[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 1]
[House]
[Pages 1260-1266]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



            CRITICAL TIME IN NORTHERN IRELAND PEACE PROCESS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Taylor of North Carolina). Under the 
Speaker's announced policy of January 6, 1999, the gentleman from New 
York (Mr. Walsh) is recognized for 60 minutes.
  Mr. WALSH. Mr. Speaker, I rise tonight to take a special order at a 
very critical time in the peace process in Northern Ireland. I have 
asked a number of my colleagues to join me tonight, but at this late 
hour, I am not sure that they will. But in the event that they do, I 
would like to yield them time, because so many of us have for so long 
worked so hard to help support this fairly difficult and ``fairly 
difficult'' would be an understatement, this extremely difficult 
process.
  The news today is that the British Government has reimposed its 
sovereignty over Northern Ireland. After about a 2-year process of 
working and compromise and difficult negotiation, an agreement was 
reached and the Northern Ireland government took control of its own 
destiny in December of this past year.
  Now, because of a crisis that has been precipitated over the issue of 
disarmament, the British Government has reimposed its will and has re-
extended its authority over Northern Ireland. There is a question, Mr. 
Speaker, over the constitutionality and the legality of that action, 
but nonetheless it is fait accompli and home rule has been taken back 
away and Britain is now again in control of Northern Ireland 
governmentally.
  That is a tragedy. After all these days and months and weeks of hard 
work and prayer and negotiation, we are back almost to where we started 
from. Reg Empey who was a unionist leader under David Trimble who is 
the Unionist Party leader, said today that the entire agreement now 
must be renegotiated, not just the issue of decommissioning or 
disarming but the Patten Commission which determines the reforms in the 
police, and the police is a major issue in terms of civil rights and 
justice in Northern Ireland, they say that will have to be 
renegotiated.
  The cross border agreements between the Republic of Ireland and 
Northern Ireland would have to be renegotiated. The Parades Commission, 
which oversees the licensing, the authorization of these parades that 
occur between and among the two traditions in Northern Ireland, that 
will have to be renegotiated.
  This makes it next to impossible to get the genie back in the bottle. 
David Trimble, the first deputy or prime minister of this new 
government, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his actions in this. 
He has taken many chances to make this process go forward. Against 
great opposition within his own party and at certain times maybe today 
he leads a minority of the Ulster Unionist Party in support of the Good 
Friday Agreement. Nonetheless, his decision to tender his resignation 
prior to the completion of the Good Friday Agreement has precipitated 
this crisis.

                              {time}  2115

  It was a reaction to his own internal party strife, there is no 
question, but in order to make this work, it requires that all the 
leaders lead from the front, and it is pretty obvious that the rank and 
file of the party are in control right now.
  Seamus Mallon of the SDLP party, who is the second in the government 
in a multi-party government, has said it was a mistake for Great 
Britain to take power back, to put the duly-elected government on the 
shelf. I agree with him. But, again, it is fait accompli. It has 
happened. So Mr. Mallon would like all the parties, the British, the 
Irish Republic, the political leaders of Northern Ireland, and I think 
the leadership of this country, to reengage quickly and resolve this 
and close the gap as quickly as possible.
  Gerry Adams, the leader of Sinn Fein, said at the beginning that he 
questioned the legality of Great Britain's action, and also the logic 
and common sense of this action. We have entered into a void, and no 
one knows how to come back out. There is no legal framework, there is 
no guidepath, there are no maps to getting us out of this quandary we 
are in in Northern Ireland.
  David Irvine, the leader of the Progressive Unionists, said this is 
far more dangerous than anyone knows. Those words, Mr. Speaker, are 
chilling when you consider the 30 years we have just come through in 
Northern Ireland.
  This has great meaning to the American public. Millions and millions 
and millions of Americans claim their heritage beginning in Ireland. 
This has been watched with great interest and great support among the 
American public at large, among the Members of Congress of both 
parties, by our President, who has shown great leadership, and by 
Senator George Mitchell, who has provided the glue to make this stay 
together.
  So now we are at a point where all the parties, all the players, have 
pretty much laid their cards out on the table. The IRA, the Irish 
Republican Army, they had declared a cease-fire 5 years ago; 5 years 
ago. There has been no breaking of that cease-fire, there has been no 
sectarian violence perpetrated by the Irish Republican Army. They have 
not responded to Protestant attacks on Catholics, Loyalist attacks on 
Republican Nationalist citizens in Northern Ireland, and there have 
been many. There have been many murders, and we have read about them, 
but they have not responded. They have shown great discipline.
  They agreed to participate in the International Commission on 
Decommissioning. They made public statements that the war is over, that 
they support the political institutions, that there is nothing to fear 
from the IRA in this peace process. They have shown support, they have 
shown discipline, they have supported peace, they have engaged in it, 
and they have engaged in negotiation.
  The latest statement by the IRA, albeit too late to prevent this from 
happening, made a very clear statement, understood clearly by the 
British government, the Irish Republican government, the political 
parties in the north and in this country, that they were committed to a 
process with clarity and definition and time lines.
  Unfortunately, they have had a penchant throughout this process of 
saying just enough a little bit too late, and, in this case, it gave 
the nihilists, the anti's within the Unionist Party, a reason to close 
the deal and break off the deal.

