[caption id="attachment_67589" align="aligncenter" width="600" caption="Neal and Friends welcome peace breakthrough."]
The decision by the Basque separatist movement ETA to cease its armed campaign has been reached in part due to the efforts of Irish political leaders Bertie Ahern, Gerry Adams and, in a less public way, by Belfast priest, Fr. Alec Reid.
And the Irish peace process itself was being hailed by Irish American political leaders as the template for Eta's decision, announced last week, and which heralded a "definitive end" to "armed activity," this after a decades long armed campaign that resulted in 829 deaths.
The Friends of Ireland group in Congress, in a statement, said that one of the byproducts of the Irish peace process was that it has become a model for successful conflict resolution around the globe.
The Friends welcomed the ETA announcement, during a conference in San Sebastian, Spain, attended by Ahern, Adams, Tony Blair and other political leaders.
"From the Middle East to Sri Lanka, other societies in conflict have looked to the political leaders on that island (Ireland) to learn the lessons of peacemaking and ending armed confrontations," the Friends statement said.
"For those of us in Congress who witnessed and participated in the Irish experience firsthand, we support those who find alternatives to conflict and take risks for peace. We agree with the international group that a genuine opportunity for peace and reconciliation in the region is within reach and must be seized. With the unprecedented ETA statement, we hope talks that address the consequences of the conflict can now begin, and a new era free of violence follows," the statement said.
It was signed Rep. Richard Neal of Massachusetts, Rep. Jerry Costello from Illinois and Rep. Tim Holden of Pennsylvania.
