[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 193 (Wednesday, December 6, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S18092-S18093]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  PRESIDENT CLINTON'S VISIT TO ENGLAND, NORTHERN IRELAND, AND IRELAND

  Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, I join in commending President Clinton for 
his historic visit to Ireland, Northern Ireland, and England.
  Those of us who support peace in Northern Ireland watched as the 
President and First Lady lit the Christmas tree--sent from Tennessee 
with the help of the Vice President--in front of Belfast's City Hall 
last Thursday night. Thousands of people--Catholic and Protestant--
turned out to celebrate the beginning of the Christmas season and, more 
importantly, the peace that Northern Ireland has known for more than 15 
months.
  In his remarks, the President spoke of the historic ties between the 
people of Northern Ireland and the United States and the bonds we 
continue to build. Mostly, he and the First Lady spoke of the children 
of Northern Ireland and their hopes and dreams for a lasting peace. I 
ask unanimous consent that the remarks of the President and the First 
Lady may be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the remarks were ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

    Belfast City Hall, Belfast, Northern Ireland, November 30, 1995

       Mrs. Clinton. Thank you very much, Lord Mayor. And thank 
     all of you. (Applause.) Tonight is a night filled with hope 
     and peace. And for those of us gathered here throughout 
     Northern Ireland and around the world, often it is our 
     children who offer us the clearest and purest reasons why 
     peace and why this peace process is so important.
       In a national competition, asking students to share their 
     hopes for a peaceful Northern Ireland in letters to my 
     husband, two students whom you see here tonight, Cathy Harte 
     and Mark Lennox won the top prize. We will be privileged to 
     have them in America at summer camp this coming summer. 
     Tonight it is my privilege to read excerpts from their 
     letters.
       This is what Cathy said: ``My name is Cathy Harte and I am 
     a 12-year-old Catholic girl. I live in Belfast in Northern 
     Ireland, and I love it here. It's green, it's beautiful, and, 
     well, it's Ireland.'' (Applause.) ``All my life, I have only 
     known guns and bombs with people fighting. Now, it is 
     different. There are no guns and bombs.''
       Cathy continues: ``My dream's for the future, well, I have 
     a lot of them. Hopefully, the peace will be permanent; that 
     one day Catholics and Protestants will be able to walk hand-
     in-hand and will be able to live in the same areas.'' 
     (Applause.) ``Catholics, Protestants, black or white, it is 
     the person inside that counts.'' (Applause.) ``What I hope,'' 
     said Cathy, ``is that when I have my own children that there 
     will still be peace and that Belfast will be a peaceful place 
     from now on.''
       Thank you, Cathy. (Applause.)
       Mark Lennox is the same age as our daughter, 15. And he 
     explains in his letter the simple hows of achieving peace. 
     And this is what he says: ``I am a 15-year-old schoolboy from 
     Glengormley High School. I am very pleased about the chance 
     of permanent peace in Northern Ireland and the chances of 
     living in a secure atmosphere.
       ``If Northern Ireland is to have a future, then we must all 
     learn to live with each other in a more tolerant way. Also, 
     we must all work hard for peace and make a real effort. We 
     will have to change our ideas and work for change. Change 
     must mean changing our own understanding of each other. We 
     must learn together and know more about our different 
     traditions.
       Some people want to destroy peace and the peace process in 
     Northern Ireland.'' And Mark says, ``We must not allow this 
     to happen.'' (Applause.)
       As the Lord Mayor said, in a moment the Christmas tree will 
     be lit as Christmas trees will be lit all over the world in 
     the days to come. This Christmas let us remember the reason 
     behind why we light Christmas trees. Let us remember the 
     reason for this great holiday celebration. And let us 
     remember that we seek peace most of all for our children. May 
     this be one of many, many happy and peaceful Christmases in 
     Northern Ireland this year and for many years to come. 
     (Applause.) And may God keep you and bless you and hold all 
     of you in the palm of His hand. Thank you and God bless you.
       (Applause.)
       Lord Mayor. Now, ladies and gentlemen, we have a duty to do 
     tonight. And that is we're going to ask the President to turn 
     the lights on. But you and I have something to do. We have to 
     count down, 10 down to zero. So we want the count, 10, 9--
     slowly please, so that when the President gets ready I'll 
     give you the okay and then we will have the countdown.
       (The Christmas tree is lit.)
       The President. Thank you very much. (Applause.) To the Lord 
     Mayor and Lady Mayoress, let me begin by saying to all of 
     you, Hillary and I thank you from the bottom of our hearts 
     for making us feel so very, very welcome in Belfast and 
     Northern Ireland. (Applause.) We thank you, Lord Mayor, for 
     your cooperation and your help in making this trip so 
     successful, and we trust that, for all of you, we haven't 
     inconvenienced you too much. But this has been a wonderful 
     way for us to begin the Christmas holidays. (Applause.)
       Let me also say I understood just what an honor it was to 
     be able to turn on this Christmas tree when I realized the 
     competition. (Laughter.) Now, to become President of the 
     United States you have to undertake some considerable 
     competition. But I have never confronted challengers with the 
     name recognition, the understanding of the media and the 
     ability in the martial arts of the Mighty Morphin Power 
     Rangers. (Applause.)
       To all of you whose support enabled me to join you tonight 
     and turn the Christmas tree on, I give you my heartfelt 
     thanks. (Applause.) I know here in Belfast you've been 
     lighting the Christmas tree for more than 20 years. But this 
     year must be especially joyous to you, for you are entering 
     your second Christmas of peace. (Applause.)
       As I look down these beautiful streets, I think how 
     wonderful it will be for people to do their holiday shopping 
     without worry of searches or bombs; to visit loved ones on 
     the other side of the border without the burden of 
     checkpoints or roadblocks; to enjoy these magnificent 
     Christmas lights without any fear of violence. Peace has 
     brought real change to your lives.
       Across the ocean, the American people are rejoicing with 
     you. We are joined to you by strong ties of community and 
     commerce and culture. Over the years men and women of both 
     traditions have flourished in our country and helped America 
     to flourish.
       And today, of course, we are forging new and special bonds. 
     Belfast's sister city in the United States, Nashville, 
     Tennessee, was proud to send this Christmas tree to friends 
     across the Atlantic. I want to thank the most prominent 
     present resident of Nashville, Tennessee, Vice President Al 
     Gore, the 

