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------------------------------------ Exchange Mail DATE-TIME FROM CLASSIFICATION SURJECT TO CARBON COPY TEXT BODY TRANSLATED ATTACHMENT - 8/28/98 1:37:51 PM Wozniak, Natalie S. UNCLASSIFIED RBTP and First Lady at the Lighting of the City Christmas Tree Belfast City Hall Belfast Northern Ireland.doc [UNCLASSIFIED] Hachigian, Nina L. Budig, Nyda N Crowley, Philip 1. Wozniak, Natalie S. and First Lady at the Lighting of the City Christmas Tree Belfast City Hall Belfast Northern Ireland .doc THE WHITE HOUSE Office of the PressSecretary" (Belfast, Northern Ireland) F or Immediate Release November 30, 1995 REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT AND THE FIRST LADY AT THE LIGHTING OF THE CITY . CHRISTMAS TREE Belfast City Hall Belfast, Northern Ireland 7:36 P.M. (L) MRS. CLINTON: Thank you very much, Lord Mayor. And thank all of you. (Applause.) Tonight is a night fill~d with hope and peace. And for those of us gathered here throughout Northern Ireland and around the world, often it is our - children who offer us the clearest and purest reasons why peace and why this peace 'process is so important. ­ In a national-competition, asking students to share their hopes for a peaceful Northern Ireland in letters to my husband, two students whom you see here tonight, Cathy Harte and Mark Lennox won the top prize. We will be privilege to , have them in America.at summer camp this coming summer. Tonight-it is my privilege to read excerpts from their letters. This is what Cathy said: "My name is Cathy Harte-and I am a 12-year-old Catholic girl. I live in Belfast in Northern Ireland, and I love it here. It's green, it's beautiful, and, well; it's Ireland." (Applause.) "All my life, I have only known guns and bombs with people fighting. Now, it is different. There are no guns and bombs.1I' Cathy continues: "My dreams for the future, well, I have a lot of them. Hopefully, the peace will be permanent; that one day Catholics and Protestants . will be able to walk hand-in-hand and will be able to live in the same areas." (Applause.) "Catholics, Protestants, black or 'white, it is the person inside that counts." (Applause.) "What I hope," said Cathy, "is that when I have my own children that there will still be peace and that Belfast will be a peaceful place from now on." Thank you, Cathy. (Applause.) -Mark Lennox is the same age as our daughter, 15. And he explains in his letter ­ the simple hows of achieving peace. And this is what he says: "I am a '15-:year-old schoolboy from Glengormley High School. I am very pleased about the ­ chance of permanent peace in Northerri Ireland and the. chances of living in a secure atmosphere. ' "If Northern Ireland is to have a future, then we must all learn to live with . eachother in a more tolerant way. Also, we must all work hard for peace and make a real effort. We will have to change our ideas and work for change. Change must mean changing our own understanding of each other. We must learn _ together and know more about our different traditions. Some people warit to destroy peace and the peace process in Northern Ireland." And Mark says, !'We must not allow this to happen." (Applause.) As the Lord Mayor said, in a moment the Christmas tree will be lit as Christmas trees will be lit all over the world in the days to come. This Christmas let us remember the reason behind why we light Christmas trees. Let us remember the reason for this grea:t holiday celebration. And let us remember that we seek peace most of all for our children. May this be one of many, many happy and peaceful Christmases in Northern Ireland this year and for many years to come . . (Applause.) And may God keep you and bless you and hold all of you in the p~m . of His hand: Thank you and God bless you .. (Applause.) . LORD MAYOR: Now, ladies and gentlemen, we have a duty to do tonight. And that ' is we're going to ask the President to turn the lights on. But you and I have s'omethirig to do. We have to count down, 10 down to zero. So we want the count, 10, 9 --slowly please, so that when the President gets ready I'll give you the okay and, then we will have the countdown. (The Christmas tree is lit.) THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. (Applause.) To the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress, let me begin by saying to all ' of you, Hillary and I thank you from the bottom of our hearts for making us feel so very, very welcome in Belfast and Northern Ireland. (Applause.) We thank you, Lord Mayor, for your cooperation and your help in making this trip so successful, and we trust that, for all of you, we haven't inconvenienced you ~o . much. But this has been a wonderful way for us to begin the Christmas holidays. (Applause.) Let m:~ also say I understood just what an honor it was to be able to turn on this Christmas tree when I realized the competition. (Laughter.) Now, to become , ' Preside,nt of the United States you have to undertake some considerable competition. But I have never confronted challengers with the name recognition, . the understanding of the media and the ability in the martial arts of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. (Applause.) To all of you whose support enabled me to join you tonight and turn the Christmas tree on, I give you my heartfelt thanks. (Applause~) I know here in Belfast you've been lighting the Christmas tree for more than 20 years. But this year must be especially joyous to you, for you are entering your second Christmas of peace. (Applause.) As I look down these beautiful