[[Page 1261]]

  It is terribly unfortunate. Mr. Mandelson, the Secretary of State for 
the Blair government in Northern Ireland, has done a good job. He just 
lacked persistence. He moved too quickly to accommodate the Unionist 
demands, and, like any kid knows, it is a lot easier to take a bicycle 
apart than it is to put it back together again. It looks like he made a 
mistake, and it gets harder and harder to get the wheels and the chain 
back on the bicycle.
  Tony Blair, the Prime Minister of Great Britain, has been a true 
leader. Today, this evening, tomorrow, he has got to show that 
leadership, and he has got to show courage, and he has got to be 
forceful, because the British government is the patron of the Unionist 
Party. The Unionist Party wants allegiance with Great Britain, Great 
Britain has to be the lead government in getting the Unionists back to 
the table.
  The Unionists, for their part, precipitated this crisis, not the IRA. 
Yes, they did make the jump in forming the Executive, 18 months too 
late, and only then just for a few weeks, but they did make the jump. 
Unfortunately, they did it with preconditions. Again, going outside of 
the initial Good Friday Agreement that 90 percent of the people on the 
island of Ireland supported, 90 percent.
  They pressured their leader, David Trimble, into setting an 
artificial deadline. And I just wonder if Jeffrey Donaldson must be 
proud of the disruption that he has wrought? Ken McGinnis and John 
Taylor, two Unionists who have worked with Mr. Trimble all the way 
through, need to be bold, and they need to stand up and they need to 
take leadership in support of Mr. Trimble and getting the Unionists 
back on track.
  This government can be put together again, but time is our enemy. The 
Irish government of the Republic of Ireland, led by Bertie Ahern, their 
view is that the British should have waited. There is no constitutional 
precedent for taking power back once it has been devolved, as they did 
in Scotland and Wales. Again, there is no map, there is no plan, there 
is no legal precedent for this. Bertie Ahern has been brilliant, but it 
is time to be strong. If this situation is not fixed soon, a vacuum is 
created, and throughout Ireland's history whenever a vacuum existed, 
violence fills the void.
  As my teachers in school used to say, an idle time is the devil's 
workshop. Ahern must insist that the British move quickly to close the 
gap. The partnership between the Republic of Ireland and the government 
of Great Britain has been essential. The two leaders, Blair and Ahern, 
have guided this process along with our President and the political 
leaders in the north to this point. They have to reimpose their will 
and take control of the situation.
  The United States' role, I am joined today by Congressman Peter King, 
who has been the true leader in the Congress on Irish issues throughout 
his career, as he has been in so many other areas, and Carolyn 
McCarthy, also of New York, has, while only in Congress for a brief 
time, become conversant with these issues, knowledgeable, forceful, and 
has become a real player.
  We have all spent dozens of hours meeting with the political leaders 
in Northern Ireland. We have visited there. I have been there 
personally five times in the last 3 or 4 years, to try to just let them 
know that the world is watching, that it is important what they are 
doing, that the people of America care deeply, and we can see over the 
horizon the bright future that they will experience if they can just 
hold this together.
  President Clinton has invested himself deeply in this. He knows the 
issues, he knows the players, and herein I think lies his greatest 
legacy.
  Mr. President, you must do something to help at this critical 
situation. I would not make a suggestion, other than that you need to 
think about it, you need to think about how far we have come, how much 
we have invested, and what can happen if this falls apart.
  Tonight I spoke with Rita O'Hare, the spokesman for Sinn Fein in 
Washington. She was actually in Dublin. There was grave concern in her 
voice, perhaps even fear, fear that we could lose what hard work and a 
little good luck and many prayers have gained.
  There is a great deal at stake, but it is still repairable, but I 
fear that it is not repairable for long. The way forward is still the 
Good Friday Agreement that everyone signed on to.
  The IRA has made a real commitment to disarmament. It must be coupled 
and symmetrical with a reduction in forces and arms on the part of the 
British, the Northern Ireland Police, the Protestant paramilitaries. 
Everyone, all sides, must get rid of their guns. Only then will we have 
real peace in Northern Ireland.
  But to hang the whole process on the issue of disarmament or 
decommissioning is bogus. There are far more issues at stake here, not 
the least of which is removing the causes, the root causes, of 
violence: Prejudice, injustice, bigotry, triumphalism. All of these 
things in time must be eliminated.
  Perhaps George Mitchell would be willing to once more try. He must 
cringe when he hears that, but he is the only one that has been able to 
put this back together at each and every juncture and each and every 
crisis.
  I do not know what the answer is. Hopefully my colleagues here in the 
House will be able to shed some light on it.
  Mr. Speaker, at this time I yield to the distinguished gentlewoman 
from Mineola, Long Island, New York (Mrs. McCarthy).
  Mrs. McCARTHY of New York. I thank my dear colleague from New York 
(Mr. Walsh), and I thank the gentleman from Long Island, New York (Mr. 
King) also.
  Mr. Speaker, I am going to be very brief on this. I will not even try 
to say that I am as knowledgeable as the two gentlemen here. But I have 
been to Ireland. I was there a year ago August when we were trying to 
put together the peace process.
  The one thing I know, when I came back from Ireland, I know what the 
people of Northern Ireland wanted, and that was peace. Anywhere we went 
you could tell all they wanted was peace.
  All of us watched over the weekend, hearing of news of what was going 
on. Many of us, our hearts sunk, because one moment it did not look 
like it was going to be put together, and the next moment things were 
going well. This afternoon we got word that things were not going well, 
that the IRA had walked away.
  I want to clarify that point, because I am afraid tomorrow the 
newspapers and the media are going to blame the IRA for everything that 
has gone on. I do not believe that is really what has happened.
  The IRA walked away from the bargaining table, but not from the peace 
process. The IRA and Sinn Fein are not walking away from peace, and I 
think all of us have to remember that. They want to continue the peace 
process.
  The IRA and Sinn Fein are committed to the Good Friday Agreement. The 
IRA and Sinn Fein went to the Unionist Party and the British government 
to keep their commitments in the Good Friday Agreement as well. By 
suspending the newly formed Belfast administration, Northern Secretary 
of State Peter Mandelson is pulling out the rug from under the peace 
process. I know both sides will probably argue that, but those of us 
that have been following it felt that he should have stood his ground 
and continued to work things out.
  The Belfast administration did not have a chance to succeed because 
it was held hostage by one man and his threat to resign. That is wrong. 
That is wrong for the people of Ireland, that is wrong for the people 
of Northern Ireland.
  The road to peace is paved by compromise, not by the demands of one 
country or one man. Sinn Fein and the IRA are willing to adhere to 
their agreement, but the British Government is changing the rules. I 
agree with my colleague that this is a time when Tony Blair really has 
to take a stance and prove to everyone that he wants to see peace in 
Ireland.
  Let us remember that the IRA and Sinn Fein have kept the peace 
process going.

