Documents / Official release
This is a White House Office of the Press Secretary transcript of remarks by President Clinton and the First Lady at the lighting of the Christmas tree at Belfast City Hall, Northern Ireland, on November 30, 1995. It was forwarded by email on August 28, 1998. Most of the speech is about the Northern Ireland peace process and children's letters. Answering a letter from a 13-year-old named Ryan, the President jokes that as far as he knows no alien spacecraft crashed in Roswell in 1947.
- 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
Official release, from the nara collection. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is above. 6 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.