[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 18 (Thursday, February 24, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S823-S824]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     SENATE RESOLUTION 259--URGING THE DECOMMISSIONING OF ARMS AND 
                     EXPLOSIVES IN NORTHERN IRELAND

  Mr. HELMS (for himself and Mr. Smith of Oregon) submitted the 
following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign 
Relations:

                              S. Res. 259

       Whereas the Good Friday Agreement was signed on April 10, 
     1998, to bring about a peaceful settlement to the conflict in 
     Northern Ireland;
       Whereas in a referendum on May 22, 1998, the people of 
     Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland voted 
     overwhelmingly in favor of the Good Friday Agreement;
       Whereas the Good Friday Agreement provides for the 
     devolution of government from the United Kingdom to local 
     institutions in Northern Ireland and the establishment of a 
     North/South Ministerial Council and a British-Irish Council, 
     and consists of provisions on decommissioning, human rights, 
     policing, and prisoners;
       Whereas much progress has been made in the establishment of 
     both the indigenous Northern Ireland institutions and the 
     North/South and British-Irish bodies, hundreds of prisoners 
     from both communities have been released, and a plan for the 
     restructuring of the police force has been put forth;
       Whereas the Independent International Commission on 
     Decommissioning (the Commission), led by General John de 
     Chastelain, was established to facilitate the process of 
     decommissioning of paramilitary arms as called for in the 
     Good Friday Agreement;
       Whereas the two principal loyalist paramilitary 
     organizations, the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) and the 
     Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF), informed the Commission that 
     they are prepared to move on decommissioning if the Irish 
     Republican Army (IRA) makes clear that the war is over and it 
     will also decommission;
       Whereas the Commission's January 31, 2000, report on 
     decommissioning states that though the IRA emphasized that it 
     poses no threat to the peace process, it has not provided any 
     information as to when decommissioning will begin;
       Whereas the leader of the Social Democratic and Labor 
     Party, John Hume, has called upon the IRA to ``demonstrate 
     for all to see its patriotism and desire to move the 
     situation forward by strengthening the peace process through 
     beginning voluntarily the process of decommissioning'';
       Whereas on February 11, 2000, due to the decommissioning 
     impasse, the British Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, 
     Peter Mandelson, suspended the Northern Ireland Executive and 
     resumed direct control over the province;
       Whereas on February 11, 2000, the Commission issued a 
     report noting the ``IRA's recognition that the issue of arms 
     needs to be dealt with in an acceptable way and that this is 
     a necessary objective of a genuine peace process''; and
       Whereas recent polls indicate that the overwhelming 
     majority of the people in Northern Ireland and the Republic 
     of Ireland support decommissioning by all paramilitary 
     organizations: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) stresses the importance of decommissioning of weapons 
     held by paramilitaries on all sides without conditions to the 
     success of the peace process in Northern Ireland;
       (2) calls upon the Irish Republican Army to make a firm 
     commitment and offer a specific timetable as to when 
     decommissioning of all of their arms and explosives will 
     begin; and
       (3) urges the loyalist paramilitary organizations to 
     respond to such an IRA proposal by immediately beginning the 
     process of decommissioning all of their weapons.

  Mr. HELMS. Mr. President, I am certainly not alone in my 
disappointment at the recent turn of events in Northern Ireland. It is 
a disheartening development. With the signing of the Good Friday 
Agreement in April 1998 and the overwhelming desire for peaceful 
resolution of the conflict--in both Northern Ireland and the Republic 
of Ireland--the prospects for peace in that troubled region had never 
seemed better.
  The Good Friday Agreement, like all negotiated peace settlements, 
offers incentives to all parties but it also requires compromises--
compromises that most people are willing to make, and have made, in 
order for peace. I do not pretend to speak for any side in Northern 
Ireland, but I can imagine that it was difficult for many in the 
Unionist community to see convicted IRA bombers walk free from prison.
  And it was certainly difficult for many in the nationalist community 
to accept the principal of continued British sovereignty over Northern 
Ireland. But David Trimble, John Hume, and other honorable men and 
women have fulfilled their obligations under the Good Friday Agreement 
in order to give peace the opportunity to take root in Northern 
Ireland.
  The current crisis stems from the refusal of one organization--the 
Irish Republican Army--to begin the process of decommissioning of their 
weapons and explosives. The IRA claims it has done enough by keeping 
its guns silent, by not setting off bombs, by adhering to a cease-fire. 
But, Mr. President, what kind of democratic system exists when one 
organization maintains a massive arsenal for potential use in the event 
that it is dissatisfied with the political process? Is that considered 
a genuine peace? I maintain that it is not, and it should not be 
accepted by people in this country.
  Let me clear, the IRA's political wing, Sinn Fein, signed onto 
decommissioning in the Good Friday Agreement. As the Agreement states: 
``all participants accordingly reaffirm their commitment to the total 
disarmament of all paramilitary organizations'' and to ``use any 
influence they may have, to achieve the decommissioning of all 
paramilitary arms within two years'', which is May 22 of this year.
  Now, Sinn Fein's leader Gerry Adams has said that his organization 
``has no further room to move'', which I find quite interesting, 
considering that members of his party were allowed to participate in 
the local governing structures established by the Good Friday Agreement 
(but do not seem to be willing to convince the IRA it must fulfill its 
obligations as well).
  I suggest that Mr. Adams be advised that he cannot have it both ways. 
And to those whose excuse is that the deadline for decommissioning is 
still three months off (May 22, 2000), I would remind them that there 
is an established body designed to manage this process and that the IRA 
refused to make any commitment or offer any timetable for 
decommissioning to this institution. It is difficult to believe that on 
May 21, 2000, the IRA would have, in any event, turned over its 
hundreds of guns, its tons of Semtex, which it maintains as a veto on 
peace.
  We are at a critical point: due to lack of commitment by the IRA on 
decommissioning, the British government had no choice but to suspend 
the indigenous institutions of Northern Ireland. Why? Let me merely 
recite the obvious: Why should Sinn Fein be allowed to participate in 
legitimate, elected governing bodies when the IRA refuses to disarm? 
How can we expect the unionist community to deal with Sinn Fein 
officials in this capacity when the IRA has turned its back on this 
crucial part of the peace process?
  Sinn Fein and the IRA continue to raise the bar; after demanding that 
the Northern Ireland Executive and Northern Ireland Assembly be 
established before beginning decommissioning, they now state that if 
the British withdraw their troops from bases in Northern Ireland, they 
might consider handing in their weapons. I would remind them that there 
is an agreement, there is a process that they have signed onto--from 
which they have benefitted. Their prisoners have been released. Plans 
for a drastic overhaul of the Royal Ulster

[[Page S824]]

Constabulary have been put forth. Cross border institutions have been 
established and are functioning.
  They must abide by their obligations as well. Mr. President, Sinn 
Fein and the IRA must understand that if they do not, they will not 
have the support of the United States.
  Today I am offering a resolution stressing the importance of 
decommissioning to the success of the peace in Northern Ireland and 
calling on the IRA to commit to the process and to offer a timetable as 
to when they will turn in their arms and explosives. And although the 
loyalist paramilitary organizations have significantly fewer weapons in 
their possession, they must fulfill their promise to disarm as well. 
The two main loyalist paramilitaries have stated that they will disarm 
when the IRA begins to do so. If the IRA moves on decommissioning, 
these organizations should respond immediately.
  This is an historic moment in Northern Ireland--the best chance for 
peace in a quarter of a century. Let us not waste it. We must encourage 
those who are working for peace. But more importantly, we must make 
clear to those who want to destroy this opportunity by clinging to old 
and violent means, they can not succeed.

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