[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 142 (Tuesday, October 23, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10873-S10874]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   THE NORTHERN IRELAND PEACE PROCESS

  Mr. DODD. Madam President, a second subject matter I want to address 
is that with the bad news that we have daily been subjected to in this 
country since September 11 regarding international and domestic 
terrorism and finding and bringing those to justice who are responsible 
it is refreshing to be able to report on some good news. Today, it 
appears that a major obstacle to the full implementation of the Good 
Friday accords on the Northern Ireland peace process has been removed 
with the announcement by the IRA that it has begun to permanently put 
beyond use all its weapons. I believe that General de Chastelain, on 
behalf of the International Commission on Decommissioning, will shortly 
confirm that this has, in fact, been done.
  For those of us, and there are many in this Chamber and the other 
body who have been involved in these issues over the past 8 or 10 
years, this is a very significant moment indeed.
  It means that the sectarian differences which have torn Northern 
Ireland apart for nearly thirty years, and shed the blood of too many 
Irish men, women and children can now be addressed through dialog and 
compromise rather than by bullets and bombs.
  In many ways the issue of decommissioning has been an unfortunate 
distraction that has delayed the implementation of key provisions of 
the 1998 Good Friday Accords--provisions that were specifically 
designed to address the problems that have plagued the six counties of 
the North for decades. Now Northern Ireland's political leadership 
should no longer be paralyzed by this side issue. Finally they can 
begin to deal with injustice and inequality--the real causes of the 
Troubles, as those who signed the Peace Accords committed themselves to 
do within the context of that agreement. There is no mystery as to what 
needs to be done--the issues of police reform, domestic security, human 
rights and equal opportunity for all the citizens of Northern Ireland 
must be tackled in good faith.
  It has taken a great deal of courage on the part of Ireland's 
political leaders to bring us to where we are today. Many have done so 
at great personal risk to themselves. They have been willing to do so 
because they are mindful of the historical significance of their 
actions. I want to commend Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness of Sinn 
Fein for their tireless efforts to convince the IRA to trust in the 
political process as the only way to remedy past grievances. I commend 
as well David Trimble--Ulster Unionist Leader--for his courage in 
standing up to those elements of unionism who will not or cannot accept 
that all the peoples of the North are equal in the eyes of God and man. 
I cannot fail to mention the role that British and Irish political 
leaders Tony Blair and Bertie Ahern played in this drama--they stuck 
with the peace process even when it seemed as though it seemed at times 
that the obstacles were insurmountable. I believe that President Bush 
also should be commended for continuing President Clinton's policy of 
prodding all the parties to move forward to implement the Good Friday 
Accords so that Irish weapons will be silenced once and for all. I 
would be remiss if I did not also mention our former colleague, the 
former majority leader of this body, Senator George Mitchell of Maine, 
who played a key and pivotal role in crafting those Good Friday 
accords. I have not had the chance to speak to him today, but I am sure 
he is gratified by these recent developments. But most of all I want to 
heap praise on the individual who had the vision and determination to 
work for the last thirty years so that this day would happen, I am 
speaking of John Hume, among the greatest civil rights activists of his 
generation. Obviously there

[[Page S10874]]

are others, Albert Reynolds, Jean Kennedy Smith--who played very 
significant roles in moving this process along step by step over the 
last many years.
  I hope that the significance of this event does not get lost in other 
news today. I would ask our colleagues to take time out and reflect 
upon the significance of today's announcement. Sometimes we think 
problems are intractable that we will never be able to solve them--
problems of the Middle East, problems of central Asia--that there is no 
hope of ever resolving civil conflicts. Certainly many put Northern 
Ireland in that category as well.
  Just as the signing of the 1998 Peace Accords created new 
opportunities for the people of Northern Ireland to find peace, so too 
does today's announcement by the IRA. But let me stress that it is just 
that, an opportunity, which can be made the most of or squandered. It 
can be approached with generosity and reciprocity or it can be 
denigrated as insufficient. The people of Northern Ireland have 
suffered for too long. They are desperate to live in peace--desperate 
for a better life for themselves and for their children. I hope and 
pray that the political leaders of Northern Ireland will find that 
spirit of generosity as well as the vision and courage that the people 
of Northern Ireland expect from them and move forward to fully 
implement the Good Friday Accords. If that comes to pass, then we will 
be able to look back on this day--a day otherwise clouded by threats of 
terrorism--and recognize that there was a ray of light breaking through 
that cloud.
  I hope, Mr. President, that this ray of light can someday shine 
brightly in all corners of the globe so that matters which can affect 
us so deeply here at home, in the Middle East, and central Asia can 
also be the beneficiaries of that light, and that one day we will stand 
here and talk about the end of terrorism and peace in all quarters of 
the world where people today believe peace and security are not 
achievable.
  I yield the floor.
  Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Dayton). The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. ALLEN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the order for the 
quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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