    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1998, Book I)]
    [April 10, 1998]
    [Pages 549-551]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks on the Northern Ireland Peace Process and an Exchange With
    Reporters
    April 10, 1998

        The President. Good afternoon. After a 30-year winter of sectarian
    violence, Northern Ireland today has the promise of a springtime of
    peace. The agreement that has emerged from the Northern Ireland peace
    talks opens the way for the people there to build a society based on
    enduring peace, justice, and equality. The vision and commitment of the
    participants in the talks has made real the prayers for peace on both
    sides of the Atlantic and both sides of the peace line.
        All friends of Ireland and Northern Ireland know the task of making
    the peace endure will be difficult. The path of peace is never easy. But
    the parties have made brave decisions. They have chosen hope over hate,
    the promise of the future over the poison of the past. And in so doing,
    already they have written a new chapter in the rich history of their
    island, a chapter of resolute courage that inspires us all.
        In the days to come, there may be those who will try to undermine
    this great achievement, not only with words but perhaps also with
    violence. All the parties and all the rest of us must stand shoulder to
    shoulder to defy any such appeals.
        On this Good Friday, we give thanks for the work of Prime Minister
    Ahern and Prime Minister Blair, two truly remarkable leaders who did an unbelievable job
    in these talks. We give thanks for the work of Senator George
    Mitchell, who was brilliant and
    unbelievably patient and long-suffering. We give thanks especially to
    the leaders of the parties, for they had to make the courageous
    decisions. We also thank Prime Minister Blair and Prime Minister Ahern's
    predecessors for starting and nurturing the process of peace.
        Together, all these people have created the best chance for peace in
    a generation. In May, the people of Ireland and Northern Ireland will
    have the chance to seize the gift they have been given. At this Easter
    season, British and Irish leaders have followed the admonition of Luke,
    ``to give light to them who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death
    and to guide their feet into the way of peace.'' For that, peaceloving
    people the world over can be very grateful.

    [[Page 550]]

        Q. Mr. President, what promises or assurances did the United States
    make to help move this process along?
        The President. Well, from the very beginning all I have tried to do
    is to help create the conditions in which peace could develop and then
    to do whatever I was asked to do or whatever seemed helpful to encourage
    and support the parties in the search for peace. And that's all I did
    last night.
        Q. Did you offer any assistance in terms of financial aid, and what
    did you think----
        The President. No.
        Q. ----where did you really weigh in in all those phone calls?
        The President. Well, first of all, the answer to your first question
    is no. Now, we have, as all of you know, an international fund for
    Ireland, which I have strongly supported. And I do believe that there
    will be very significant economic benefits flowing to the people of
    Ireland, both Protestant and Catholic, in Northern Ireland and in the
    Republic, if this peace takes hold. But there was no specific financial
    assurance sought, nor was any given.
        In terms of the give and take, you know, I made a lot of phone calls
    last night and up until this morning, actually until right before the
    last session. But I think the specifics are not all that important. I
    did what I was asked to do. Again, I was largely guided by the work of
    Prime Minister Blair and Prime Minister
    Ahern. I had a very--a long talk, in the middle
    of the night for me, last night with Senator Mitchell about his work there, and I'm looking forward to seeing
    him early next week. I just did what I thought would help. And I tried
    to do what I was asked to do.
        Q. Mr. President, will you be going to Belfast now that they've
    reached a deal?
        The President. Well, I really haven't had much discussion about it.
    No decision has been made. This is not even a day to think about that.
    This is a day to celebrate the achievement of the people and the peace
    talks.
        Q. President Clinton, do you feel somewhat vindicated for the
    policies that--including giving Gerry Adams a
    visa here--that have come under scrutiny and at times have brought you
    some derision from other parts of the world for being too provocative?
        The President. Well, when I did it, I thought it would help to
    create a climate in which peace might emerge. And I believe it was a
    positive thing to do. I believed it then, I believe it now.
        But make no mistake about it. Whenever peace is made by people
    anywhere, the credit belongs to the parties whose own lives and
    livelihoods and children and future are on the line. And that's the way
    I feel today. If anything that I or the United States was able to do was
    helpful, especially because of our historic ties to Great Britain and
    because of the enormous number of Irish-Americans we have and the
    feelings we have for the Irish and their troubles, then I am very
    grateful. But the credit for this belongs to the people who made the
    decisions.
        Q. What role do you expect to play from now on?
        Q. Mr. President, how fragile is the peace agreement? How fragile is
    it, and will it be able to withstand a violation of the cease-fire?
        The President. Well, I think the parties will honor it. They fought
    too hard over the details, down to the 11th hour and then some. They
    even went past Senator Mitchell's
    deadline and well into this Good Friday. Given Irish history, maybe it's
    appropriate that this was done on this day.
        So they fought too hard over the details to violate them. I expect
    the parties to honor the agreement. And then it's really up to the
    people. The people of Northern Ireland and the people of the Republic of
    Ireland are going to have a vote on it in May, in late May, and their
    judgment will prevail.
        Will there be those who are disgruntled, who may seek to violate the
    cease-fire, who are not part of the parties that have signed off on this
    agreement? There may well be. But if we all stand shoulder-to-should
    together and everyone understands that the integrity of the leaders and
    the parties that are part of this process is still unshakable and rock
    solid, I think we'll be all right. We just need to let the Irish people
    have their say, and I think they will have their say.
        Q.  What role do you expect to play from now on in this process, in
    terms of trying to maintain this agreement?
        The President. Well, I don't know. If I can be helpful, I will.
    That's been my position all along. That's what I tell everybody that
    talks to me about it. But no decision has been made about that, and you
    know, the United States believes in this process passionately. I,
    personally, am deeply committed to it. And if the leaders think there's
    something I can do to be

