THE Queen yesterday paid tribute to peacemakers in Northern Ireland
and expressed hope for an end to hostilities in Russia.
In a reflective Christmas broadcast, she said peace was ''gradually
taking root'' in Northern Ireland. There was ''real hope of a permanent
end to the bitterness of recent years'', she said.
A reference to war in the breakaway Chechen region of Russia was
clearly a sensitive issue.
The Queen, who was pictured twice with Russia's President Boris
Yeltsin during the television version of the Christmas message, said she
would pray for peace at home and abroad -- ''not least in Russia
itself''.
She recalled her historic state visit to Russia in October and the
Second World War D-Day 50th anniversary commemorations in Normandy in
June.
''While we were in St Petersburg, we had the opportunity to honour the
millions of patriotic Russians who died fighting the common enemy,'' she
said.
''To see British and Russian veterans standing together, in memory of
the sacrifices of their comrades-in-arms, was a moving experience.
''I never thought it would be possible in my lifetime to join with the
Patriarch of Moscow and his congregation in a service in that wonderful
cathedral in the heart of the Moscow Kremlin.
''This Christmas, as we pray for peace at home and abroad, not least
in Russia itself, we can also give thanks that such cathedrals and
churches will be full and that the great bells which greeted us will be
ringing out to celebrate our saviour's birth.''
The Queen said there were frequent reminders that violence and hatred
were still all too much in evidence.
''We can take some comfort, however, from the fact that more people
throughout the world, year by year, have real hope of their children
growing up in peace and free from fear,'' she said.
''Last Christmas we were witnessing the signs of a new dawn after the
long night of bitterness, and this year these signs have become steadily
stronger.
''If that new dawn is to be a real, and not a false one, courage,
patience, and faith will be sorely needed -- those same qualities which
kept the flame of hope alive in the war-torn countries of Europe and the
Far East in the dark days of the last war.''
Christ had taught us to love our enemies and to do good to those who
that hate us, the Queen said.
''It is a hard lesson to learn, but this year we have seen shining
examples of that generosity of spirit which alone can banish division
and prejudice.
''In Northern Ireland, peace is gradually taking root; a fully
democratic South Africa has been welcomed back into the Commonwealth;
and, in the Middle East, long-standing enmities are healing.''
She asked what was it that made people turn from violence, and try to
bring peace to their community. ''Most of all, I believe, it is their
determination to bring reality to their hopes of a better world for
their children.
''The sight of the happy faces of children and young people in Russia,
in South Africa, where so much has changed with such extraordinary speed
in the last year, and in Northern Ireland, where there is real hope of a
permanent end to the bitterness of recent years, should be enough to
convince even the most hard-hearted that peace is worth striving for.''
Next year's 50th anniversary of the end of the Second World War could
leave a lasting mark in history if people resolved to live in peace.
''If we resolve to be considerate and to help our neighbours; to make
friends with people of different races and religions; and, as our Lord
said, to look to our own faults before we criticise others, we will be
keeping faith with those who landed in Normandy and fought so doggedly
for their belief in freedom, peace, and human decency,'' the Queen said.
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