[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 13]
[House]
[Page 18424]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 STALLED NORTHERN IRELAND PEACE PROCESS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Gingrey). Under a previous order of the 
House, the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, tomorrow afternoon British Prime Minister 
Tony Blair is scheduled to address a joint session of Congress in this 
Chamber. Mr. Blair will likely spend much of his speech discussing both 
the U.S. and U.K. victory in Iraq and our efforts to bring democracy to 
the Iraqi people. He can certainly tout the fact that the Iraqi people 
are now free of oppression and finally afforded the basic human rights 
that were denied under the regime of Saddam Hussein.
  But, Mr. Speaker, I cannot help finding it hypocritical for Prime 
Minister Blair to discuss freeing the Iraqis given the nature of his 
policies in Northern Ireland. Prime Minister Blair sent tens of 
thousands of British troops thousands of miles to bring democracy to a 
region at the same time he was denying the basic right of democracy to 
people only miles from the British seat of government.
  Mr. Speaker, as you may know, in May Prime Minister Blair announced 
the indefinite postponement of the elections in Northern Ireland, which 
were scheduled to be held on May 29. Since his announcement, Prime 
Minister Blair has made little progress towards reinstating the stalled 
Irish peace process and providing basic human rights to the people of 
Northern Ireland.
  Five years ago under the guidance of former Senator George Mitchell, 
all of the major parties, both Catholic and Protestant, signed onto an 
agreement that was to govern the future of Northern Ireland. The Good 
Friday Accords were touted near and far by human rights groups and 
media outlets as an agreement which would finally bring an end to the 
sectarian violence in Northern Ireland.
  Now, just when the agreement seemed to be bearing a fruitful peace, 
Prime Minister Blair and his Protestant allies have decided it is time 
to derail the process to ensure that the citizens of Northern Ireland 
continue under the control of the British Crown and be continually 
denied their basic human rights.
  Mr. Speaker, I call on Prime Minister Blair to announce in his speech 
here tomorrow a specific date when elections will be held in Northern 
Ireland. He must indicate to this body his support for bringing 
democracy and home rule to the people of Northern Ireland. I also call 
on him to again begin the process of putting the Good Friday Accords 
back together. Prime Minister Blair must use his leadership to bring 
all of the parties back to the table and begin discussing ways to 
reinstate the Belfast Assembly.
  Finally, I hope Prime Minister Blair will use this opportunity to 
address several of the concerns that I have raised on this floor 
several times in the past. Mr. Blair must address the issue of policing 
and military presence in the North. For people to feel safe and secure, 
they must be assured that there is a police force that is 
representative of the local population.
  Mr. Blair should enact the Patten Commission's recommendation on 
police reform. The North must provide its citizens with a full, fair, 
and just reform of their police service. And the police service of 
Northern Ireland must be representative of all ethnic, religious, and 
political groups in Northern Ireland.
  Mr. Speaker, I hope my colleagues in this body will join me in urging 
Prime Minister Blair tomorrow to immediately address many of the human 
rights concerns in Northern Ireland. It is time we bring true electoral 
democracy to the people of Northern Ireland.

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