[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 193 (Wednesday, December 6, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S18093-S18095]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




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

  Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, I too would like to congratulate 
President Clinton on his visit to Ireland and the United Kingdom. His 
visit reminds us all of the important role that the United States can 
play, and is playing, in bringing peace around the world.
  During his visit, the President visited Derry where he spoke to 
thousands of people who gathered at the Guild Hall. He also joined the 
American Ireland Fund and the family of the late Speaker of the House 
of Representatives in inaugurating the Thomas P. O'Neill Chair for the 
Study of Peace and Conflict Resolution at Ulster University.
  The President also paid tribute to ``Ireland's most tireless champion 
for civil rights and its most eloquent voice of non-violence, John 
Hume.'' And he spoke of reconciliation and hope. I am sure he was right 
when he said that Tip was smiling down on Derry that day.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the President's addresses 
in Derry may be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the addresses were ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

       Thank you. (Applause.) Thank you very much. Mr. Mayor, Mrs. 
     Kerr, Mr. and Mrs. Hume, Sir Patrick and Lady Mayhew, and to 
     this remarkable crowd. Let me say--(applause)--there have 
     been many Presidents of the United States who had their roots 
     in this soil. I can see today how lucky I am to be the first 
     President of the United States to come back to this city to 
     say thank you very much. (Applause.)
       Hillary and I are proud to be here in the home of Ireland's 
     most tireless champion for civil rights and its most eloquent 
     voice of non-violence, John Hume. (Applause.) I know that at 
     least twice already I have had the honor of hosting John and 
     Pat in Washington. And the last time I saw him I said, you 
     can't come back to Washington one more time until you let me 
     come to Derry. And here I am. (Applause.)
       I am delighted to be joined here today by a large number of 
     Americans, including a distinguished delegation of members of 
     our United States Congress who have supported peace and 
     reconciliation here and who have supported economic 
     development through the International Fund for Ireland.
       I am also joined today by members of the O'Neill family. 
     (Applause.) Among the last great chieftains of Ireland were 
     the O'Neills of Ulster. But in America, we still have 
     chieftains who are the O'Neills of Boston. They came all the 
     way over here to inaugurate the Tip O'Neill Chair and Peace 
     Studies here at the University of Ulster. (Applause.) This 
     chair will honor the great Irish American and late Speaker of 
     the House of Representatives by furthering his dream of peace 
     in Northern Ireland. And I am honored to be here with his 
     family members today.
       All of you know that this city is a very different place 
     from what a visitor like me would have seen just a year and a 
     half ago, before the cease-fire. Crossing the border now is 
     as easy as crossing a speed bump. The soldiers are off the 
     streets. The city walls are open to civilians. There are no 
     more shakedowns as you walk into a store. Daily life has 
     become more ordinary. But this will never be an ordinary 
     city. (Applause.)
       I came here because you are making a home for peace to 
     flourish and endure--a local climate responsible this week 
     for the announcement of new business operations that offer 
     significant new opportunities to you, as well as new hope. 
     Let me applaud also the success of the Inner City Trust and 
     Patty Dogherty who have put people to work rebuilding bombed-
     out buildings, building new ones, and building up confidence 
     and civic pride. (Applause.)
       America's connections to this place go back a long, long 
     time. One of our greatest cities, Philadelphia, was mapped 
     out three centuries ago by a man who was inspired by the 
     layout of the streets behind these walls. His name was 
     William Penn. He was raised a Protestant in Ireland in a 
     military family. He became a warrior and he fought in Ulster. 
     But he turned away from warfare, traded in his armor, 
     converted to the Quaker faith and became a champion of peace.
       Imprisoned for his religious views, William Penn wrote one 
     of the greatest defenses of religious tolerance in history. 
     Released from prison, he went to America in the 1680s, a 
     divisive decade here, and founded Pennsylvania, a colony 
     unique in the new world because it was based on the principle 
     of religious tolerance.
       Philadelphia quickly became the main port of entry for 
     immigrants from the north of Ireland who made the Protestant 
     and Catholic traditions valuable parts of our treasured 
     traditions in America. Today when he travels to the States, 
     John Hume is fond of reminding us about the phrase that 
     Americans established in Philadelphia as the motto of our 
     nation, ``E pluribus unum''--Out of many, one--the belief 
     that back then Quakers and Catholics, Anglicans and 
     Presbyterians could practice 0their religion, celebrate their 
     culture, honor their traditions and live as neighbors in 
     peace.
       In the United States today in just one county, Los Angeles, 
     there are representatives of over 150 different racial, 
     ethnic and religious groups. We are struggling to live out 
     William Penn's vision, and we pray that you will be able to 
     live out that vision as well. (Applause.)
       Over the last three years since I have had the privilege to 
     be the President of the United States I have had occasion to 
     meet with Nationalists and to meet with Unionists, and to 
     listen to their sides of the story. I have come to the 
     conclusion that here, as in so many other places in the 
     world--from the Middle East to Bosnia--the divisions that are 
     most important here are not the divisions between opposing 
     views or opposing interests. Those divisions can be 
     reconciled. 

