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Comparing Hamas to the IRA
(White House) - Special Envoy for Middle East Peace Sen. George Mitchell George Mitchell, who helped broker Northern Ireland's peace talks, said on Aug. 31: "We do not expect Hamas to play a role in this immediate process. But...we welcome the full participation by Hamas and all relevant parties once they comply with the basic requirements of democracy and nonviolence that are, of course, a prerequisite to engage in these serious types of discussions." "I have repeatedly been asked...'well, Senator, you talk to the IRA in Northern Ireland, but you don't talk to Hamas here.' The questions reflect an incomplete understanding of what occurred in Northern Ireland and its relationship to this situation. So, first, let me say they're very different. It's not useful to try to make direct comparisons because the participants, the circumstances, the situation, the timing are all very different. And while we should learn what we can from other processes, each is unique." "The reality is that in Northern Ireland, Sinn Fein, the political party that is affiliated with the IRA, did not enter the negotiations until after 15 months had elapsed in the negotiations, and only then because they met two central conditions that had been established. The first was a ceasefire, and the second was a publicly stated commitment...to democratic and exclusively peaceful means of resolving political issues; a commitment to renounce for themselves and to oppose any efforts by others to use force or threaten to use force to influence the course or the outcome of the negotiations; and finally a commitment to agree to abide by the terms of any agreement reached in negotiations and to resort to democratic and exclusively peaceful methods in trying to alter any aspect of that outcome with which they may disagree."