Sue Hartigan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
Hi Bill and Steve:
I attached the only story I could find today to say what Clinton did.
Looks like he is getting a lot of credit for what is going on.
Sue
> HI Steve,
>
> Apparently he did at the request of Tony Blair. It was a last minute
> deal to try to ensure agreement on the peace proposal. But I don't
know
> who he called.
>
> Bill
> Clinton Urged To Visit N. Ireland
> WASHINGTON (AP) -- The American chairman of the Northern
> Ireland peace talks says he hopes President Clinton will
> visit the region to build support for the historic
> compromise.
>
> George Mitchell heralded Clinton's role in brokering the
> peace pact for Northern Ireland last week, saying he
> ``deserves a lot of credit'' for its success. Mitchell,
> a former Senate Democratic leader appointed by Clinton
> as envoy three years ago, planned to brief the president
> this afternoon.
>
> ``The agreement is a fair one. It allows both
> communities to live together in peace and reconciliation
> and build a better society,'' Mitchell said today on
> ABC's ``Good Morning America.''
>
> On Sunday, Mitchell stressed that while a compromise has
> been forged, more work is needed to ensure ultimate
> success of the deal to end three decades of violence
> between the Protestant majority and the Catholic
> minority.
>
> ``This agreement really doesn't finalize peace. It
> creates the opportunity for peace and reconciliation,''
> Mitchell said on ABC's ``This Week.'' ``It's a good
> first step, but there's still a long way to go.''
>
> Mitchell said he hopes Clinton will travel to the area
> as it prepares for May 22 voter referendums on the
> agreement. The president visited both Northern Ireland's
> capital, Belfast, and Dublin, the capital of the
> Republic of Ireland, in 1995. Clinton will be in the
> region in mid-May for an economic summit in England.
>
> ``I hope the president will visit. He's enormously
> popular in Ireland. People there recognize that he
> played a central role in this process,'' Mitchell said
> today. ``I think a visit by him will be helpful.''
>
> Mitchell also observed that Clinton is ``the only
> American president ever to have visited Northern Ireland
> while in office (and) the first to make it a high
> priority for American policy.''
>
> White House spokesman Joe Lockhart said a Northern
> Ireland trip is under consideration.
>
> Clinton, who spent the weekend at Camp David, Md., took
> more congratulatory telephone calls on Sunday from
> British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who was at the peace
> table, and U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan. ``They
> were both basically to express some gratitude for the
> president's help,'' Lockhart said of the calls.
>
> Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., a confidant of Gerry Adams,
> head of the mainly Catholic Sinn Fein party, said
> Clinton's engagement could make or break the deal in the
> upcoming referendums in Northern Ireland and the Irish
> Republic.
>
> ``Sinn Fein is fearful of being left alone -- when the
> euphoria of the peace process is over, and we go back to
> Washington, the British go back to London -- that they
> would still be there under the gun of the Unionists''
> who favor keeping Northern Ireland in the United
> Kingdom, King said on ``Fox News Sunday.''
>
> ``He's the linchpin here, and he can keep this
> together,'' King said of Clinton.
>
> Martin McGuinness, chief negotiator for Sinn Fein, the
> political ally of the outlawed Irish Republican Army,
> praised Clinton for becoming ``intellectually and
> emotionally involved'' in Northern Ireland's future.
>
> ``We have been really, really impressed by his knowledge
> of the situation and also by his commitment to the
> search for equality, for justice and for peace in
> Ireland,'' McGuinness said on NBC's ``Meet the Press.''
>
> Under the peace deal, Northern Ireland would remain in
> the United Kingdom with a new assembly. But the
> Protestants and Catholics in this new administration
> would be required to forge formal links with the Irish
> Republic as well.
>
> Hurdles that include the possibility of continued
> violence remain in implementing the peace agreement,
> which was struck Friday among eight parties.
>
> ``There are people on both sides who want to disrupt
> this process, who are committed to the way of violence,
> and I expect they'll step up their activities between
> now and the date of the referendum and thereafter,''
> Mitchell said. ``My hope is that it won't destabilize
> the process.''
>
> Mitchell said death threats against government officials
> during the talks added to the pressure to forge a
> compromise quickly, although he said they were not a
> deciding factor in meeting the Easter weekend deadline
> he set.
--
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