>From MCELROY@zodiac.rutgers.edu  Ukn Jan 14 10:31:39 1993

                       CLINTON AND IRELAND
              (From the 'Northern Ireland Report')
                       (December 16, 1992)

                              *****

     After 12 years of Republican rule, America finally elected a
Democrat to the White House. On the campaign trail Governor Bill
Clinton said all the right things to Irish-American voters on the
topics of immigration, the MacBride Principles, visa denial,
human rights abuses, and asylum cases. To Britain's astonishment,
Clinton even came out in favor of a U.S. peace envoy to the Six
Counties. The fact that Clinton addressed Irish issues is a
positive and much needed step.
     While the defeat of Bush should be celebrated, the election
of Clinton may raise troubling questions for those who support
the Irish republican struggle. In an October letter to Bruce
Morrison, former Congressman and chairman of the Irish-Americans
for Clinton group, Clinton outlined his position on Northern
Ireland. The Clinton statement is disappointing in its vague and
superficial view of the Northern conflict.
     Utilizing the all to familiar phrases ("we condemn the
violence and bloodshed"..."we are encouraged by the current talks
between the constitutional parties"..."the British Government
must do more to oppose the job discrimination"..."the British
Government must establish more effective safeguards against the
wanton use of lethal force"), Clinton's statement focuses on
consequence (violence and discrimination) rather than cause (the
right to self-determination). Nowhere in the Clinton statement
was there a call for British withdrawal. As a result, there was
little in the Clinton statement to really worry Britain.
     Clinton's letter forces Irish-Americans to clarify their
position with regard to the Northern crisis--is the problem one
of violence and discrimination or is the problem one of national
self-determination? The answer is extremely important not only
for Ireland but for all U.S. foreign policy. If the Irish have
the right to exercise the political freedom to determine their
own economic, social and cultural development, without external
influence and without partial or total disruption of the national
unity or territorial integrity, then so do the Cubans, the
Nicaraguans, the Palestinians and the Timorese. Given Clinton's
campaign rhetoric concerning Cuba, China and Israel, the
President-elect clearly does not have a principled stand on the
issue of national self-determination.
     Time will tell whether Clinton's Irish agenda is a sincere
proposal or just another dose of campaign politics. We all know
that American politicians have a long history of saying one thing
and doing another. At least Jimmy Carter (no supporter of the
right to self-determination), when asking for Irish-American
votes, wore a button that said, "England, Get Out of Ireland."
                            *********

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