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Friday, March 29, 2024

Trump administration seen turning its back to Ireland

Posted by Jim on September 23, 2017

The US administration has been urged to reverse a decision to abolish
the post of special envoy to the north of Ireland.

The US State Department confirmed earlier this month that the post had
been “retired” and its responsibilities assigned to the Bureau of
European and Eurasian Affairs.

The first US special envoy to was Senator George Mitchell, who was
appointed in 1995, while Richard Haass undertook the role during George
W Bush’s administration. The involvement of the US government in the
north of Ireland has diminished substantially in recent years in line
with the normalisation of British rule.

The last person to hold the post was Senator Gary Hart but he was not
replaced following Donald Trump’s election victory. Senator Hart
condemned the proposal to abolish the diplomatic role as “a sad, even
tragic, decision”.

Now 25 members of the US Congress have written to the US Secretary of
State Rex Tillerson urging him to reconsider abolishing the post. It has
been signed by Republicans as well as Democratic members of Congress.

The letter notes that “40 million Americans of Irish descent have begun
to speak out on this issue” and describes the 1998 Good Friday Agreement
as “one of America’s most successful foreign policy accomplishments in
recent memory”.

The letter highlights the threat Brexit poses to the peace process after
the Westminster parliament passed legislation to allow British
negotiators breach the 1998 peace deal. Sinn Fein is seeking to rescue
the agreement by making it a protocol of the Brexit withdrawal treaty.

The Ancient Order of Hibernians has urged members of Congress who take
an active interest in Ireland to oppose Tillerson’s plans.

It described the proposal to scrap the north envoy as “appalling” and
wants US Congress members to “push back”.

The AOH has sent letters to the members of the U.S. Senate Committee
on Foreign Relations and the Congressional Friends of Ireland caucus
asking them to voice their objection, said a statement.

“Nearly twenty years ago, the historic Good Friday Agreement ended ‘the
Troubles’ in Northern Ireland, proportionately one of the deadliest
conflicts in world history.

“All parties to the conflict have acknowledged the leadership of United
States Special Envoy to Northern Ireland George Mitchell was pivotal in
reaching that historic accord,” said AOH National Political Education
Chairman, Neil F. Cosgrove.

“The Good Friday Agreement is a landmark in U.S. Diplomacy and prima
facie evidence of American leadership in the cause of peace and justice.

“It is therefore shocking that Secretary of State Tillerson has
announced plans to eliminate the position of Special Envoy to Northern
Ireland while many objectives of the Good Friday Agreement are yet to be
realized and at a time when the Agreement, and the peace it fostered, is
at risk,” Cosgrove stated.

Continued Cosgrove: “Apparently, Secretary Tillerson, and many in the
government on both sides of the aisle, have confused the transitory
peace which is a cessation of violence with the much greater vision of a
permanent peace articulated in the Good Friday Agreement; a peace based
on ‘parity of esteem and of just and equal treatment.’

“Twenty years on, we are still far from the goal of true peace. We need
only look at recent actions targeting those who wish to express their
identity through the Irish language and reports that the Catholic
community of Northern Ireland faces disproportionate hurdles in
accessing housing to see that the Good Friday Agreement aspiration of
‘parity of esteem’ has yet to move from paper to practice.

“In the nearly twenty years since the Good Friday Agreement was signed,
a Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland has yet to materialize and
attempts to address the legacies of the past with justice have
continually met with obstruction.

“The most tangible symbol of the Good Friday Agreement, the power shared
devolved Northern Ireland parliament, is currently in collapse with no
sign of restoration.

“Brexit, which the communities of Northern Ireland as a whole rejected,
threatens economic upheaval to a fragile Northern Ireland economy and a
return to “hard borders” in Ireland both physical and psychological.”

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