[[Page 1262]]



                              {time}  2130

  Sinn Fein and the IRA, they have kept their guns silent.
  I can speak from personal experience, knowing what it is like to lose 
a loved one, my husband, to gun violence. As a mother I can speak as 
someone who has seen a child maimed, so I know what the women of 
Ireland are feeling tonight. We must persevere. We must have President 
Clinton continue to work, and I agree this could be his legacy, his 
greatest legacy. The American people must stand together and have their 
voices heard. Again, here in Congress, we must continue to work to make 
sure that this works for all of us. We of Irish American descent over 
the last several years have discovered what it is to be Irish. It is a 
proud race. We are proud that we all belong to it. We will continue to 
do our job to make sure that there will be peace in Northern Ireland. 
God willing, it will happen sooner than later.
  Mr. WALSH. Mr. Speaker, I yield time to my good friend and 
distinguished colleague, the gentleman from New York (Mr. King).
  Mr. KING. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding. I am proud 
to rise this evening to discuss the Irish peace process and the crisis 
that threatens it this evening and, unfortunately, probably into the 
next several weeks.
  At the outset, I want to commend the gentleman from New York (Mr. 
Walsh) for his leadership, both in calling this Special Order this 
evening and also the leadership he has shown as chairman of the Friends 
of Ireland Committee and for the work he has done, for instance, in 
leading the congressional delegation which accompanied President 
Clinton to Ireland and Northern Ireland in 1995 and again in 1998.
  I also have to commend my colleague in the neighboring district of 
Long Island (Mrs. McCarthy) for the enthusiasm and the interest she has 
shown in this issue. She also was with the President and Congressman 
Walsh and myself in Ireland, in Northern Ireland on the President's 
trip in 1998. She attends meeting after meeting; she meets with all of 
the parties from all sides. She meets with victims; she meets with the 
police; she meets with representatives of the British Government, the 
Irish government, and all of the significant political parties in 
Ireland and Northern Ireland.
  Of course, the gentleman from New York (Mr. Crowley), who is the 
Cochairman for the Ad Hoc Committee for Irish Affairs who represents 
the district that I was born and grew up in. Unfortunately, I did not 
have enough money to be able to live in his district. I had to move out 
to Long Island. Joe represents that district today, and he does a great 
job, both in representing his constituents and also in applying himself 
so much to this issue of peace in Ireland, an issue which he addressed 
when he was a member of the New York State Assembly and which he has 
continued to address in an even more dramatic way during the 2 years he 
has been a Member of the United States Congress.
  So all of us are here this evening, Mr. Speaker, to address the 
underlying crisis which threatens the very survival of the Irish peace 
process. First of all, I want to say that I associate myself with all 
of the remarks of Congressman Walsh and Congresswoman McCarthy, and I 
am sure whatever remarks that Congressman Crowley makes I would also 
attach myself to those. I do know that the gentleman from Massachusetts 
(Mr. Neal) is going to attempt to make it here this evening, but if 
not, he wanted to put it on the record that he stands with us in the 
call that we are making this evening.
  Mr. Speaker, it is essential, I believe, that the facts be laid out 
as to exactly what has precipitated this current crisis. The gentleman 
from New York (Mr. Walsh) has gone over many of them in his 
presentation, and I would like to reiterate a number of them now. 
Because unfortunately, I believe that both here in the United States, 
particularly in the American media and also in the British media and, 
to some extent, even the Irish media, the facts have been 
misrepresented and a totally false image has been created.
  Number one, the fact is that the breakdown in the Irish peace process 
is solely the responsibility of David Trimble and the LC Unionist 
Party. Sinn Fein and Jerry Adams have complied with each and every 
provision of the Good Friday Agreement and each and every understanding 
that was arrived at with Senator Mitchell last fall.
  This crisis came about because David Trimble said that the IRA would 
have to begin decommissioning by February 1. The Good Friday Agreement 
called for decommissioning by May 22 of this year. Even that date of 
May 22 was premised on governmental institutions in northern Irish and 
north-south institutions between the north of Ireland and the Republic 
of Ireland being in place sometime in August or September of 1998. In 
other words, there was supposed to be a 20-month lead up to the 
conclusion of decommissioning.
  The purpose of that was to let the people on the ground, to let the 
people in the Catholic and the Nationalist and the Republican community 
see that the political process was working. As that process was 
working, weapons would be decommissioned and it would have been 
completed by May of this year.
  It was David Trimble who refused to allow the government to be 
created in the north of Ireland. It was David Trimble who delayed and 
delayed and delayed through every obstacle in the way and caused a 16-
month delay.
  So it was not until November; actually, December 2nd of last year 
that the government was finally put in place in Northern Ireland and 
that an executive was set up which included two members of Sinn Fein, 
Martin McGuinness and Barbara deBrun, who would sit as members of that 
executive.
  That creation of the government was preceded by months of 
negotiations with Senator Mitchell. The result of those negotiations 
was that David Trimble agreed to allow the government to be created 
and, in return for that, the IRA, the Irish Republican Army, agreed to 
send one of their members to take part in the meetings of the 
International Commission on Decommissioning. That was the sum and 
substance of the agreement that was worked out with Senator Mitchell.
  When David Trimble then went public, he announced that yes, he was 
allowing the creation of the government, but then he imposed an 
arbitrary deadline of February 1 which had not been agreed to by 
anyone.
  I think it is important to put on the record, because, unfortunately, 
not everything is being made public these days. But the reality is that 
on December 6 of last year, Peter Mandelson, the British Secretary of 
State for Northern Ireland came to Washington and, at a lunch with a 
number of Members of Congress, stated that the first he heard of the 
February 1 so-called agreement was when David Trimble announced it; 
that it was never agreed to. He, quite frankly, did not know what was 
going to happen when February 1 came along.
  The first thing he did was ask Gerry Adams for help and advice, and 
he said he would work with the British government and try to find a way 
to resolve this. But never, ever was it a condition. Yet, as February 1 
approached, suddenly all of the pressure was put on Sinn Fein, it was 
put on the Irish Republican Army, it was specifically put on Gerry 
Adams. I find it really disgraceful that so many American newspapers, 
and I am talking about The New York Times, The Washington Post, the New 
York Daily News, the New York Post, the Boston Globe, News Day in my 
own county, all of them wrote totally one-sided editorials saying that 
there had been an agreement breached by Sinn Fein and the IRA because 
it was not going to be decommissioning by February 1 when, in fact, no 
such agreement ever existed.
  The entire premise of all of these editorials was a lie. There was 
never any agreement at all to have any decommissioning by February 1 of 
this year, but based on this lie, based on this misrepresentation, 
everything was set in motion. As a result of that, this crisis 
developed. Even though there was no obligation on the IRA, there was no 
obligation on Sinn Fein, Gerry Adams was meeting around the clock with 
the

[[Page 1263]]

