[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 7]
[House]
[Pages 8622-8623]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   PRESIDENT BUSH'S VISIT TO BELFAST

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the order of the House of 
January 7, 2003, the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone) is 
recognized during morning hour debates for 5 minutes.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, as you may know, President Bush is in 
Northern Ireland today to hold meetings with Prime Minister Blair to 
discuss and to strategize about the ongoing war in Iraq. While I 
understand that this important war summit will take up much of his time 
and energy, it is my hope that the President will take some time to 
discuss with Prime Minister Blair the current peace process in Northern 
Ireland.
  Mr. Speaker, later this week, April 10 to be specific, will mark the 
fifth anniversary of the Good Friday Accords which set up the power-
sharing government in Northern Ireland. Unfortunately, this power-
sharing government has been suspended since October. Prime Minister 
Blair and his counterpart in Ireland, Bertie Ahern, have been 
negotiating for months with the representative parties to come up with 
an agreement that will allow for resumption of the Belfast Assembly.
  As reported in today's New York Times, it seems the two prime 
ministers are planning to unveil an emergency formula that they hope 
will break the impasse and put the power-sharing government back on 
track. Mr. Speaker, while this is obviously good news, I worry that 
Prime Minister Blair will not go far enough to ensure that there is a 
lasting peace in Northern Ireland. Mr. Blair must take immediate steps 
in providing all residents of Northern Ireland the basic rights that 
they deserve. I hope that President Bush will use his influence with 
the Prime Minister to call on him to provide the people of Northern 
Ireland with a basic bill of rights. It is quite obvious to me that 
without a binding document that lays out the rights and liberties for 
all residents of Northern Ireland, the Belfast Assembly and the Good 
Friday Accords will not accomplish the goal of a permanent peace. 
Citizens of Northern Ireland should be guaranteed, at a bare minimum, 
the right against unreasonable search and seizures, the right against 
being detained without charges filed and the right to openly practice 
one's religion.
  Mr. Blair must also 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. The police 
service of Northern Ireland must be representative of all ethnic, 
religious and political groups in Northern Ireland.
  The people of Northern Ireland must also have a basic sense that they 
are not under siege by a military force. The Good Friday Agreement sets 
out a framework for peace. If the people of Northern Ireland are to 
live together peacefully, they must not have a sense that they live in 
a police state.
  Mr. Speaker, again I call on both President Bush and Prime Minister 
Blair to mark the fifth anniversary of the Good Friday Accords with an 
agreement that will have a lasting effect on Northern Ireland. I hope 
that

[[Page 8623]]

Mr. Bush and Mr. Blair will use this opportunity in Northern Ireland to 
show the people of the North as well as the rest of the world that they 
are committed to making the agreement that was signed 5 years ago a 
true framework for a permanent peace.

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