Expressing Support Of The House For The Good Friday Agreement

Floor Speech

EXPRESSING SUPPORT OF THE HOUSE FOR THE GOOD FRIDAY AGREEMENT -- (Extensions of Remarks - March 20, 2007)

* Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the ideals of the Good Friday Agreement, and to celebrate the efforts of the English and Irish governments to create a more peaceful and prosperous Ireland.

* Signed on Good Friday in 1998, the Agreement marked a watershed moment in the history of Eire's glorious but at times tumultuous history, and laid out specific provisions and benchmarks for all involved parties. The Agreement created programs and transgovernmental institutions to engender dialogue across borders and parties; deconstructed obstructionist legislation on both sides of the English Channel; reformed security and law enforcement institutions; and set timetables for disarmament.

* More than just an accord between governments, the Agreement signaled a new commitment to the life and liberty of the Irish people. The Agreement established new civil and human rights standards; ensured the dignity of all communities by promising new cultural and economic standards; and aspired to create relationships based on principles of peace and nonviolent conflict resolution.

* The electorate, and indeed the world, has responded in kind. The Good Friday Agreement was embraced by citizens in the Republic of Ireland as well as Northern Ireland. National governments around the world have applauded the efforts to create a lasting peace, and local governments throughout the United States have enacted resolutions in support of the Good Friday Agreement. I applaud the City of Cleveland for their support of Peace in Ireland, and I am hopeful that one day we will look back on the Good Friday Agreement, having reached our destination of a peaceful Ireland with a thriving population united in their efforts to cultivate that peace.

* Mr. Speaker and colleagues, please join me in honoring the pursuit of a lasting peace in Ireland. It is my eternal hope we one day may have a response to William Butler Yeats' pained question: ``Too long a sacrifice can make a stone of the heart. O when may it suffice?''

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