Hillary Clinton on Riots; Secretary of State Calls for Peace in Northern Ireland
Hillary Clinton did not receive a warm welcome on her latest trip to Northern Ireland.
The U.S. Secretary of State arrived in Ireland on Friday for a scheduled talk with pro-British First Minister Peter Robinson and his deputy, former Irish Republican Army leader Martin McGuinness.
Clinton denounced the violence in riots that continued even during her trip while calling for peace. During the week leading up to her visit, three riots took place and other arrests were made after a bomb was discovered in a car before it could detonate.
"There can be no place in Northern Ireland for any violence, any of the remnants of the past need to be quickly, unequivocally condemned," Clinton said at a news conference reported by Reuters. She said that the violence was only from "a small minority of people who try to stir up passions or emotions. It is unacceptable and must be repudiated by everyone".
The U.S. Secretary of State left Dublin for the British province after talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on the volatile situation in Syria.
Protests and riots are expected to continue in the near future while Clinton remains in the area.
The Belfast Telegraph reported Clinton's statement on the civil unrest: "There will always be disagreement in democratic societies, but violence is never an acceptable response to those disagreements. All parties need to confront the remaining challenge of sectarian divisions, peacefully together."
She continued: "The only path forward is a peaceful democratic one. There can be no place in the new Northern Ireland for any violence. The remnants of the past need to be quickly, unequivocally condemned. Democracy requires dialogue, compromise and constant commitment by everyone to protect the rights of everyone."
Around 3,600 people have died as a result of three decades worth of violence stemming from Catholic nationalists supporting a union with the rest of Ireland and Protestant Loyalist security forces trying to keep the region as a part of the United Kingdom.
