[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 30, Number 11 (Monday, March 21, 1994)]
[Pages 552-555]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks at a St. Patrick's Day Ceremony With Prime Minister Albert 
Reynolds of Ireland and an Exchange With Reporters

March 17, 1994

    The President. It's a great honor for me to be spending my second 
St. Patrick's Day in a row with the distinguished Prime Minister from 
Ireland. He has a presentation to make and a few remarks, and then I'll 
have a word or two, and we'll answer your questions.
    Mr. Prime Minister.
    Prime Minister Reynolds. Thank you. Thank you, again, and I'm really 
thrilled and delighted and honored to be back again for a second visit 
to the White House, especially on this traditional day for all Irish 
people around the world.
    In this presentation of shamrock that I'll be making in a few 
moments, Mr. President, we symbolize the bonds of family, of history, 
and of common values that our two countries share. Because of the 
generations of Irish people who have come to these shores, St. Patrick's 
Day is perhaps even more honored here than in Ireland. Rightly and most 
importantly, today is a celebration not just for Irish America but for 
all in this great Nation who share our common values of justice and 
democracy.
    We live in a time when ambitions for peace are tempered by the 
realization that old animosities and deep distrust often live long in 
the human heart. They can give rise to terrible and prolonged violence. 
In this context it is both right and important that I should pay the 
warmest tribute to you, Mr. President, for your exceptional efforts to 
bring peace to the tragedies of Bosnia and the Middle East.
    We in Ireland know from direct experience that conflicts over 
territory, identity, and political destiny can only be resolved through 
peaceful negotiations. That profound belief informs everything that my 
government and I are doing to resolve the problem of Northern Ireland. 
Twenty-five years of conflict, the loss of over 3,000 lives, and

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an immeasurable quota of human suffering have not and cannot advance the 
search for a lasting and equitable settlement.
    As you and I discussed, Mr. President, privately this morning, there 
has been significant progress in our search for peace. Central to this 
was the joint declaration signed last December by the British Prime 
Minister John Major and myself. This defines the common ground between 
our two countries on the issue of Northern Ireland.
    At its heart, the declaration states that it is for the people of 
Ireland as a whole and alone, by agreement between the two parts, to 
exercise their right of self-determination of the basis of consent. That 
and the other principles of mutual respect, tolerance, and 
reconciliation which underline the declaration, do not have an expiring 
date. Rather, in establishing them, we have sought to open a door for 
all parties to embrace peace and enter the political process.
    In our efforts to secure a lasting settlement, we wish, as I said, 
to embrace all parties to the conflict. We do so in the firm knowledge 
that the political process can and will resolve fundamental issues and 
bridge the impasse that presently blocks the road to peace.
    It is our fervent wish, therefore, that violence will end and that 
everyone will embrace the new and inclusive instruments of peace, 
dialog, and negotiation, that are available. We need a positive decision 
from those concerned to enable a general move in the next and much 
broader phase of the peace process and to bring to an end the isolation 
experienced by significant sections of the community.
    Mr. President, we greatly value your personal commitment to help to 
resolve the issue of Northern Ireland. Your support for this has been 
really inspiring. You share our understanding of the need to bring all 
communities fully into the political fold in a manner consistent with 
upholding democratic principles.
    We take heart in particular from your readiness to contribute to the 
peace process when and if needed. It is an enormous source of 
encouragement to all of us devoted to peace and reconciliation to know 
that your advice and your assistance as a friend to all sides is as 
thoughtful as it is generous. For that you have our deepest thanks.
    Peace comes dropping slow, Yeats once said. But let us hope, Mr. 
President, that through our combined efforts, on a day in the quite near 
future, the presentation of shamrock will be made to you in the White 
House from an island uniquely dear to you and to your people that has at 
last found peace.
    Mile buichos leat agus go n'eiri an bothair duit.
    The President. Thank you so much, Mr. Prime Minister, for the 
wonderful bowl of shamrocks and for the sentiments and the convictions 
you have just expressed.
    From the earliest days of our republic the American dream has often 
been the story of Irish-American achievement. I'm reminded of the words 
of the Irish poet, Thomas Kinsella, who urged that we accept, and I 
quote, ``no limit but the possible.'' That is the spirit that brought 
many Irish to our shores, and it enriches our lives still today.
    Ireland has demonstrated its global commitment to peace time and 
time again. And I want to thank the Prime Minister publicly today for 
the work that has been done with the United Nations in Lebanon and with 
its continuing peacekeeping role in Somalia. But nowhere is that 
commitment more evident than in the efforts this Prime Minister has made 
in Northern Ireland.
    We have seen historic progress since the Taoiseach and the British 
Prime Minister made their agreement, and historic progress since Prime 
Minister Reynolds was here last year. That progress is in great measure 
the responsibility of Prime Minister Reynolds and Prime Minister Major. 
They have dealt with considerable challenges in their own countries to 
pursue this course, and we applaud them.
    The joint declaration they signed on December 15th remains the best 
chance for a future of tolerance and reconciliation in Northern Ireland, 
especially in the wake of the bomb threats against the London airports. 
I call upon all those who practice violence for political aims to lay 
down their arms. Once again, I urge those who have yet to do so to 
endorse the joint declaration as the best, indeed, the only way forward.

