‘The lights stayed on’
Architects of Good Friday deal look back
BILL Clinton accepted the Freedom of Belfast yesterday with a plea to its citizens to ensure the next generation is free to enjoy peace.
The former US president and former US senator George Mitchell, the diplomat who brokered the Good Friday Agreement, were both bestowed with the honour on the 20th anniversary of the accord.
Mr Clinton told his audience at the Ulster Hall in Belfast that he had fallen in love with the city in the 23 years since his first visit.
He joked about that highprofile occasion, in 1995, when he switched on the Christmas tree lights at City Hall a little over a year after the paramilitary ceasefires, and when the peace process was still in its fledgling stages. ‘I was terrified the lights would short out and the whole thing would be a metaphor for the failure of the peace process,’ he said.
‘But in front of tens of thousands of people, the lights came on, the lights came on in Belfast and the lights stayed on.
‘Through thick and thin and ups and downs and setbacks and disagreements and governments in and out of Stormont – for 20 years the lights have stayed on.’ He added: ‘I am glad to finally have the freedom of a place which I did my small part to make free.’
‘The Good Friday Agreement is the work of genius that’s applicable if you care at all about preserving democracy,’ he said.
Mr Clinton shared an hourlong panel discussion with former UK prime minister Tony Blair and former taoiseach Bertie Ahern – among the architects of the historic agreement
‘These people gave you a gift,’ he said. ‘People who lost loved ones and bore scars; the women’s groups; everybody, they gave you a gift. Make the most of it. It is a precious gift.’
Mr Clinton also acknowledged the difficulties presented both by Brexit and the current powersharing impasse at Stormont.
But he urged people to reflect on how far the city had come since the 1998 agreement was struck. ‘I will always be grateful I came to Belfast when peace had been made but the city was still troubled,’ he said.
‘When wise and good and decent people actually had to make a decision to do the right thing, to be the right sort of person, to give children the right sort of future. It was a fortune wind that blew me here. The least George [Mitchell] and I can do with our freedom is to plead with you to give the same gift to generations yet to come.’
Mr Mitchell described the award as an honour. He said his time chairing the Good Friday talks changed his life.
‘I have come to know and to greatly admire the people of Northern Ireland,’ he said.
‘To receive this honour from them is very moving and gratifying to me.’
Meanwhile, Mr Blair described Brexit as a ‘profound mistake’ and warned of challenging consequences.
‘Those people who are either disdainful of the challenge or dismissive, this is going to require real focus and hard work because we cannot return to a
Agreement is ‘a work of genius’ ‘Make the most of this gift’
hard border... it would be a disaster for the agreement and for the relationship between the Republic and the UK, and therefore for the people of Northern Ireland.’
Mr Clinton, Mr Blair and Mr Ahern also attended a major conference to mark the 20th anniversary of the deal at Queen’s University Belfast. Among those also taking part in the event were David Trimble, Seamus Mallon, Gerry Adams and Peter Robinson.