[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 37, Number 31 (Monday, August 6, 2001)]
[Pages 1128-1129]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Statement on Northern Ireland

August 1, 2001

    This morning I telephoned Prime Ministers Blair and Ahern to state 
my strong support for the package of proposals their governments 
released today to the political party leaders in Northern Ireland.
    I believe the package is fair and that it charts the way forward in 
areas central to the Good Friday agreement. The package allows the 
people of Northern Ireland to sustain devolved government and establish 
a police service with broad public support. It provides further steps 
for normalizing the security presence in Northern Ireland and assuring 
the stability and integrity of the Good Friday agreement's political 
institutions. The proposals also recognize that a commitment to 
democratic governance and normalized security requires all parties to 
renounce violence and deal decisively with paramilitary weapons. 
Consequently, substantial progress on decommissioning is an essential 
part of today's package.
    In my conversation this morning, I commended the Prime Ministers for 
their continuing leadership on behalf of peace. I reiterated to them 
that the United States stands ready to help in any way that the 
governments and the parties find useful. I now urge all parties in 
Northern Ireland to reflect

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carefully on today's proposals and to do everything in their power to 
make permanent the progress of the past 3 years by taking the next steps 
to implement the Good Friday agreement.