The Rev Ian Paisley must be given credit for finally delivering power sharing in Northern Ireland, Senator George Mitchell said today.
As the First Minister prepared to step down from the Northern Ireland Executive early next month, the former Maine Senator paid tribute to the 82-year-old North Antrim MP who walked out 11 years ago from the negotiations which led to the Good Friday Agreement.
Rev Ian Paisley
"I have to say it has been a pleasant surprise seeing what has happened," Senator Mitchell, who chaired the Stormont talks, said.
"Dr Paisley deserves credit for doing the right thing at the right time." Senator Mitchell was commenting ahead of a conference at Queen's University in Belfast later this month about how peace in Northern Ireland was achieved.
Among the speakers lined up for the two day event are two Nobel Peace Prize laureates, David Trimble and Archbishop Desmond Tutu along with former Deputy First Minister Seamus Mallon.
The Mitchell Conference will also involve Lagan Valley MP Jeffrey Donaldson from Mr Paisley's Democratic Unionists, who was a member of the Ulster Unionists at the time of the Agreement, and will feature academic contributions.
It will follow a symposium organised by the US Ireland Alliance which took place in Belfast in March which featured Senator Mitchell, former taoiseach Bertie Ahern, former SDLP leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate John Hume, Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams, Ulster Unionist leader Sir Reg Empey and other key architects of the Agreement.
"I think it's appropriate, given Queen's University's reputation for academic excellence and its important role in Northern Ireland society, that there is strong academic input," Mr Mitchell said.
"This will be an important conference from our standpoint — a good way to mark the Good Friday Agreement and consider its principles and values", he said.
PA