[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 35, Number 26 (Monday, July 5, 1999)]
[Pages 1208-1210]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Interview With Mark Devenport of the British Broadcasting Corporation in 
Westport

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

[[Page 1209]]

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. 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?

[[Page 1210]]

    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 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, 
leader, Ulster Unionist Party; Prime Minister-elect Ehud Barak of 
Israel; Prime Minister Tony Blair of the United Kingdom; and Prime 
Minister Bertie Ahern of Ireland.