite obviously, reconciliation between the two deeply divided 
communities in Northern Ireland will not come in a day--even if a 
political agreement can be reached.
  But it is not dramatic overstatement to suggest that this is the most 
hopeful moment in the 25 years of the Troubles. At this critical point, 
the United States must do all that it can to assist the quest for 
peace. President Clinton has demonstrated his personal commitment to 
aiding the peace process. So, too, Congress should stand ready to do 
all it can at this critical moment to support the effort to bring a 
permanent end to the bloody war in Northern Ireland.

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