Minister Burke wishes President Robinson well in new UN role

Addressing representatives of the London-based Foreign Press Association at Iveagh House today, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Ray Burke T.D., wished President Robinson every success in her new UN appointment which begins tomorrow.

Minister Burke said that he was proud of what the President had done over the last seven years. She had been "a quite extraordinary President who had projected the modern face of Ireland around the world". Referring to the Irish people's "keen sense of justice and commitment to Human Rights", the Minister said that President Robinson was well equipped to be an " outstanding worldwide advocate of human rights. I look forward to working with her in her new UN role and will be keen to help in whatever way I can".

Minister Burke said that "the Northern Ireland peace process has arrived at a genuine watershed. Questions of identity and allegiance that have divided the people on this island for centuries and sustained a generation of conflict are now in a position to be tackled within an exclusively democratic political context". The Minister acknowledged that "these negotiations will not be easy, but we do have reason to be hopeful. With cease-fires in place, they will proceed in a peaceful environment. Attitudes are changing rapidly on both sides of the Border. These circumstances give rise to possibilities that have not been present in the past. There is now a real chance for political leaders to create a society at peace with itself, where all can feel equal and enjoy a shared sense of belonging."

The Minister stressed the importance of having representatives of all shades of political opinion included in the process; he said he hoped that the Ulster Unionist Party would "take the imaginative decision to engage in comprehensive political negotiations. Their contribution, on behalf of their community, is vitally important."

He concluded by saying that "we are on the threshold of what I hope will be a fair and honourable solution to the Northern Ireland situation. Through perseverance, courage and imagination, and in particular sensitivity to the concerns of all sides, I am confident that the political process can deliver the prize of a future free from conflict that the people on this island rightly desire."

On the EU front, the Minister told the journalists that "the future enlargement of the Union to the east will be the most far-reaching expansion in the Union's history. It represents an historic opportunity to overcome the artificial divisions that hampered Europe in the past. Our central concern is to preserve the achievements and effectiveness of the Union. The EU needs to reshape itself while retaining in the future the values, including cohesion and solidarity, that have made it such a remarkable success." Top