President Clinton has decided not to visit Northern Ireland during the referendum campaign following advice from the British government and some of the unionist parties. Instead he has announced a modest package of aid measures.
He has also asked Mrs Hillary Clinton to take part in a conference in Belfast next autumn dealing with women's issues. Called Vital Voices, the conference will be co-sponsored by the US.
The President will be disappointed that his plan to go to Belfast while in Britain next week for an economic summit has had to be dropped in face of unionist warnings that it could be seen as interference. His adviser on economic initiatives for Ireland, Mr Jim Lyons, said yesterday that he would not rule out a visit by the President later in the year.
Mr Lyons said that it was regrettable that the extra support the President might have inspired for the peace agreement might now be lost.
Mr Clinton yesterday met 10 victims of political violence in Northern Ireland who have been visiting the US. He said in a statement that he was "inspired by their courage in rejecting violence and working for lasting peace."
Describing the Belfast Agreement as offering the people of Northern Ireland "the chance of a lifetime to secure a lasting peace," the President said, "It is time for all the parties to say no - once and for all - to violence and yes to hope."
He urged voters in Northern Ireland "to make a decisive break with the past and launch a brighter future."
Announcing a series of actions to "bolster the foundations of peace", the President said that since 1993 his Administration and Congress had contributed $100 million to the International Fund for Ireland to aid Northern Ireland and the Border counties of the Republic. Mr Clinton said he would work with Congress to secure $5 million to complete the £70 million Springvale Campus project on the peace line in Belfast. Mr Lyons denied a news agency report that the White House press secretary had said that Mr Clinton would urge Congress to support his request for $75 million over two years for the IFI. The present budget is $19.6 million annually.
The other economic measures announced by the President yesterday include support by the US Information Agency for the Springvale Campus and for Worktrain, a Northern Ireland "welfare-to-work" scheme.
Some US funding will also be made available to help the communities in Northern Ireland "build the new institutions created by the April 10th accord". This could involve bringing politicians to the US to study American methods.
Finally, there will be a high-level US business delegation to Northern Ireland in early June led by the Secretary of Commerce, Mr William Daley.