[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 118 (Wednesday, September 9, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Page S10140]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               THE PROGRESS OF PEACE IN NORTHERN IRELAND

 Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, I would like to reflect for a 
moment on recent events in Northern Ireland, highlighted by the 
President's trip there last week. As every member of this body knows, 
the violent political and religious conflict in Northern Ireland has 
claimed the lives of more than 3,200 people since 1969. In April of 
this year, after many failed attempts at a political solution to this 
violence, a settlement was announced that was deemed acceptable to all 
sides of this conflict. The so-called Good Friday peace agreement is an 
historic achievement in the struggle for peace in Northern Ireland. It 
seemed that finally, peace had won out over war and intolerance, and 
that the children of Northern Ireland, both Protestant and Catholic, 
would finally be able to move hand-in-hand toward a shared future.
  As a member of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, I have 
closely monitored that Northern Ireland peace process, and I welcomed 
this peace agreement, which was expertly brokered by our former 
colleague, and the former Majority Leader of this body, Senator George 
Mitchell.
  In a May 22, 1998, referendum, a convincing majority of the people of 
Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic embraced this peace plan. On 
June 25, 1998, the people of Northern Ireland went to the polls and 
elected representatives from Protestant, Catholic, and non-sectarian 
parties to sit in the newly created Assembly, which will gradually 
assume rule of Northern Ireland from Great Britain.
  This election was perhaps one of the most historic aspects of the 
Northern Ireland peace agreement. For the first time, the people of 
Northern Ireland elected representatives for an Assembly that will not 
be located in Westminster, but rather in Northern Ireland itself. The 
British Parliament must still draft and adopt legislation that will 
transfer the necessary powers to the Assembly that will make that body 
truly independent from Westminster, and I hope this will be done at the 
earliest possible time.
  This brief but promising time of peace and cooperation was shattered 
on July 5, 1998, during the annual and often contentious ``Marching 
Season,'' during which time it is common for Protestant groups to 
conduct sectarian marches throughout Northern Ireland. Tensions rose as 
many would-be marchers resisted a Parades Commission decision to 
reroute a march through a Catholic neighborhood in Drumcree planned by 
a Protestant group to commemorate the Battle of the Boyne, a 1690 
skirmish in which the Protestant King William III of Orange defeated 
the Catholic King James II. The ensuing riots and violence culminated 
in a firebombing on July 11 in Ballymoney that left three young 
Catholic brothers dead. Both the Protestant and Catholic communities 
denounced this attack, which has been attributed to a loyalist 
paramilitary group.
  This senseless attack was particularly ironic because it appears that 
the house of the three young victims was targeted because their family 
was mixed--part Catholic and part Protestant.
  Violence ripped through Northern Ireland again one month later, on 
August 11, when a car bomb exploded in a busy marketplace in the town 
of Omagh. Twenty-eight people, including an elderly woman, her pregnant 
daughter, and her young granddaughter, were killed, and more than 200 
were injured. It is ironic that the most horrible act of violence to 
occur in the last 30 years in a country that has suffered so much 
throughout its tumultuous history occurred just as the people of 
Northern Ireland finally embarked on the road to peace.
  Reports indicate that a warning was issued to police prior to the 
bombing, but that the terrorists gave false information which lead 
police to move those in the marketplace to the site where the bomb was 
located, thereby increasing the number of casualties.
  A fringe group which calls itself the ``Real IRA'' has claimed 
responsibility for this monstrous attack. This group, and one other 
anti-British fringe group, have since announced cease-fires. It is my 
strong hope that those responsible for this cowardly act will be 
identified and prosecuted for their crimes.
  Recently, British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Irish Prime Minister 
Bertie Ahern recommitted themselves to the success of the Northern 
Ireland peace agreement and vowed that this attack would not destroy 
the progress of the last several months. They also announced new 
security measures that will be put in place to help prevent future 
attacks, and that the British Parliament plans to take a hard look at 
ways to improve security.
  I am pleased that President Clinton visited Northern Ireland, and the 
town of Omagh, last week and met with some of the victims of the attack 
in Omagh and their families, as he did last Thursday. The United States 
has invested much in the long and sometimes harrowing journey toward a 
lasting peace in Northern Ireland, and we must remain engaged there and 
continue to offer our encouragement and friendship to the people of 
Northern Ireland. While tremendous progress has been made in the last 
year, there is still much work to be done as the people of Northern 
Ireland strive to live and govern together in peace.

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