streets, I think how wonderful it will be for people to do their holiday shopping without worry of searches or bombs; to visit . loved ones on the other side of the border without the burden of checkpoints or roadblocks; to enjoy these magnificent Christmas lights without any fear of violence. Peace has brought real change to your lives. Across the ocean, the A l11 erican people are rejoicing with you. We are joined to you by strong ties of community and commerce and culture. Over the years men and · women of both traditions have flourished in our country and ~elped America to flourish. And today, of course, we are forging new and special bonds. Belfast's sister city in the United States, Nashville, Tennessee, was proud to send this Christmas' . tree to friends across the Atlantic. I want to thank the most prominent present resident ofNashville, Tennessee, Vice President Al Gore, the Mayor, Phil · Bredesen, and the United States Air Force for getting this big tree all the way across the Atlantic to be here with you tonight. (Applause.) In this 50th anniversary year of the end of World War II, many Americans still remember the warmth the peopie of Northern Ireland showed them when the. army was stationed here under General Eisenhower. The people of Belfast mim,ed General Eisenhower an honorary burgess of the city. He viewed that honor, and I quote, , "as a token of our commonjmrpose to work together for a better ~orld." That mission endures today. We remain Americans and as people ofNorthern Ireland, . partners for security, partners for prosperity and, most important, partners for · peace. (Applause.) Two years ago, at this very' spot, tens of thousands of you took part in a day for peace, as a response to' some of the worst violence Northern Ireland had known in recent years. The two morning papers, representing both traditions, sponsored a telephone poll for peace that generated almost 160,000 calls. In the United States, for my fellow Americans who are here, that would be the equivalent of25 million calls. The response left no doubt that all across Northern Ireland the desire for peace was becoming a demand. I am honored to announce today that those same two newspapers, the Newsletter and the Irish News, have established the President's Prize, an annual award to those at the grass-roots level who have contributed inost to peace and reconciliation. The honorees will travel to the United States to exchange experiences on the issues we share, including community relations and conflict resolution. We have a lot to learn from on another. The President's Prize will underscore that Northern Ireland's two traditions have a common interest in peace. . As you know -- and as the First Lady 'said -- I have received thousands of letter·s from school children all over your remarkable land telling me what peace means to them. They poured in from villages and cities, from Catholic and Protestant communities, from mixed schools, primary schools, from schools for.· children with special needs. All the letters in their own way were truly wonderful for their honesty, their simple ·wisdom and their passion. Many of .~ -.' . children showed tremendous pride in their homeland, in its beauty and its true nature. I congratulate the winners. They were wonderful and I loved hearing their letters. But let me tell you about another couple I received. Eleven-year-old Keith from Carrickfergus wrote: "Please tell everyone in America that we're not always fighting here, and that it's only a small number of people who make the trouble." . Like many of the children, Keith did not identify himself as Protestant or Catholic, and did not distinguish between the sources ofthe violence. So many children told me of loved ones they have lost, of lives disrupted and opportunities. forsaken and families forced to move. Yet, they showed remarkable . courage and strength and a commitment t~ overcome the past. As 14-year-old Sharon of County Armagh wrote: "Both sides have been hurt. Both sides must . forgive." Despite the extraordinary hardships so many of these children have faced, their .. letters were full ofh6pe and love and humor. To al,l of you who took the time ~ . . . write me, you've brightened my holiday season with your wqrds of faith and courage, and I thank you. To all ofyou who asked me to do what I could to ~~ , . peace take root, I pledge you America's support. We will stand with you as you , take risks for peace., (Applause.) And to all of youwho have not lost your sense of humor, ~ say thank you.> I . got a.letter from 13-year-old Ryan from Belfast. Now, Ryan, if you're out in the crowd tonight, here's the answer' to your question. No, as far as I know, an alien spacecraft did not crash in Roswell, New Mexico, in 1947. (Laughter.) And, Ryan, if the United States Air Force did recover alien bodies, they didn't tell me about it, either, and I want to know. (Applause.) Ladies and gentlemen, this day that Hillary and I have had here. in Belfast and in Derry and Londonderry County will long be with us -- (applause) .--as one of ' the most remarkable days of our lives. I leave you with these thoughts. May the Christmas spirit ofpeace and goodwill floutish and grow in you. May you remember the words ofthe Lord Mayor: "This is Christmas; We celebrate the world in a new way because of the birth of Emmanuel; God with us." And when God was with us, he said no words more important than these: "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall inherit the Earth." (Applause.) Merry, Christmas, and God bless you all. (Applause.) END 7:53 P.M. (L)