[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 2]
[Senate]
[Page 2227]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




           SENATE RESOLUTION 54--PAYING TRIBUTE TO JOHN HUME

  Mr. KENNEDY (for himself, Mr. Lugar, Mr. Dodd, and Mr. Biden) 
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
on Foreign Relations:

                               S. Res. 54

       Whereas John Hume is one of the greatest advocates of peace 
     and non-violence of our time;
       Whereas throughout the long and difficult years of civil 
     strife and turmoil, John Hume has dedicated his life to 
     achieving a peaceful, just, and lasting settlement of the 
     conflict in Northern Ireland;
       Whereas throughout the turbulent years in Northern Ireland, 
     John Hume never lost faith in the belief that violence and 
     terrorism are wrong, that a negotiated settlement is the only 
     realistic hope for peace, and that ancient antagonisms cannot 
     be settled by bombs and bullets;
       Whereas John Hume deserves enormous credit for the peace 
     process in Northern Ireland, which led to the 1998 Good 
     Friday Agreement;
       Whereas John Hume's enduring vision of reconciliation, 
     based on equal respect and recognition for both the 
     Protestant and Catholic traditions in Northern Ireland, has 
     served as an inspiration to those seeking peaceful resolution 
     of conflicts in many other parts of the world;
       Whereas John Hume has worked consistently for the rights of 
     the members of his community, beginning with the launching of 
     a credit union to provide assistance to the minority 
     community to purchase housing;
       Whereas John Hume's commitment was to effective programs 
     and peaceful works, at a time when others in his community 
     increasingly urged or acquiesced to bombs and bullets;
       Whereas John Hume's ideas and eloquence lit a candle in the 
     darkness of the violence in Northern Ireland, kindled an 
     increasing sense of hope in the minority community, and 
     created new possibilities for understanding between the 
     opposing sides of the conflict;
       Whereas John Hume's community activity and involvement led 
     directly to his long and distinguished political career;
       Whereas John Hume brought together a broad coalition of 
     leaders who advocated non-violence and together they founded 
     the Social Democratic and Labour Party in 1970, which has 
     been at the forefront of years of significant efforts to 
     achieve peace in Northern Ireland;
       Whereas John Hume was the first to emphasize the necessity 
     of establishing an on- going Anglo-Irish framework as the 
     cornerstone for institutionalizing the process of 
     reconciliation to heal the divisions within Northern Ireland, 
     between North and South in Ireland, and between Great Britain 
     and Ireland;
       Whereas in 1983, largely as a result of the efforts of John 
     Hume, the principal political parties in Ireland and the 
     Social Democratic and Labour Party in Northern Ireland 
     established the far-reaching New Ireland Forum;
       Whereas the New Ireland Forum developed alternatives for 
     progress and prepared the report that laid the groundwork for 
     an unprecedented new dialogue on Northern Ireland between 
     Britain and Ireland, culminating in November 1985 with the 
     signing of the historic Anglo-Irish Agreement by Prime 
     Minister Margaret Thatcher of the United Kingdom and 
     Taoiseach Garret FitzGerald of Ireland;
       Whereas John Hume conducted talks with Gerry Adams, the 
     leader of Sinn Fein, before the Irish Republican Army agreed 
     to a cease-fire, showing great courage by taking significant 
     personal and political risks to achieve a lasting peace;
       Whereas those talks, together with the December 1993 Joint 
     Declaration by the British and Irish Governments, led to the 
     August 1994 cease-fire by the Irish Republican Army and the 
     October 1994 cease-fire by the Loyalist paramilitaries and 
     ultimately to the Good Friday Agreement in 1998;
       Whereas John Hume served as the Deputy Leader of the Social 
     Democratic and Labour Party in Northern Ireland until 1979, 
     and its leader from 1979 to 2001;
       Whereas John Hume's political career has also included 
     serving as a member of the Northern Ireland Assembly, the 
     European Parliament, and the British House of Commons;
       Whereas in his many visits to the United States, John Hume 
     has been a consistent ambassador for peace, urging the cause 
     of reconciliation and educating Congress and the country 
     about the issues in Northern Ireland;
       Whereas John Hume is well respected in the United States 
     and has had an important influence on United States policy 
     and on the American dimension of the Northern Ireland 
     question;
       Whereas John Hume is a courageous leader of exceptional 
     achievement and was honored for his leadership in the cause 
     of peace in Northern Ireland with the Nobel Peace Prize in 
     1998, along with the leader of the Ulster Unionist Party, 
     David Trimble;
       Whereas respect for John Hume was the single most important 
     influence in the development of the Friends of Ireland in the 
     United States Congress and in convincing leaders of the 
     Irish-American community throughout the United States to 
     oppose political, financial, or other support for the 
     violence in Northern Ireland; and
       Whereas John Hume is retiring this year after a long and 
     brilliant career dedicated to the people of Northern Ireland 
     and to the cause of peace: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) pays tribute to John Hume for his lifetime commitment 
     to promoting reconciliation and achieving a lasting peace in 
     Northern Ireland; and
       (2) calls on all the parties in Northern Ireland to 
     redouble their effort to restore the trust that is necessary 
     to fully implement the Good Friday Agreement and to achieve 
     stable democratic institutions, peace, and justice in 
     Northern Ireland.

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