[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 31, Number 48 (Monday, December 4, 1995)]
[Pages 2092-2094]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks on Lighting the City Christmas Tree in Belfast, Northern Ireland

November 30, 1995

    Thank you very much. To the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress, let me 
begin by saying to all of you, Hillary and I thank you from the bottom 
of our hearts for making us feel so very, very welcome in Belfast and 
Northern Ireland. We thank you, Lord Mayor, for your cooperation and 
your help in making this trip so successful, and we trust that, for all 
of you, we haven't inconvenienced you too much. But this has been a 
wonderful way for us to begin the Christmas holidays.
    Let me also say I understood just what an honor it was to be able to 
turn on this Christmas tree when I realized the competition. [Laughter] 
Now, to become President of the United States you have to undertake some 
considerable competition. But I have never confronted challengers with 
the name recognition, the understanding of the media, and the ability in 
the martial arts of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.
    To all of you whose support enabled me to join you tonight and turn 
the Christmas tree on, I give you my heartfelt thanks. I

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know here in Belfast you've been lighting the Christmas tree for more 
than 20 years. But this year must be especially joyous to you, for you 
are entering your second Christmas of peace.
    As I look down these beautiful streets, I think how wonderful it 
will be for people to do their holiday shopping without worry of 
searches or bombs, to visit loved ones on the other side of the border 
without the burden of checkpoints or roadblocks, to enjoy these 
magnificent Christmas lights without any fear of violence. Peace has 
brought real change to your lives.
    Across the ocean, the American people are rejoicing with you. We are 
joined to you by strong ties of community and commerce and culture. Over 
the years men and women of both traditions have flourished in our 
country and helped America to flourish.
    And today, of course, we are forging new and special bonds. 
Belfast's sister city in the United States, Nashville, Tennessee, was 
proud to send this Christmas tree to friends across the Atlantic. I want 
to thank the most prominent present resident of Nashville, Tennessee, 
Vice President Al Gore, the Mayor, Phil Bredesen, and the United States 
Air Force for getting this big tree all the way across the Atlantic to 
be here with you tonight.
    In this 50th anniversary year of the end of World War II, many 
Americans still remember the warmth the people of Northern Ireland 
showed them when the army was stationed here under General Eisenhower. 
The people of Belfast named General Eisenhower an honorary burgess of 
the city. He viewed that honor, and I quote, ``as a token of our common 
purpose to work together for a better world.'' That mission endures 
today. We remain Americans, and as people of Northern Ireland, partners 
for security, partners for prosperity, and most important, partners for 
peace.
    Two years ago, at this very spot, tens of thousands of you took part 
in a day for peace, as a response to some of the worst violence Northern 
Ireland had known in recent years. The two morning papers, representing 
both traditions, sponsored a telephone poll for peace that generated 
almost 160,000 calls. In the United States, for my fellow Americans who 
are here, that would be the equivalent to 25 million calls.
    The response left no doubt that all across Northern Ireland the 
desire for peace was becoming a demand. I am honored to announce today 
that those same two newspapers, the Newsletter and the Irish News, have 
established the President's Prize, an annual award to those at the 
grassroots level who have contributed most to peace and reconciliation. 
The honorees will travel to the United States to exchange experiences on 
the issues we share, including community relations and conflict 
resolution. We have a lot to learn from one another. The President's 
Prize will underscore that Northern Ireland's two traditions have a 
common interest in peace.
    As you know, and as the First Lady said, I have received thousands 
of letters from schoolchildren all over your remarkable land telling me 
what peace means to them. They poured in from villages and cities, from 
Catholic and Protestant communities, from mixed schools, primary 
schools, from schools for children with special needs. All the letters 
in their own way were truly wonderful for their honesty, their simple 
wisdom, and their passion. Many of the children showed tremendous pride 
in their homeland, in its beauty, and in its true nature. I congratulate 
the winners. They were wonderful, and I loved hearing their letters.
    But let me tell you about another couple I received. Eleven-year-old 
Keith from Carrickfergus wrote, ``Please tell everyone in America that 
we're not always fighting here and that it's only a small number of 
people who make the trouble.'' Like many of the children, Keith did not 
identify himself as Protestant or Catholic and did not distinguish 
between the sources of the violence.
    So many children told me of loved ones they have lost, of lives 
disrupted and opportunities forsaken and families forced to move. Yet, 
they showed remarkable courage and strength and a commitment to overcome 
the past. As 14-year-old Sharon of County Armagh wrote, ``Both sides 
have been hurt. Both sides must forgive.''
    Despite the extraordinary hardships so many of these children have 
faced, their letters were full of hope and love and humor.

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To all of you who took the time to write me, you've brightened my 
holiday season with your words of faith and courage, and I thank you. To 
all of you who asked me to do what I could do to help peace take root, I 
pledge you America's support. We will stand with you as you take risks 
for peace.
    And to all of you who have not lost your sense of humor, I say thank 
you. I got a letter from 13-year-old Ryan from Belfast. Now, Ryan, if 
you're out in the crowd tonight, here's the answer to your question. No, 
as far as I know, an alien spacecraft did not crash in Roswell, New 
Mexico, in 1947. [Laughter] And Ryan, if the United States Air Force did 
recover alien bodies, they didn't tell me about it, either, and I want 
to know.
    Ladies and gentlemen, this day that Hillary and I have had here in 
Belfast and in Derry and Londonderry County will long be with us as one 
of the most remarkable days of our lives. I leave you with these 
thoughts. May the Christmas spirit of peace and good will flourish and 
grow in you. May you remember the words of the Lord Mayor, ``This is 
Christmas. We celebrate the world in a new way because of the birth of 
Emmanuel: God with us.'' And when God was with us, he said no words more 
important than these, ``Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall 
inherit the Earth.''
    Merry Christmas, and God bless you all.

Note: The President spoke at approximately 7:45 p.m. outside Belfast 
City Hall. In his remarks, he referred to Lord Mayor Eric Smyth of 
Belfast, and his wife, Frances Smyth.