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    helpful, well, of course, I'll try. But there's been no discussion about
    it and no decision made.
        Q.  Mr. President, could there have been an agreement today without
    your efforts last night?
        The President. Oh, I certainly--I wouldn't say there couldn't have
    been. I was asked to help; I did my best to help.
        But let me say again, there were people that I was talking to up
    until 8, 9 o'clock, even later, this morning who haven't been to bed in
    48 hours. They sat and talked and worked and fought and argued and got
    back together. And for some of them, they put their political lives on
    the line; others may have put even more on the line, as you well know.
        And they and the Prime Ministers and Senator Mitchell, who
    somehow kept it all together, they deserve the credit. I just tried to
    do what I was asked to do. If I played a positive role, I'm grateful to
    have had the chance to do so.

    President's Easter Plans

        Q. Happy Easter. Are you going to Camp David?
        The President. I am. We're going up probably in the early evening,
    and I hope all of you have a great holiday. Bless you.

    Middle East Peace Process

        Q. What are you going to do about the Middle East? [Laughter]
        The President. Well, we got Bosnia and Haiti, and now, I hope,
    Ireland. And I'll just keep working on it. The Irish thing ought to give
    you hope for the Middle East because the lesson is: just don't ever
    stop. And in the end, if the will for peace is stronger than the impulse
    to avoid it and the impulse to avoid the tough decisions and the
    sacrifices that are made--that have to be made, then the will for peace
    can prevail. That's the lesson here.
        So I would hope that those who care desperately about the Middle
    East and want the peace process there to prevail will take great heart
    here, because believe you me, I know a lot about this. There were a lot
    of tough decisions which had to be made, nobody could get everything
    they wanted, and risks had to be taken. And they were taken. And they
    now will be taken. And it seems to me that the friends of peace in the
    Middle East should take great heart from this, and perhaps we'll even
    find some examples that could be followed.
        Thank you.

    Reaction to Northern Ireland Peace Agreement

        Q. Mrs. Clinton said that peace in Ireland is an article of faith.
    Is there going to be any kind of Clinton celebration here this evening?
        The President. I'm celebrating right now, but we need to let the
    Irish people have their say. That's going to be in a few weeks.
        Q. Going to let these guys go to sleep?
        The President. Right now I want these guys to go to sleep. I hope
    nothing serious happens to our country in the next 8 hours, because I've
    got a bunch of pickle-brains in the NSC. [Laughter]

    Note: The President spoke at 2:30 p.m. in the Oval Office at the White
    House. In his remarks, he referred to Prime Minister Bertie Ahern and
    former Prime Minister John Bruton of Ireland; Prime Minister Tony Blair
    and former Prime Minister John Major of the United Kingdom; former
    Senator George J. Mitchell, independent chairman of the multiparty talks
    in Northern Ireland; and Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams.