Gerry Adams

Upon finishing school in the 1960's, I supported myself as a bartender while becoming increasingly involved in the civil rights movement. Modeled on the civil rights movement in the United States the Irish effort was founded to fight discrimination against northern Catholics by the British government in the areas of housing, employment, education and language.Internment without trial was introduced in 1971 in response to the growing civil rights movement and community unrest over continued human rights abuses further provoking popular street resistance and campaigns of civil disobedience. The brutal reaction of the Unionist government in the six counties resulted in the ultimate breach of civil rights - murder by the government - of peaceful protesters at what has become known as Bloody Sunday.Over the years my family has also been targeted by unionist forces. My brother-in-law was killed by the British Army; my brother was shot by the British; several family members have been imprisoned, and my wife and son narrowly escaped injury when a loyalist bomb attack was carried out at my home. To the present day my health continues to be adversely affected by the years of punishment inflicted during my internment and from my closest call with death, when my body was riddled by automatic rifle-fire in a loyalist death squad attack in downtown BelfastElected as President of Sinn Fein in 1983, I was also elected as a Minister of Parliament from West Belfast during the same year. Refusing to take the seat in Westminster because of the compulsory oath of allegiance to the British Queen, I continued to campaign for the rights of Irish nationalists.I am widely acclaimed for my crucial role in laying the groundwork for the peace process in Ireland and for my continuing efforts in the building of a stable, democratically negotiated peace settlementSinn Fein continues to achieve groundbreaking advances on both sides of the Atlantic in its quest for a just and lasting peace in Ireland. Despite efforts at marginalization, demonization, censorship and isolation significant inroads to peace continue to be made by myself and Sinn Fein. The Clinton Administrat has been a positive and visionary contribution to the search for peace in Ireland. My trips to the United States thus far has swept Sinn Fein into an historic phase of meaningful dialogue with the U.S. government while allowing the American public, long suffering at the hands of the British propaganda machine, an opportunity to assess Sinn Fein's analysis and strategy for peace