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| SECRETARY MOWLAM | |
 March 16, 1999 
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Northern Ireland's top United Kingdom official, Secretary Marjorie Mowlam, discusses the state of peace between Unionist and Nationalist factions.
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MARGARET WARNER: Welcome, Madame Secretary. Thanks for being with us. MARJORIE MOWLAM, Secretary for Northern Ireland: Thank you for having me. |
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| Implementing the Good Friday Agreement. | |||||||||||||||||
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MARGARET WARNER: You just heard Prime Minister Ahern's assessment of the situation. What is your take on this? Why do you think this impasse has been so difficult to resolve? MARJORIE MOWLAM: I agree with a lot that the Prime
MARJORIE MOWLAM: I don't disagree with the conclusion of that statement - but to look at in a way that the question is asked means there were winners and there were losers, and if you look at it in that way, you will never find a way through, because any process that has winners or losers is going to be very difficult to work in Northern Ireland. What one has to do is say that, yes -- and I think President Clinton put it very well when he said that the Good Friday Agreement has to be implemented to the letter and to the spirit. Now, Good Friday Agreement for Sinn Fein, as Bertie Ahern has said, they've stuck by the letter. They've done it. And in the same way, the Unionists, in terms of the spirit of the agreement, need it in its completion, need all dimensions, which is what the agreement said, to move. So both have a justification for the position they hold, but for it to work, both have to happen. Decommissioning is a must, as is the formation of the executive. MARGARET WARNER: So you're saying, really, that both of these leaders, Gerry Adams and David Trimble, will both have to give further? MARJORIE MOWLAM: Yes, but not just them. I think what's important for
the rest of us, and particularly in St. Patrick's week in America now,
is to realize the fears and distrust that exist on both communities.
And again, Bertie |
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| The role of the people of Northern Ireland. | |||||||||||||||||
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MARGARET WARNER: Well, now, where's the Northern Ireland public in all of this -- because last year they did give a significant impetus when they voted to approve the Good Friday Agreement, and certainly by their vote -- particularly the Catholic vote was over 90 percent in support -- is there any way for them now to exert pressure and to essentially say, we want you to make this work? MARJORIE MOWLAM: Well, I think that pressure is there, and there has
been a bit of a change I've felt in Northern Ireland in the last couple
of weeks when there is more of a feeling and desire to make progress
than in the last couple of months. We've gone through a lot of detailed,
tough negotiations without the public seeing much, but I believe now
there is a feeling that progress should be made, but to be straight
and honest with you and your viewers, there is no doubt that the kind
of support that the agreement had back a year ago is still there in
the sense that both communities want this to work. They don't want to
go back down the road to violence, and they want to see progress. But
one has to -- and there's been a whole lot of polls |
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| The possibility of a compromise. | |||||||||||||||||
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MARGARET WARNER: There have been a number of compromise ideas put on the table. You heard the prime minister talk about the fact that maybe if the IRA would at least set a date certain to begin decommissioning -- there are other ideas that maybe decommissioning could begin the day that the Sinn Fein ministers first take part in the government. Would the British Government encourage David Trimble to accept a compromise like that? MARJORIE MOWLAM: Well, I'd encourage everybody to accept a compromise, and this is what's important to remember: It's not just Trimble, it's not just Adams. Both sides have to move. And we will work as hard -- and I know President Clinton will see all the big leaders tomorrow during the St. Patrick's Day, and I hope that he delivers the same message: That this is a difficult time, we made a lot of progress, everybody's got to move, we've got to understand the difficulties that all sides have taking their communities with them because this fear that this isn't going to deliver for them among some elements. MARGARET WARNER: So you agree, then, with the Prime Minister when he said that he believes both Trimble and Adams have very little room to maneuver politically? MARJORIE MOWLAM: I believe they both have little room to maneuver,
but I also agree with Bertie Ahern that they both have some, and I think
it is possible for MARGARET WARNER: What do you specifically want the President to say when he meets separately with both Adams and Trimble tomorrow? Do you think he's going to be able - I mean, are you looking for him to negotiate a deal here? MARJORIE MOWLAM: No, unrealistic. It's impossible to get the president to negotiate in an evening. What the president will do he will decide. He's not going to take orders from me or anybody else, and rightly so, but what I hope comes out of the meetings with President Clinton and the meetings this week is that people realize that it's difficult for both sides. There is fear and distrust in both communities, that we've all got to take a role in resolving this, not just one or two individuals. We all have a part to play. And I think if people begin to understand that and then encourage everybody to take an extra step, we haven't come this far, made this amount of progress. This time last year we had nothing. We have made incredible progress, party leaders particularly showing the determination and courage to move it forward. Now, if everybody can take one extra step, then the tragedy of failure will not be around. MARGARET WARNER: All right. Well, thank you, Madame Secretary, and good luck. MARJORIE MOWLAM: Thank you very much. |
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Minister,
Taoiseah Bertie Ahern, said. I think it's difficult for a number of
reasons, one being that reaching the Good Friday Agreement was tough,
and as Senator Mitchell said, who was essential to the process, implementing
it is equally tough, because what happened in those talks is that everybody
wanted a bit of the agreement that we finally ended up with. You wanted
accelerated prisoner releases. I wanted an assembly. Somebody else wanted
a human rights commission or an equality commission. And we all stuck
with it and supported it because of the thing we wanted. Now what's
happening with that package having been passed by the assembly and by
the people, both North and South in a referendum, is that we're implementing
it, and it's always harder, because people see exactly what the others
wanted, and implementing it, the full horror or the full realization
of it hits them. So it's tough. It's difficult. And what we're doing
is what we said we would do and what we were asked to do by the parties,
is implement the Good Friday Agreement.
MARGARET
WARNER: Does the British Government, at least for now, stand behind
David Trimble, the Unionist leader, when he says he cannot let Sinn
Fein take these two posts in the cabinet until they start decommissioning
their weapons?
Ahearn
got it right when he said that what we need is trust and confidence.
And I hope this week here when people are talking and mixing socially,
that some of that trust and confidence will be found, but it's just
a case of not just Sinn Fein and the UUP, but this for all of us to
resolve. Everybody has to play their part and move a little, not just
the two big players or the three big players.
across
Northern Ireland, and some of your viewers will have read them. You
can, with polls, take any conclusion you want. It depends on the question,
et cetera. But I think there is no doubt that there is clearly a belief
among the people of Northern Ireland they want to make progress, but
there is also a beginning of a growth of a question markers as to is
this going the work? Are we sure we can trust the other side to play
straight? So that is beginning to develop, which is why I think it's
important after St. Patrick's, in the run-up to what is a natural deadline,
the week of the 29th, in the run-up to Easter, that progress is made,
because, if not, we run after the anniversary of the Agreement, we're
into a potentially difficult time with the parades; we're into the elections
for the European parliament, neither a backdrop that I would like negotiations
to continue during. 
everybody,
because whether it was decommissioning, executive, whatever issue, it's
up to the leaders to find a way of working together, because we could
find an agreement on the 29th or 30th, 31st of this month, but unless
they are able to work together, it won't work.