[[Page S 18094]]
      The deep divisions, the most important ones, are those between the 
     peacemakers and the enemies of peace--those who, deep, deep 
     down inside want peace more than anything, and those who, 
     deep down inside can't bring themselves to reach out for 
     peace. Those who are in the ship of peace and those who would 
     sink it. Those who bravely meet on the bridge of 
     reconciliation, and those who would blow it up.
       My friends, everyone in life at some point has to decide 
     what kind of person he or she is going to be. Are you going 
     to be someone who defines yourself in terms of what you are 
     against, or what you are for? Will you be someone who defines 
     yourself in terms of who you aren't, or who you are? The time 
     has come for the peacemakers to triumph in Northern Ireland, 
     and the United States will support them as they do. 
     (Applause.)
       The world-renowned playwright from this city, Brian Friel, 
     wrote a play called ``Philadelphia, Here I Come.'' And in a 
     character who is about to immigrate from Ireland thinks back 
     on his past life and says to himself, it's all over. But his 
     alter ego reminds him of his future and replies, and it's 
     about to begin. It's all over and it's about to begin. If 
     only change were that easy.
       To leave one way of life behind in search of another takes 
     a strong amount of faith and courage. But the world has seen 
     here over the last 15 months that people from Londonderry 
     County to County Down, from Antrim to Armagh, have made the 
     transition from a time of ever-present fear to a time of 
     fragile peace. The United States applauds the efforts of 
     Prime Minister Major and Prime Minister Bruton who have 
     launched the new twin-track initiative and have opened a 
     process that gives the parties to begin a dialogue in which 
     all views are representative, and all can be heard.
       Not far from this spot stands a statue of reconciliation--
     two figures, ten feet tall, each reaching out a hand toward 
     the other, but neither quite making it across the divide. It 
     is a beautiful and powerful symbol of where many people stand 
     today in this great land. Let it now point people to the 
     handshake of reconciliation. Life cannot be lived with the 
     stillness of statues. Life must go on. The hands must come 
     closer together or drift further apart.
       Your great Nobel Prize winning poet, Seamus Heaney, wrote 
     the following words--(applause)--wrote the following words 
     that some of you must know already, but that for me capture 
     this moment. He said: ``History says don't hope on this side 
     of the grave, but then, once in a lifetime the longed-for 
     tidal wave of justice can rise up. And hope and history 
     rhyme. So hope for a great sea change on the far side of 
     revenge. Believe that a further shore is reachable from here. 
     Believe in miracles and cures and healing wells.''
       Well, my friends, I believe. I believe we live in a time of 
     hope and history rhyming. Standing here in front of the Guild 
     Hall, looking out over these historic walls, I see a peaceful 
     city, a safe city, a hopeful city, full of young people that 
     should have a peaceful and prosperous future here where their 
     roots and families are. That is what I see today with you. 
     (Applause.)
       And so I ask you to build on the opportunity you have 
     before you; to believe that the future can be better than the 
     past; to work together because you have so much more to gain 
     by working together than by drifting apart. Have the patience 
     to work for a just and lasting peace. Reach for it. The 
     United States will reach with you. The further shore of that 
     peace is within your reach.
       Thank you, and God bless you all. (Applause.)
       Mayor and Mrs. Kerr, Sir Patrick and Mrs. Mayhew, Mr. and 
     Mrs. Hume; to the community and religious leaders who are 
     here and to my fellow Americans who are here, Congressman 
     Walsh and the congressional delegation; Senator Dodd, Senator 
     Mack and others. Let me thank you all for the wonderful 
     reception you have given to Hillary and to me today and, 
     through us, to the people of the United States. And let me 
     thank Tom O'Neill for his incredibly generous remarks. I am 
     honored to be here with him and with his family and with 
     Loretta Brennan Glucksman and the other members of the 
     American Ireland Fund to help inaugurate this Tip O'Neill 
     Chair in Peace Studies.
       And thank you, Vice Chancellor Smith, for the degree. You 
     know, I wonder how far it is from a degree to a 
     professorship. (Laughter.) See, I have this job without a lot 
     of tenure, and I'm looking for one with more tenure. 
     (Applause.)
       Tip O'Neill was a model for many people he never knew. The 
     model of public service. He proved that a person could be a 
     national leader without losing the common touch, without ever 
     forgetting that all these high-flown speeches we give and all 
     these complex issues we talk about in the end have a real, 
     tangible impact on the lives of ordinary people. And that in 
     any free land, in the end all that really counts are the 
     lives of ordinary people.
       He said he was a man of the House, but he was far more. He 
     was fundamentally a man of the people. A bricklayer's son who 
     became the most powerful person in Congress and our nation's 
     most prominent, most loyal champion of ordinary working 
     families.
       He loved politics because he loved people, but also because 
     he knew it could make a difference in people's lives. And you 
     have proved here that political decisions by brave people can 
     make a difference in people's lives. Along with Senators 
     Kennedy and Moynihan and former Governor Hugh Carey of New 
     York, he was among the first Irish American politicians to 
     oppose violence in Northern Ireland. And though we miss him 
     sorely, he will long be remembered in the United States and 
