Peace Work 2
I'd like to think Barack Obama was listening to my Peace Work Radio 4 documentary over his breakfast, but I'm afraid I'd have to admit it was just coincidence that, on the very day the programme went to air, the President cited Northern Ireland as a successful example of conflct resolution.
Here's the transcript of the exchange from his news conference last night:
"QUESTION: Mr. President, you came to office pledging to work for peace between Israel and the Palestinians.
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Yeah.
QUESTION: How realistic do you think those are hopes are now, given the likelihood of a prime minister who's not fully signed up to a two- state solution and a foreign minister who's been accused of insulting Arabs?
PRESIDENT OBAMA: It's not easier than it was, but I think it's just as necessary. We don't yet know what the Israeli government is going to look like. And we don't yet know what the future shape of Palestinian leadership is going to be comprised of.
What we do know is this; that the status quo is unsustainable. That it is critical for us to advance a two-state solution where Israelis and Palestinians can live side by side in their own states with peace and security. And by assigning George Mitchell the task of working as special envoy, what we've signaled is that we're going to be serious from day one in trying to move the parties in a direction that acknowledges that reality. How effective these negotiations may be, I think we're going to have to wait and see.
But, you know, we were here for Saint Patrick's Day, and you'll recall that we had what had been previously sworn enemies celebrating here in this very room; you know, leaders from the two sides in Northern Ireland that, you know, a couple of decades ago or even a decade ago people would have said could never achieve peace. And here they were, jointly appearing and talking about their commitment, even in the face of violent provocation.
And what that tells me is that if you stick to it, if you are persistent, then -- then these problems can be dealt with."
Something I couldn't fit in to the documentary is a plan by the team behind the Iraq initiative to bring together divided cities around the world including and Londonderry. There are plans afoot to bring officials from the cities together in Boston later this year.
On the Assembly website, there's a photograph of the US President towering over Having started this blog by mentioning Barack Obama's breakfast it would be remiss of me not to mention that during the campaign for the Democrat candidacy he once used his pressing desire to to avoid answering questions about the Middle East.
UPDATE: Putting the waffle to one side, Gerry Adams looks like he'll again be denied a meeting with Israeli officials when he visits the country next week. That's the prediction, anyway, of the
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