[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1999, Book I)]
[June 28, 1999]
[Pages 1027-1029]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]
Interview With Mark Devenport of the British
Broadcasting Corporation in Westport, Connecticut
June 28, 1999
Northern Ireland Peace Process
Mr. Devenport. Mr. President, it's 2 days to go until the deadline
in Northern Ireland--obviously a crucial week, the politicians still at
loggerheads apparently. What is it that you want them to do now in this
make-or-break time?
The President. I want them to remember how strongly the people voted
for peace and for the Good Friday accords and to find an honorable
resolution of the admittedly thorny problems. Because whatever the
difficulties of going forward, they are very small compared to the
difficulties of letting the peace process fall apart.
Mr. Devenport. Now, you say there are thorny problems, and that is
the difficulty--and especially the problem of decommissioning. Would you
be urging the Sinn Fein to do what Ulster Unionists are urging Sinn Fein
to do, to namely sign up to a timetable for disarmament and give a
categorical assurance that the IRA will have disarmed completely by May
2000?
The President. I think that all the parties should fully comply with
the terms of the Good Friday accords, and that's what I would say. I
think that they all have to find a way--we know what the problems, the
legitimate problems the Sinn Fein have with the decommissioning issue.
But it's an important part of the Good Friday accords, so there has to
be a resolution of it that enables the leadership of the Unionists, Mr.
Trimble and the others who have fought for
peace, to survive, to sustain their position, and to go forward and get
everybody on their side to honor the Good Friday accords, too.
They can find a way to do this if they decide that the price of
failure is far higher than the price of compromise. And I think there's
a good chance they'll do it; even if it's 11th hour, I do.
Mr. Devenport. Well, what about the Ulster Unionists? Their position
has been that there has to be guns handed over, actual hardware, before
Sinn Fein can go into government. Do you think they should be
considering moving ahead on the basis of pledges rather than actually
looking for the armaments?
The President. Well, I believe that on that score, Mr.
Trimble is satisfied in these talks with
whatever commitment is made, and I think they should give it a chance to
work.
One thing I would say to the Unionists is that they can always walk
away from this if the commitments aren't made at a later date.
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And they should keep in mind--they can bring this down at any time by
simply walking out if the commitments aren't kept. So I think that if
Mr. Trimble can be satisfied and they can work
it through, then I would hope the Unionists would support him and give
him a chance--give this thing a chance to work.
Mr. Devenport. Now, this political deadline is also coinciding with
the annual deadline that there is in Northern Ireland of the Drumcree
march. As we speak, an announcement on the Drumcree march is imminent.
There are extremely strong indications that the Orangemen won't be
allowed to go down the Catholic section of the Garvaghy Road. How
concerned are you about what the impact of a refusal to let the
Orangemen go down Garvaghy Road could be, both on the streets and on the
political process?
The President. Well, as an outsider, you know, to me this looks like
the most difficult of decisions because it is--there's enormous
emotional content on both sides. It's not just a matter of a lot of
people walking on a certain road. And I think however it is resolved
this year, the most important thing is that the parties themselves try
to find a larger, omnibus resolution for this that reflects the spirit
of the Good Friday accords.
Keep in mind, I mean, the spirit of the Good Friday accords is that
both sides should have respect for and get respect from one another, and
that no one should have to give up his or her heritage or traditions,
but they should be pursued with some sensitivity to how others feel as
well.
So I think that they're in a terrible bind now because the Drumcree
deadline is coming up against the negotiation deadline. And so, however
it's resolved, I think that what the leaders should be thinking about
is, what is the long-run resolution of this? How can we show one another
the necessary respect and sensitivity that will put this marching issue
in the context of the commitment of the Good Friday accords, which is to
push toward reconciliation and equality within the principle of consent?
Mr. Devenport. At the time of the Good Friday agreement, you waited
up through the night in Washington, inside the White House, seeing how
the negotiations were working out. You went on the phone personally and
spoke to the main parties and tried to coax them forward. This week,
with a new deadline, are you willing to do the same, to intervene
personally?
The President. Oh, absolutely. I'll do what ever I can to help. You
know, this means a lot to me. It means a lot to the American people. We
have tens of millions of Irish Catholics and Irish Protestants who are
deeply invested emotionally, and many of them financially, in Northern
Ireland, and would like to be more involved.
And I also believe, as I have said many times, that if this can be
resolved--if we can get over this next hurdle and go forward--I think it
will give courage to the advocates of peace in the face of religious and
ethnic problems in other parts of the world. You know, we're just
getting off the ground with our efforts in Kosovo. There are many
difficulties there, and the accumulated grievances there, from mass
killing and mass uprooting, are deeper, if you will, just in terms of
human loss than all the things that have happened in Ireland.
But people have this sense that the divisions in Ireland go back
such a long time, that if they can be overcome, I think it would give
great heart to the proponents of peace in the Balkans and Africa and the
Middle East, because--the new Prime Minister is
about to announce a government there; we have a chance again to make
progress and peace in the Middle East.
And I think that from my point of view, as someone who's interested
in not only the country of my roots but the rest of the world, I think
that it's hard to overstate; it's hard to overstate the impact a
positive or a negative outcome could have on such actions in the rest of
the world.
Mr. Devenport. Finally, Mr. President, there's only so much that you
or, indeed, the British and Irish Prime Ministers can do to coax people
along. Is this the time when Northern Ireland's political leaders have
to stand on their own two feet?
The President. Well, I think they can know that we can coax them, and we can stand with
them, and we can support them, and we can bring them benefits in all
kinds of ways after this is resolved. But in the end, the leaders have
to decide.
Their people have voted for peace. But that's a general principle;
the particulars are always difficult. And again, I would say, I think
the
[[Page 1029]]
important thing is to keep this going. Somebody--if there is the
necessary commitment given by all sides, and then, later, any of those
commitments are not kept, this thing can always be brought down because
the commitments were not kept. But I think it would be terrible to let
it come apart now, before we get to see and feel how it really works.
Mr. Devenport. Mr. President, thank you very much.
The President. Thank you.
Note: The interview began at approximately 11:50 a.m. at a private
residence. In his remarks, the President referred to David Trimble,
Northern Ireland Ulster Unionist Party leader; Prime Minister-elect Ehud
Barak of Israel; Prime Minister Tony Blair of the United Kingdom; and
Prime Minister Bertie Ahern of Ireland.