     now in Ireland with this O'Neill Chair. It is a fitting 
     tribute to his life and legacy, for he knew that peace had to 
     be nurtured by a deeper understanding among people and 
     greater opportunity for all.
       Tip O'Neill was old enough to remember a time when Irish 
     Catholics were actually discriminated against in the United 
     States, and he had the last laugh when they wound up running 
     the place. (Laughter.) In my lifetime--(applause)--I was just 
     thinking that in my conscious political lifetime we've had 
     three Irish Speakers of the House of Representatives: John 
     McCormick and Tip O'Neill of Boston and Tom Foley of 
     Washington State; and, goodness knows how many more we're 
     destined to have.
       I am very proud to be here to inaugurate this chair in 
     peace studies. I have been privileged to come here at an 
     important time in your history. I have been privileged to be 
     President at an important time in your history and to do what 
     I could on behalf of the United States to help the peace 
     process go forward.
       But the work of peace is really the work of a lifetime. 
     First, you have to put the violence behind you; you have done 
     that. Then, you have to make an agreement that recognizes the 
     differences and the commonalities among you. And this twin-
     tracks process, I believe is a way at least to begin that 
     process where everyone can be heard.
       Then, you have to change the spirit of the people until it 
     is as normal as getting up in the morning and having 
     breakfast, to feel a real affinity for the people who share 
     this land with you without regard to their religion or their 
     politics.
       This chair of peace studies can help you to do that. It can 
     be a symbol of the lifetime work of building a peaceful 
     spirit and heart in every citizen of this land.
       Our administration has been a strong supporter of the 
     International Fund for Ireland. We will continue to do so 
     because of projects like this one and because of the work 
     still to be done. We were eager to sponsor the conference we 
     had last May, aided by the diligent efforts of our friend, 
     former Senator and Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell who 
     now embarks for you on another historic mission of peace.
       I hope very much that Senator Mitchell will succeed. I 
     think the voices I have heard on this trip indicate to me 
     that you want him to succeed, and that you want to succeed.
       A lot of incredibly moving things have happened to us 
     today, but I think to me, the most moving were the two 
     children who stood and introduced me this morning in the 
     Mackie Plant in Belfast. They represented all those other 
     children, including children here from Derry who have written 
     me about what peace means to them over the last few weeks.
       One young boy said--the young boy who introduced me said 
     that he studied with and played with people who were both 
     Protestant and Catholic and he'd almost gotten to the point 
     where he couldn't tell the difference. (Laughter.) The 
     beautiful young girl who introduced me, that beautiful child, 
     started off by saying what her Daddy did for a living, and 
     then she said she lost her first Daddy in The Troubles. And 
     she thought about it every day, it was the worst day of her 
     life. And she couldn't stand another loss.
       The up side and the down side. And those children joined 
     hands to introduce me. I felt almost as if my speech were 
     superfluous. But I know one thing: Tip O'Neill was smiling 
     down on the whole thing today. (Applause.)
       The other night I had a chance to go with Hillary to the 
     Ford Theater in Washington, D.C., a wonderful, historic 
     place; it's been there since before our Civil War, and where 
     President Lincoln was assassinated. And I told the people 
     there who come once a year to raise money for it so we can 
     keep it going that we always thought of it as a sad and 
     tragic place, but it was really a place where he came to 
     laugh and escape the cares of our great Civil War. And there, 
     I was thinking that America has always been about three great 
     things, our country: love of liberty, belief in progress, and 
     the struggle for unity.
       And the last is in so many ways by far the most difficult. 
     It is a continuing challenge for us to deal with the 
     differences among us, to honestly respect our differences, to 
     stand up where we feel differently about certain things, and 
     still to find that core of common humanity across all the sea 
     of differences which permit us to preserve liberty; to make 
     progress possible and to live up to the deepest truths of our 
     shared human nature.
       In the end, that is what this chair is all about. And 
     believe me, we need it everywhere. We need it in the streets 
     of our toughest cities in the United States, where we are 
     attempting to teach our children when they have conflicts, 
     they shouldn't go home and pick up a gun or a knife and hurt 
     each other, they should figure out a way to work through to 
     mutual respect.
       We need it in the Middle East, where the Prime Minister of 
     Israel just gave his life to a religious fanatic of his own 
     faith because he dared to make peace and give the children of 
     his country a better future.
       We need it in Bosnia, where the leaders have agreed to make 
     peace, but where the people must now purge their heart of the 
     hatred borne of four years of merciless slaughter. We need 
     this everywhere.
       So, my friends, I pray not only for your success in making 
     peace, but I pray that 

[[Page S 18095]]
     through this Chair and through your example, you will become a model 
     for the rest of the world because the world will always need 
     models for peace.
       Thank you, and God bless you all. (Applause.)

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