Cherish the gift of peace
Clinton calls for parties to match the miracle of ‘98
BILL Clinton urged the North’s politicians to “inspire the world” again 20 years on from the Good Friday Agreement.
In front of a packed audience at Queen’s University Belfast yesterday, the former US President spoke directly to political leaders in the Whitla Hall.
He said: “I’m sitting here and my view is Arlene and Mary Lou sitting in the same row.
“We just gotta figure out how to get them to sit next to each other.”
Mr Clinton was speaking in a panel alongside former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, ex-taoiseach Bertie Ahern and Senator George Mitchell, who chaired the talks that delivered the historic accord. They spoke for an hour to several hundred people. Mr Clinton, who received the freedom of Belfast with Mr Mitchell, yesterday described the Good Friday Agreement as a “work of genius that is applicable if you care at all about preserving democracy”.
He added: “These people gave you a gift. The people who lost loved ones and bore scars, the women’s groups, the kids, everybody.
“They gave you a gift. Make the most of it. It’s precious. And in the process remind the world that democracy is better than dictatorship.
“Remember you inspired the world 20 years ago? You can do it all over again today.
“Because the rest of the world continues to do foolish things. You do smart things. Save the peace, save the freedom, save the democracy, inspire the world.” Mr Clinton played down his role in the peace negotiations and praised Blair and Ahern.
He said: “Bertie and Tony were inexhaustible, I’m very grateful to them, and to their predecessors... I’m grateful to all of them, but especially to these guys, we tried to clean it up.
“I took a flying leap, thank you Gerry Adams for not betraying my trust, then the thing started, it was hard for David Trimble, but he hung in there.
“I’m proud of Seamus Mallon when in Government, you held it up.
“So then we wound up with the famous odd couple of Martin Mcguinness and Ian Paisley, you couldn’t imagine that.” Mr Blair urged the
audience to look at how far Northern Ireland has come.
He said: “Many people have said to me, ‘Well the Executive is no longer up and running, has it really worked?’
“Some politicians are saying, ‘Does it really matter?’ The important thing is not to compare where we are or where we would ideally want to be because ideally we would want to be in a better place than where we are.
“The comparison is with where we are and where we were.
“The important thing is to remember when we used to wake up every day to the news of death, destruction and terrorism. And I know that the tensions are still there, the divisions are still there, the difficulties are still there.
“But I would say whatever the difficulties, whatever the challenges, whatever the problems, this agreement is worth preserving and building upon. Where we are may not be where we want to be. But it’s a world better than where we were.”
Former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern said: “I say to the leaders of today and tomorrow, it’s never easy. You can’t make progress without compromise. There is compromise everywhere in the world.
People have to negotiate.
“Compromise is when people come together and say, ‘This is the dilemma, this is the difficulty. This is what is unsaleable to my people’. Let us try and find a way out. You have to remember, ‘What makes it better for the ordinary Joe and Mary Soap on the street. “What makes their life easier? What makes it easier for them to run their family, to educate their kids, and have a job. To have a joyous social life, and get an annual holiday if they can and to go on. And that means the political system has to work.
“We all know.. there are hundreds of decisions not being dealt with because of the stalemate.
“So isn’t that a good reason to try and end the stalemate? I wish them well in doing so.”
The people who lost loved ones gave you a gift. Make the most of it. It’s precious
BILL CLINTON QUEENS UNIVERSITY BELFAST YESTERDAY