Peacemaker George Mitchell makes poignant Belfast return

By JILL LAWLESS
Associated Press

BELFAST, Northern Ireland (AP) — The first time George Mitchell came to Belfast, it was a war-scarred city of bomb damage and barbed wire. This week the former U.S. senator returned to a city whose peace he was crucial to forging. Now 89 and being treated for leukemia, Mitchell says it may be his last visit. But he was determined to be in Belfast to mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement. Mitchell chaired the arduous negotiations that led to the 1990 peace accord. He told The Associated Press Tuesday that the Good Friday Agreement has been “a remarkable success, but much more is needed” to deliver on its promise.