British Government, with the Irish government, attempting to meet with 
David Trimble, on the phone with people here in the United States, 
talking to the White House, talking to the National Security Council.
  And he was doing that to try to find an agreement which he was under 
no legal or moral obligation to find, but he did it anyway because of 
his commitment to the peace process. He did it, and he did come forward 
with a number of concessions by the IRA, the most recent being last 
Friday concessions they had no obligation to make. Yet, in spite of 
that, the British Government, under the direction of Secretary of State 
Mandelson, last Friday suspended the agreement, suspended the Good 
Friday Agreement and they took all the powers back to London, away from 
Belfast.
  I think what is lost in all of this is, and Congressman Walsh 
mentioned this in his speech, this was illegal. There was no legal 
justification for one government, the British government to eviscerate 
an internationally arrived at agreement. This was a formal agreement 
which was arrived at by Great Britain, by the government of Ireland, 
and by all of the signators to the agreement, including Gerry Adams and 
Sinn Fein, and it was an agreement that was ratified by 90 percent of 
the people in the Republic of Ireland and over 70 percent of the people 
in the north of Ireland. Yet, even though not one provision of that 
agreement was violated, the British have now reimposed direct rule in 
Northern Ireland, and there is no legal basis for that.
  Now, the argument can be made, and I can understand it to some 
extent, that the British found that if they did not do this, the peace 
process would collapse. Well, what they have done is they have in 
effect; not in effect, but in reality, they have violated the law for 
what they feel is the greater good of preserving the peace process. 
Well, if that is their motive, then there is even more of an incentive 
on them to make sure this peace process works.
  They have to let David Trimble know that he cannot be the final 
arbiter of what is acceptable. Already he is saying he wants the 
British government to renegotiate what is going to happen with the 
Northern Ireland police force, the royal constabulary. He wants to 
renegotiate any number of items that are in the Good Friday Agreement. 
He has no right to renegotiate anything. This was an agreement that was 
formally ratified and approved by referendum and signed by the two 
governments, and he has absolutely no right to be doing this; yet, he 
is giving the clear impression that he is a veto power over the 
process.
  If that is the case, how can anyone expect the Republican community, 
the IRA, Sinn Fein, or his rank and file Catholics living in places 
like Derry and West Belfast, how can we expect them to have faith in 
the system if David Trimble can undo it whenever he wants to; if he can 
rewrite an agreement whenever it suits him. What is the incentive to go 
into the agreement. What is the incentive to enter into a peace process 
if David Trimble can just pull the rug out whenever he wants to. That 
is why it is so essential that the British government make it clear 
that David Trimble is not going to be allowed to continue to ride 
roughshod over a lawful process and he is not going to be able to 
literally rip up agreements when he chooses to do so.
  Also, if there is going to be an ultimate agreement reached in this 
whole decommissioning issue, it is essential that it be resolved once 
and for all, and that it involve all the guns in Northern Ireland. 
Again, Congressman Walsh has mentioned this. There is the guns of the 
British army; there is the military installations of the British army, 
many of which were increased after the IRA cease-fire went into effect. 
There is also, and many people do not realize this, 150,000 Unionist 
guns in Northern Ireland, so-called legal guns. These are guns which 
the British government and the Northern Ireland authorities have 
allowed the unions to have, 150,000 legal guns.
  They also have what are called 35,000 personal security guns which 
are given to people in public life or people who feel that they are 
being threatened. None of those guns are given to members, for 
instance, of Sinn Fein. Almost all of those guns go to Unionists and 
Loyalists and yet, I believe the facts will bear me out on this, that 
no political party in the western world has had more fatalities and 
more casualties because of political violence than Sinn Fein.
  Sinn Fein's officials have been attacked, they have been shot, 
murdered, wounded, and maimed; and yet nothing is done at all to 
protect them, and all we hear about are the guns of the IRA. Also, 
there are the guns of the loyalist paramilitaries, the Ulster Volunteer 
Force, the Ulster Defense Association, and any number of others, we can 
go on and list them all.
  So all of this has to be addressed. The entire issue of guns in 
northern Ireland has to be addressed. Yes, the IRA did walk away from 
the negotiations today. However, as Congressman McCarthy said, they did 
not walk away from the peace process, and that is important to 
remember.
  Mr. Speaker, I cannot say what I would do if I were in their place, 
but I can certainly understand the logic in what they did. Because back 
in November they made a solid agreement with Senator Mitchell that they 
would send a representative to the decommissioning commission to meet, 
discuss decommissioning in return for David Trimble allowing the 
government to be set up in Northern Ireland. Now that that government 
has been suspended, the IRA feels why should it keep its end of the 
agreement if David Trimble is not keeping his. But significantly, it 
has been made clear to all of us who have looked into this that the IRA 
has no intention of breaking the cease-fire; the cease-fire is intact 
and it is going to remain intact. So they are still part of the peace 
process even though they are not at the table of the decommissioning 
body.
  How much longer can this be risked? How much longer is Tony Blair 
going to allow these games to be played where one person can undermine 
and unravel the peace process that has taken years to be put together? 
The key player in that quite frankly has been President Clinton. He has 
done a tremendous job in keeping the parties together. Certainly over 
the last several weeks, I know the President was personally involved in 
this. He and members of the National Security Council were in contact 
with all of the parties and were responsible for keeping the process 
going as long as they did. I am, however, critical of the statement the 
White House put out where it seemed to put the onus on the IRA for not 
coming in sooner with their proposal. The fact is, as we said before, 
they have under no obligation to submit any proposal at all, and it 
appears as if the proposal they did submit was known to Peter Mandelson 
in advance, and yet he still took no action to stop the suspension of 
the government, which leads to the belief he was going to suspend the 
government anyway just as a way to protect David Trimble.
  So in the days and weeks ahead as we head towards St. Patrick's Day, 
which will be approximately five weeks I guess from today, or probably 
four weeks from this week, it is so important that all of us, and all 
Americans, not just Irish Americans but all Americans who care about 
peace and justice in Ireland, will stand together, stand as one. Yes, 
we are more than willing to work with David Trimble, work with the 
British government, work with any of the parties who are honestly 
committed to the peace process.

