For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
April 8, 2003
Joint Statement by President George W. Bush and Prime Ministers Tony Blair and Bertie Ahern on Northern Ireland
We affirm our individual and collective commitment to the Good
Friday Agreement and to its full and complete implementation. The
people of Northern Ireland and their leaders have a momentous
opportunity to ensure that peace is strengthened and political
stability secured.
The opportunity to cement the peace is historic. The case is
compelling; the cause just; the outcome must be fair, balanced, and
comprehensive. The acceptance and implementation of the Governments'
forthcoming proposals would promote the reconciliation that the people
of Northern Ireland desire and deserve.
These proposals, built on the firm ground of the Good Friday
Agreement, hold out the prospect of enormous progress. They reflect our
shared view that there can be no place in Northern Ireland for
paramilitary activity and capability. The break with paramilitarism in
all its past forms must be complete and irrevocable. The proposals will
encompass a wide range of additional issues, including normalization,
the devolution of justice and policing, sustainable political
institutions, and human rights. The participation of all parties in
effective community policing, a necessary key to long term stability in
Northern Ireland, would constitute a significant step forward. There
will be a need for a mechanism, one designed to safeguard the interests
and rights of all, to verify compliance with the key undertakings. All
three Governments are committed to supporting effective monitoring
arrangements. Acts of completion, and a reaffirmation that political
change is to come through exclusively peaceful and democratic means,
will renew and expand trust and confidence.
Peace is its own dividend. At the same time, peace fosters an
environment where entrepreneurship and business creativity can thrive,
where jobs will be created, and where prosperity will follow. Our
governments have agreed to work together to explore ways to encourage
the flow of investment to Northern Ireland.
We call upon Northern Ireland's political representatives,
community and business leaders, and citizens from all walks of life to
respond positively to the forthcoming statements. We see no better way
to fulfill the promise of the Good Friday Agreement. They have an
unprecedented chance to continue their bold march from a troubled past
to a future of promise and hope for generations to come. In seizing
this opportunity, Northern Ireland will serve as a model to the world
for dialogue and negotiation, demonstrating to all that what was once
divided can be drawn together in a spirit of reconciliation and
respect.
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