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    And once again, Mr. Prime Minister, I pledge the support of the 
United States for your courageous peace initiative.
    Across our country today, in parades, in classrooms, in churches, 
Americans are rejoicing in the kinship and the unique friendship between 
our nations and our shared heritage and our shared values. Tonight the 
Prime Minister and I will join what promises to be a lively celebration 
of Ireland here at the White House, with Irish-Americans from all across 
America. I look forward to the celebration, and I look forward to 
working with the Prime Minister on St. Patrick's Day and every day in 
pursuit of peace and prosperity for both our peoples in the spirit of 
``no limit but the possible.''
    Thank you very much.

Northern Ireland

    Q. Having been briefed now on the peace process today by the Irish 
Prime Minister, what would you say now is the role of the United States 
in helping the peace process along? And more specifically, do you think 
that you should perhaps urge Britain, not just Ireland, but Britain to 
go the extra mile, that maybe the extra inch now, and perhaps talk to 
Sinn Fein, which today has issued a very conciliatory statement saying 
it doesn't want to discuss constitutional issues but just simply wants 
to talk to see what the way forward can be?
    The President. Let me say, first of all, I had a conversation with 
the Prime Minister this morning that is not all that different from the 
conversation I had with Prime Minister Major. I believe both of them are 
committed to keeping this process going. You know as well as I do what 
the obstacles for inclusion are. I was encouraged by the report I have 
received. I have not actually read the statement, but I am quite 
encouraged by the report I have received of Gerry Adams' statement 
today. It comes at a good time, and I hope it will have a good effect.
    Q. Under what circumstances would you envisage granting another visa 
to Mr. Adams to visit the United States?
    The President. I think it's premature to discuss that. I think now 
what the issue now is what is going to be the role of Sinn Fein in the 
ongoing peace effort. Will they join? I hope they will. I still believe 
that the decision I made on the visa was the correct one. We all have to 
take some chances for peace. I think when he came here, he saw that the 
Irish in America want peace. They want him to be a part of the peace 
process, but they want peace. And I think that there was a sense of what 
a political process can be and how it can work.
    And so I think we have served a good purpose in doing that. And I'm 
very hopeful. I'm more hopeful today as a result of the report I've 
received about his comments. But I think it would be premature for me to 
say anything about any other issuance, because the one thing we don't 
want to do in this country--not just in Northern Ireland but in the 
Middle East as well or any other place where we're working for peace 
where others are at odds--is to do anything to disrupt the process. 
We're trying to help make the peace, not to interrupt it.
    Q. Would you address Irish-Americans today that may on St. Patrick's 
Day especially be listening to what is said here at the White House, who 
feel incumbent to contribute money to the IRA and for Republican forces 
in Ireland since a great amount of the money that goes into that is 
coming from the United States?
    The President. I would hope all Irish-Americans would embrace the 
declaration and the peace process. That's what I think they ought to do.
    Q. Given your role as President of the United States and given your 
relationship with the Taoiseach, Albert Reynolds, and also your 
relationship with the British Prime Minister, what active role do you 
think the United States can play in trying to find peace in Northern 
Ireland?
    The President. Well, right now I think we ought to give Prime 
Minister Reynolds a chance to work with Prime Minister Major to keep 
pushing it forward. I thought that we had a role to play in the issuance 
of the visa because I thought it would make a statement that the United 
States is searching for peace, wanted to give Mr. Adams a chance to have 
his voice heard here, make his statements here, articulate his concerns 
here, see the political process here, and hear from Irish-Americans that 
we support peace. I

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think that was the major thing that we could do at this moment. I think 
now we've seen a very heartening statement, apparently by Mr. Adams 
today. I've had both the Prime Minister of Great Britain and the Prime 
Minister of Ireland reaffirm their commitment to the process, and let's 
see if we get a few breaks.

Whitewater Investigation

    Q. Mr. President, on the Hill today you may hear from some Members, 
even Democrats, that the prospect of hearings on Whitewater is 
inevitable. What will you tell them?
    The President. That it's--the same thing I've always said: It's up 
to Congress. I read a book the other night that in the early part of our 
century, one of our first four or five Presidents, a $40 mirror was 
bought for the White House that, was bought in another country, and the 
Congress in the early 1800's spent several thousand dollars on hearings 
looking into this $40 mirror. So I don't know that--it's up to the 
Congress. They're an independent and coequal branch of Government, and 
they ought to do whatever it is they think is the right thing to do.

Bosnia

    Q. Are you encouraged by Bosnia, sir?
    The President. Yes, I am encouraged.
    Thank you.

Note: The President spoke at 11:59 a.m. in the Roosevelt Room at the 
White House. In his remarks, he referred to Gerry Adams, leader of the 
Sinn Fein. Prime Minister Reynolds' closing remarks in Gaelic translate 
as, ``A thousand thanks for everything you have done, and I wish you 
every success.''