                              {time}  2145

  But we cannot allow ourselves to be used as accessories to a game 
where David Trimble rewrites the rules, rewrites agreements, and 
reneges on agreements that he has entered into.
  If that is what is done, there is not going to be peace in Ireland, 
and it is a situation that none of us even want to contemplate what 
could happen if this unravels, because this is the best chance for 
peace for all the people in Ireland probably in the entire history of 
Ireland, and certainly in the last 30 years or 75 years. There has 
never been an opportunity such as the one that is there today.

[[Page 1264]]

  It is there. It is the good Friday agreement. It is the basis which 
allows all of the parties to move forward while all of the parties at 
the same time make concessions. It is the agreement which provides the 
basis where everyone's legitimate rights are protected, and everyone 
should receive peace and security, so long as the agreement is fully 
implemented. That is what has to be done. That is the role the U.S. can 
play.
  Senator Mitchell has done a great job in the past. The gentleman from 
New York (Mr. Walsh) is trying to bring about a divorce in the Mitchell 
family by asking George Mitchell to go back again. He has made the 
ultimate sacrifice twice in putting in so much time and effort. If he 
is willing to do it again, God bless him. But we as Americans, as 
Members of this Congress, as people who care about the peace process in 
Ireland, we have to do what we have to do.
  We have to work with the President, we have to work with all the 
parties to bring about that peace which is so close and yet so far, but 
in doing this, we cannot allow ourselves to be scared off or turned 
away by the American media, which unfortunately in the last several 
weeks, and I think it has really been disgraceful the way they have so 
misrepresented and misreported what the reality is in Northern Ireland, 
and unfortunately has provided a climate and backdrop which has allowed 
both the British government and David Trimble to do what they have 
done.
  I know that when we look at the British media, when we look at the 
television and radio shows in Northern Ireland, especially, all of 
these editorials are cited as proof that the American people are 
standing behind David Trimble, when exactly the opposite is true. Those 
of us who know what is going on realize that the onus for all of this 
is on David Trimble, and we are not going to allow him to get away with 
it. We are going to stay committed to this process until peace does 
come to Ireland.
  I thank the gentleman from New York (Mr. Walsh) again for his 
efforts, both tonight and throughout the history of this process.
  Mr. WALSH. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from New York (Mr. 
King) for that summation. It is right on the money, as always, and I 
certainly associate myself with the gentleman's remarks.
  I yield to another good friend, the gentleman from New York (Mr. 
Crowley), another newcomer to the House but someone who has been in the 
leadership as a private citizen and also as a member of the State 
legislature fighting for peace and justice in the United States and in 
Northern Ireland.
  Mr. CROWLEY. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my good friend, the 
gentleman from upstate New York (Mr. Walsh) for organizing this special 
order this evening. He has been a stalwart ally and friend of the peace 
process in Northern Ireland, and I congratulate him for calling this 
special order.
  I also want to congratulate and thank my good friend and colleague 
the gentlewoman from Long Island, New York (Mrs. McCarthy). She may be 
relatively new to Congress, although I am newer than she is at this 
point in time, but she, too, has proven herself to be a true and good 
friend to the people of Ireland.
  I want to thank the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Neal). Although 
the gentleman from Massachusetts is not here, I understand the 
gentleman from New York (Mr. King) has mentioned he is going to try to 
be here before the end of the special order, and the gentleman from New 
York (Mr. Gilman), chairman of the Committee on International 
Relations, another co-chair of the Ad Hoc Committee on Irish Affairs.
