Hillary Urges Ireland Peace

First lady Hillary Rodham Clinton appealed to Northern Ireland's women Thursday to make the killing earlier this year of a Roman Catholic lawyer "a final rebuke" to anyone trying to derail the peace process.

Mrs. Clinton said the people who planted a bomb in the car of lawyer Rosemary Nelson must not be allowed to quiet the voices of those pursuing peace. "Women will not be deterred," Mrs. Clinton told about 400 female activists, community workers and politicians at a conference called "Vital Voices: Women in Democracy."

Mrs. Nelson's March 15 murder "must stand as a final rebuke to all who have tried to derail the peace process," said the first lady.

Referring to the peace agreement reached in April 1998, Mrs. Clinton praised the province for "the way people have pulled together to make peace real and in our times."

"We look at what you are doing here in Northern Ireland...to send a message to people around the world of what can be done," she said.

David Trimble, the designated leader of Northern Ireland's new government, also praised the work of the province's women, saying it was their "courage and commitment" that helped "maintain the fabric of civil society through many dark days over the last 30 years."

Though the peace accord spelled out the formation of the Protestant-Catholic coalition government, it has been delayed by a dispute over the Irish Republican Army's refusal to disarm.

Mrs. Clinton has used her two-day visit to Northern Ireland, her second in eight months, to focus attention on the critical role of women and children in building a lasting peace.

During a London visit Thursday, Mrs. Clinton said that modern society must do better at listening to young people. She cited last month's school shootings in Littleton, Colo., saying everything pales in comparison to the need to keep children safe.

On Wednesday, she met with female members of the Northern Ireland's new assembly -- another outgrowth of the accord -- and helped launch a playground designed to cross the sectarian divide by encouraging Protestant and Catholic children to get to know each other on neutral ground.

Mrs. Clinton was scheduled to fly to London later Thursday to address a conference about human rights for children. She also planned to visit Macedonian camps for Kosovo refugees on Friday before returning home to Washington.