[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 31, Number 49 (Monday, December 11, 1995)]
[Pages 2103-2105]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Exchange With Reporters Prior to Discussions With Prime Minister John 
Bruton of Ireland in Dublin

December 1, 1995

President's Visit

    Q. Welcome to Ireland.
    The President. Thank you. I'm delighted to be here.
    Q. Did you enjoy your trips to Belfast and Derry yesterday?
    The President. Very, very much.

Irish Peace Process

    Q. How significant do you think it's going to be for the peace 
process, your visit to Belfast yesterday? Both of you, would you answer 
briefly?
    The President. Well, I hope it will be very significant, but I 
think, frankly, it will have more meaning because of what the Taoiseach 
and Prime Minister Major did in launching the twin-track proposal. They 
gave me something to talk about, to try to advance the peace process, as 
well as to hold out the hope that the United States would obviously 
support both communities in Northern Ireland if they would work toward 
peace.
    It was a magnificent day, and it proved to me once again that people 
sometimes are far ahead of those of us in political life in their 
yearnings for the right things.
    Q. Taoiseach, what do you think of yesterday?
    Prime Minister Bruton. I think that the fact that the President came 
to Belfast and to Derry gave to the people of Northern Ireland who made 
the peace themselves that sense of international encouragement and 
support that is so important. They now see what they have won by making 
peace. So the recognition that came to those people from the most 
powerful, most significant politician in the world--if he came in their 
midst, that showed in the most tangible way possible an appreciation of 
the dividend of peace. And it was a great tribute for the President to 
pay.
    And I would have to say I think also that the President has played a 
key role in bringing peace about, and he is now playing an equally 
important role in entrenching the peace and bringing reconciliation 
closer.
    Q. Mr. President, do you believe that your visit and indeed all-
party talks can begin by the February deadline? Would you be very 
anxious that those talks would begin?
    The President. Well, of course, I hope that the process will 
succeed. I support it strongly. The Taoiseach and the Prime Minister 
took some risks, both of them did, to try to keep the peace process 
going. It is

[[Page 2104]]

plainly in the interest of the citizens of Northern Ireland and of all 
those who wish them well here in Ireland and, frankly, throughout Great 
Britain and throughout the world. It's a very important thing. So of 
course, I hope it will work, and I'm going to do everything I can to be 
supportive.

[At this point, one group of reporters left the room, and another group 
entered.]

Bosnia

    Q. Will you be talking about Bosnia today, Mr. President?
    The President. I expect we will, yes.
    Q. What are some of the issues that you want to discuss about 
Bosnia?
    The President. Well, I just want to basically give the Prime 
Minister an update on where we are now. And of course, I'm going, when I 
leave here, to see our troops in Germany who are preparing and then, on 
Sunday, to the European Union. And soon I expect Ireland will be in the 
leadership of the European Union at a time when we will be, obviously, 
just in the throes of implementing what we're supposed to do in Bosnia. 
So we have a lot to talk about.
    Q. Are you optimistic about what you saw on Capitol Hill yesterday 
and what you know of how it went with your advisers testifying?
    The President. Yes, I--first of all, I thank Senator Dole and 
Senator McCain for their willingness to support that resolution, which 
we certainly agree with. And I'm very--I'm gratified by their response. 
And I also am pleased that we're having all these hearings on Capitol 
Hill and that the witnesses are going up; they're giving the best 
answers they can about what we've done. And I'm looking forward to 
getting my briefing tomorrow from General Joulwan to see what the NATO 
planners finally do with the military plan that I authorized General 
Shalikashvili to support.
    So I think right now we're moving toward implementation of the peace 
agreement. I feel good about it.
    Q. [Inaudible]--to generate support in the House as well as the 
Senate?
    The President. Well, I take it one step at a time. I think we're 
making progress. I think we're in better shape as days go by, and I 
think that the decision by Senator Dole and Senator McCain will help 
immeasurably, I think, to build the kind of bipartisan support that we 
need to make this an American effort.
    I can tell you this: As I have been in London and Ireland, I can see 
that, in addition to the overwhelming preoccupation we've all had with 
our efforts in Northern Ireland, the ability of the United States to 
play a leading role in partnership with Europe in dealing with the 
world's problems in the years ahead is certainly heavily dependent upon 
our doing our part here in Bosnia, especially after we hosted and did so 
much to broker the peace.

Irish Peace Process

    Q. When you talked to the leaders last night in Belfast, were you 
encouraged? Was there anything that you told them to hold back their old 
grudges or--do you have hopes for the future?
    The President. Let me just say, yes, I was encouraged because I 
think that Mr. Bruton and Mr. Major came up with a brilliant formulation 
which enables them to continue to have dialog with one another without 
giving up their position--it seems to me that is the genius of that--and 
then asking Senator Mitchell, along with two other very distinguished 
people, to be on this arms decommissioning work, so that it can succeed 
in parallel. I think it was great foreign relations.
    Obviously, none of the people with whom I spoke yesterday changed 
their positions in their brief meetings with me. The point I tried to 
make to them was that the two Prime Ministers had given them an 
honorable way to continue to engage in peace talks without giving up any 
of their previous positions; and if they looked in the streets of 
Belfast and Derry, they could see that the young people of their 
country, without regard to whether they were Protestant or Catholic, 
desperately wanted this to be resolved. They want to live together; they 
want to live on equal and honorable terms, and they want to live in 
peace. Those were the only points that I could make, and I made them as 
forcefully as I could.
    Q. If you would permit me, Mr. President, the decommissioning issue 
is going to be a very hard nut to crack, isn't it?

[[Page 2105]]

    The President. Sure. But that's why they----
    Q. How do you do it?
    The President. Well, that's why they set it up the way they did. I 
think it's not just a rational issue, it's an emotional issue. And 
that's why, I will say again, what the United States--the role of the 
United States is not to tell anybody how to solve a specific problem, 
including the decommissioning problem. We've tried to support those who 
are taking risks for peace.
    The two Prime Ministers have set up a process at considerable risk 
to themselves which permit all the parties to be heard and permit this 
very difficult decommissioning issue to be dealt with, and everyone can 
now proceed forward without giving up any of their own positions at the 
moment. That is what I thought was so important. We were stalled for too 
long.
    And as I said in Derry, if you look at that statue--those two 
Statues of Reconciliation there, they're reaching out, and they're not 
quite touching. But people are not statues. When you get close like 
this, you don't stay in that position. You either shake hands, or you 
drift apart. They've given this process a chance to move to a handshake, 
and that's all we can hope for. Now we just have to redouble our efforts 
and keep our attitudes proper and remember the message of the people in 
the streets, which is that they want this done. They're not interested 
in all the last details. They want it worked out so they can live on 
equal and honorable terms and live in peace. And I think that's what the 
rest of us have to try to give them.
    Prime Minister Bruton. I just want to say the key word is that this 
is a process, a process in which people can move closer together, a 
process in which people can give as well as take.

Note: The exchange began at 12:29 p.m. at the Government Buildings. In 
his remarks, the President referred to Gen. George A. Joulwan, USA, 
Supreme Allied Commander, Europe. A tape was not available for 
verification of the content of this exchange. This item was not received 
in time for publication in the appropriate issue.