  Lastly, I just want to thank my good friend, the gentleman from New 
York (Mr. King), for all his work throughout his years of service here 
in the House of Representatives, and prior to that his service in local 
government back in Long Island. The question I am most often asked by 
some of the gentleman's friends back in Woodside and Sunnyside, they 
want to know what type of curtains he has out there in Seaford.
  Mr. Speaker, the political process in Northern Ireland has had a 
major setback recently, when the British government suspended the 
Northern Ireland Power-Sharing Executive. Such a drastic measure 
certainly does not instill parties on the Republican and National side 
in Northern Ireland with a great deal of confidence.
  I realize there has been much criticism in the press lately, as the 
gentleman from New York (Mr. King), has mentioned, wrongfully so, about 
the IRA and decommissioning. But I, too, want to set the record 
straight.
  Back in May of 1998, the parties in Northern Ireland got together to 
support the historic Good Friday agreement, which set up a political 
structure inclusive of all the people of Northern Ireland. This 
agreement was accepted by not only the people of Northern Ireland, but 
the people of Ireland and Britain as well.
  Mr. Speaker, I just want to make a point. I would like to point out 
that nowhere in the Good Friday agreement does it say that if the IRA 
or any other group has not decommissioned by the end of January 2000, 
the Ulster Unionist Party, the UUP, can threaten to pull out of the 
agreement and that the British can suspend the power-sharing executive.
  We have this agreement, and the people of Northern Ireland waited for 
the Power-Sharing Executive to convene. Unfortunately, the UUP leader, 
Mr. David Trimble, refused to let it go forward.
  Here we see the process of what I like to call the de facto veto. 
While Mr. Trimble and the UUP do not have a veto spelled out in the 
Good Friday agreement, they have one because every time progress begins 
to occur on setting up the democratic institutions needed for peace, 
Mr. Trimble finds some new crisis to stop it.
  So in 1999, Northern Ireland found itself in a new crisis when Mr. 
Trimble would not allow the executive to meet, and former Senator 
George Mitchell was called in to review the process, particularly the 
aspects of decommissioning.
  Bear in mind here that the Good Friday agreement does not even say 
that the IRA must begin decommissioning for the Power-Sharing Executive 
to begin. In fact, it only says that parties to the agreement, which 
includes Sinn Fein, not the IRA, Sinn Fein and not the IRA, will work 
to get paramilitary and other groups to begin the process of 
decommissioning.
  Mr. Speaker, Senator Mitchell went to Northern Ireland and worked 
very hard, very hard with the pro-agreement parties, like the SDLP, the 
UUP, and Sinn Fein. He worked out a new accommodation. The IRA sent an 
interlocutor to the Independent International Commission on 
Decommissioning, the IICD, set up under the Good Friday agreement, and 
the UUP let the Power-Sharing Executive form and hold meetings.
  So 18 months, a full 1\1/2\ years after the Good Friday agreement was 
signed, we finally see real movement and the establishment of 
democratic institutions in the north of Ireland. I might point out, the 
IRA has agreed to in about 5 months what it previously intended to do 
in 2 years. That is no small commitment on the part of the IRA when 
they have been misled in the past.
  What happens a mere 11 weeks after the Power-Sharing Executive 
begins? Mr. Trimble decides needs to exercise his de facto veto power 
again, and says that he will resign unless more progress is made on 
decommissioning. This is even before the IICD issued its report.
  Suddenly, Peter Mandelson, the Secretary for Northern Ireland, 
fearing the collapse of the process, rushes legislation through the 
House of Commons effectively reimposing direct British rule and 
suspending the democratic institution set up under the Good Friday 
agreement.
  This bears repeating, Mr. Speaker. The Power-Sharing Executive was 
set up and running for only 11 weeks, 11 weeks, Mr. Speaker. In that 
time the UUP wanted the IRA to turn over its weapons in simply 11 
weeks, even though the IRA ceasefire has held the