[[Page S 18093]]
     Mayor, Phil Bredesen, and the United States Air Force for getting this 
     big tree all the way across the Atlantic to be here with you 
     tonight. (Applause.)
       In this 50th anniversary year of the end of World War II, 
     many Americans still remember the warmth the people of 
     Northern Ireland showed them when the army was stationed here 
     under General Eisenhower. The people of Belfast named General 
     Eisenhower an honorary burgess of the city. He viewed that 
     honor, and I quote, ``as a token of our common purpose to 
     work together for a better world.'' That mission endures 
     today. We remain Americans and as people of Northern Ireland, 
     partners for security, partners for prosperity and, most 
     important, partners for peace. (Applause.)
       Two years ago, at this very spot, tens of thousands of you 
     took part in a day for peace, as a response to some of the 
     worst violence Northern Ireland had known in recent years. 
     The two morning papers, representing both traditions, 
     sponsored a telephone poll for peace that generated almost 
     160,000 calls. In the United States, for my fellow Americans 
     who are here, that would be the equivalent of 25 million 
     calls.
       The response left no doubt that all across Northern Ireland 
     the desire for peace was becoming a demand. I am honored to 
     announce today that those same two newspapers, the Newsletter 
     and the Irish News, have established the President's Prize, 
     an annual award to those at the grass-roots level who have 
     contributed most to peace and reconciliation. The honorees 
     will travel to the United States to exchange experiences on 
     the issues we share, including community relations and 
     conflict resolution. We have a lot to learn from on another. 
     The President's Prize will underscore that Northern Ireland's 
     two traditions have a common interest in peace.
       As you know--and as the First Lady said--I have received 
     thousands of letters from school children all over your 
     remarkable land telling me what peace means to them. They 
     poured in from villages and cities, from Catholic and 
     Protestant communities, from mixed schools, primary schools, 
     from schools for children with special needs. All the letters 
     in their own way were truly wonderful for their honesty, 
     their simple wisdom and their passion. Many of the children 
     showed tremendous pride in their homeland, in its beauty and 
     its true nature. I congratulate the winners. They were 
     wonderful and I loved hearing their letters.
       But let me tell you about another couple I received. 
     Eleven-year-old Keith from Carrickfergus wrote: ``Please tell 
     everyone in America that we're not always fighting here, and 
     that it's only a small number of people who make the 
     trouble.'' Like many of the children, Keith did not identify 
     himself as Protestant or Catholic, and did not distinguish 
     between the sources of the violence.
       So many children told me of loved ones they have lost, of 
     lives disrupted and opportunities forsaken and families 
     forced to move. Yet, they showed remarkable courage and 
     strength and a commitment to overcome the past. As 14-year-
     old Sharon of County Armagh wrote: ``Both sides have been 
     hurt. Both sides must forgive.''
       Despite the extraordinary hardships so many of these 
     children have faced, their letters were full of hope and love 
     and humor. To all of you who took the time to write me, 
     you've brightened my holiday season with your words of faith 
     and courage, and I thank you. To all of you who asked me to 
     do what I could to help peace take root, I pledge you 
     America's support. We will stand with you as you take risks 
     for peace. (Applause.)
       And to all of you who have not lost your sense of humor, I 
     say thank you. I got a letter from 13-year-old Ryan from 
     Belfast. Now, Ryan, if you're out in the crowd tonight, 
     here's the answer to your question. No, as far as I know, an 
     alien spacecraft did not crash in Roswell, New Mexico, in 
     1947. (Laughter.) And, Ryan, if the United States Air Force 
     did recover alien bodies, they didn't tell me about it, 
     either, and I want to know. (Applause.)
       Ladies and gentlemen, this day that Hillary and I have had 
     here in Belfast and in Derry and Londonderry County will long 
     be with us--(applause)--as one of the most remarkable days of 
     our lives. I leave you with these thoughts. May the Christmas 
     spirit of peace and goodwill flourish and grow in you. May 
     you remember the words of the Lord Mayor: ``This is 
     Christmas. We celebrate the world in a new way because of the 
     birth of Emmanuel; God with us.'' And when God was with us, 
     he said no words more important than these: ``Blessed are the 
     peacemakers, for they shall inherit the Earth.'' (Applause.)
       Merry Christmas, and God bless you all. (Applause.)

                          ____________________