[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 148 (Wednesday, October 27, 1999)]
[House]
[Pages H10867-H10868]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       STATE OF NORTHERN IRELAND

  (Mr. CROWLEY asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. CROWLEY. Mr. Speaker, Senator George Mitchell resumes talks today 
with pro Good Friday Agreement political leaders from Northern Ireland.
  Since the Good Friday Agreement was signed on April 10, 1998, we have 
seen some progress towards a lasting peace in Northern Ireland. The 
Patten Commission has issued its report on Policing in Northern Ireland 
and the cease-fire has remained intact.
  Despite these positive events, the agreement's foes have consistently 
sought to delay and derail implementation of the Good Friday Agreement, 
particularly David Trimble, the leader of the Ulster Unionist Party.
  The most recent effort to derail the peace process centers around the 
debate on decommissioning. Even though the Good Friday Agreement 
contains no provision that the IRA begin decommissioning before Sinn 
Fein can take its place on the Executive Committee, First Minister and 
UUP leader David Trimble has linked the two issues together in clear 
violation of the Good Friday Agreement.

[[Page H10868]]

  In the words of Mr. Adams, the Unionists need to ``get real'' and 
enter into the power-sharing executive as called for under the 
agreement. And Britain's new Secretary for Northern Ireland, Peter 
Mandelson, has warned politicians, and I quote ``the people of Northern 
Ireland will not forgive them if they put barriers in the way of 
permanent peace.''
  Mr. Speaker, if the Good Friday Agreement should fail, it may prove 
disastrous for the peace process because there is no alternative.
  It is a dangerous game the Unionists are playing with real lives at 
stake. It is my hope, and that of so many Irish Americans, that this 
game of brinkmanship by the Unionists will end before it is too late 
for the Good Friday Agreement.

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