[[Page 1265]]

entire time, and they invested a tremendous amount of time and energy 
into this peace process.
  Mr. Trimble, casting all of this aside, exercised his de facto veto 
yet again, and the process comes crumbling down.
  Mr. Speaker, let me be clear, I support decommissioning 
wholeheartedly. I would like to see all parties in Northern Ireland 
turn in their weapons, renounce violence, and solve their differences 
through the political process and the democratic institutions designed 
under the Good Friday agreement. If we ask the IRA, they would tell us 
they want the exact same thing, only the IRA wants to see some progress 
made on the democratic institutions first.
  Mr. Speaker, I can tell the Members, suspending the democratic 
institutions after just 11 weeks does not instill confidence. Here is 
where, despite all of this, the IRA shows how truly committed to the 
peace process they are. They put forward a new proposal on 
decommissioning. They are willing to go even further than the Mitchell 
review. The new proposal is accepted by the IICD and touted as a major 
step, a major step forward on decommissioning. It is also accepted by 
the Irish government, but not by Mr. Trimble. He once again exercises 
his de facto veto and says the IRA has not gone far enough.
  Well, that is when the IRA had finally had enough. They withdrew 
today their interlocutor from the IICD, and said that until the 
suspension of the Power-Sharing Executive is lifted they would suspend 
their activities on decommissioning.
  Mr. Speaker, I feel the need to be very clear here once again. The 
IRA is still holding to the ceasefire and still wants to see the 
implementation of the Good Friday agreement. They just want the 
democratic institutions created under the agreement to remain in 
effect, not an unreasonable request. I do not think it is unreasonable.
  Let me just say that I am deeply disappointed by Mr. Trimble's 
decision to reject the new proposition on IRA decommissioning. I agree 
with the IICD that it would have been a major step forward. Clearly, 
the IRA has been an active participant in the peace process, and 
important progress has been made. Unfortunately, David Trimble and 
Peter Mandelson have dismissed these significant developments.
  For far too long the people of Northern Ireland have been waiting for 
the democratic institutions created under the Good Friday agreement to 
become an effective force for peace and stability. Mr. Speaker, the 
time for inside politics is over.
  The Ulster Unionist Party and the British government must let the 
Independent International Commission on Decommissioning complete its 
work. We have come too far and too many lives are at stake. We must not 
allow one man, one man to destroy a process agreed to by the people of 
Northern Ireland, Southern Ireland, and Great Britain.
  I have a personal stake in this peace process. My mother was born in 
County Armargh in Northern Ireland, and I have many family, friends, 
and loved ones who will either enjoy or suffer in their lives, 
depending on what happens during this process. Only a return to the 
political framework agreed to under the historic Good Friday agreement 
will resolve the current crisis and move it forward to continue on to 
the creation of a new Ireland.
  Mr. WALSH. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from New York (Mr. 
Crowley) for his participation in this special order tonight, and for 
contributing his thoughts and ideas.
  His summation of the situation is very, very clear and accurate. 
There is the need to stick to the agreement, the initial agreement that 
got us this far.
  I would like to also thank my colleagues, the gentleman from New York 
(Mr. King) and the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. McCarthy) for 
participating.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like to conclude with a brief story about a 
personal experience that I had. My family and I adopted a Project 
Children child from Northern Ireland back in 1990, a young man I 
believe about 12 years old at the time. He had never been outside of 
Northern Ireland.
  He came to Syracuse, New York, by a plane, flew over, the first time 
he had ever been in a plane, and lived with us for 6 weeks. He had some 
trouble adapting to American food and music. He was a terrific soccer 
player, though, and we stuck him on our summer team as a ringer and he 
played great soccer. He loved to fish, he loved to be around the water. 
He just loved the peace and solitude of upstate New York.
  He went back. I did not see him for 5 years. I went over when 
President Clinton went to Northern Ireland. On that historic day when 
they went to City Hall to dress the Christmas tree, I went to Michael 
Lyons' home and met with his mom and his sisters, and had a wonderful 
visit.
  His mother told me that for the first time in his young life, and he 
was then 17 years old, for the first time in 17 years of his life, 
other than the 6 weeks he spent in upstate New York, he had never known 
peace before. This was the first time he could walk to school or go to 
the store or visit a friend and not have to worry about a bomb going 
off, a car driving by and riddling his friends and fellow citizens with 
automatic weapons, fire breaking out throughout the neighborhood, 
murals on the walls with masked men and rifles.

                              {time}  2200

  That was his whole life for 17 years. She said he can now walk down 
the street without being tugged and pulled at by those who want to draw 
him into this fight. He does not have to make that choice anymore; you 
are either with us or you are against us. He does not have to make the 
choice of going to war or going to school.
  For the first time in 17 years, it is a remarkable event for any 
country. There are very few places in the world where war has gone on 
for 30 years, but nonetheless that was his life.
  Today, 5 years later, there is still peace but it is tenuous.
  I remember when I first engaged myself in this peace process I said 
to Jerry Adams, I said to David Trimble, when they were first coming, 
what do you expect to get from this peace process?
  He said, peace; a straightforward answer.
  I said to Jerry Adams, when I met him at a different time, I said, 
what do you expect to get from this peace process?
  He said, peace, with justice.
  Therein lies the problem. Two people who inhabit the same city, 
believe in the same God, speak the same language, have the same hobbies 
and habits and interests, one group has justice, one group has no 
justice. In order for there to be peace, there has to be justice. In 
order for there to be justice, everyone has to agree on the way 
forward. The only agreement thus far that everyone has agreed to is the 
Good Friday Agreement, and just like us, in our country, when crisis 
comes, impeachment, war, we do not set the Constitution on the side 
while we work it out. We honor it, we respect it, we live by it, we 
write our laws by it and we govern by it.
  The only way for this process to go forward is to have everyone come 
back and sit down and say, yes, this is the only way we can go, this is 
the only thing we all agree to, and, therefore, in order to get to that 
bright future over the horizon, let us again swear to support this 
agreement.
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Mr. Walsh, the distinguished 
Chairman of the Friends of Ireland for tonight's Special Order.
  The Irish peace process is in crisis and we need to make sure that 
both governments and peace loving people around the globe know what 
happened and why we are here.
  It is disappointing and a step backwards in the search for lasting 
peace and justice in the north of Ireland that the British Government 
has suspended the vital power sharing institutions that had been the 
best chance to produce overall change in the north. Even after positive 
steps were being made to resolve the arms issue, the unionist veto by 
the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) was again exercised to force suspension 
under the threat of resignation by the UUP's First Minister, David 
Trimble.
  Terms of the Good Friday Accord set out the time frames and means to 
bring about lasting change, including removal of the guns from Irish 
politics. Those who have unilaterally

[[Page 1266]]

changed its terms and exercised a veto over its operation and terms 
once again must explain their intransigence to the Irish people, both 
north and south, who support the Good Friday Accord in overwhelming 
terms.
  We need to get the institutions back up and running in order to 
create the climate and framework for arms decommissioning as envisioned 
by the terms of the Good Friday Accord.

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