Obama in Belfast: honorary degree and O2 Arena talk on peace, democracy and Middle East

Mixed · 2Former US president Barack Obama visited Belfast on Tuesday 13 October, accepting an honorary doctorate from Queen's University Belfast and later speaking at the O2 arena. 1 2 Mixed · 2At Queen's he called the Good Friday Agreement "still a shining example of what can happen when people put aside old wounds and choose peace", and said that "peace and democracy are not inevitable. They have to be chosen, again and again." 1 2 Left · 1In the evening he was interviewed at the O2 by writer and journalist Susan McKay, in front of what the Irish Times put at 7,000 people; it is one of three stops on a speaking tour that also takes in Glasgow and Manchester. 2

Centre · 1Asked what hope means to him, Obama said the Good Friday Agreement came about "not just because of exhaustion and people being weary of violence" but because "somebody started imagining something better", and that he would "insist that we can do better than we're doing right now". 1 Centre · 1On the Middle East, Obama said he was "not as hopeful as I want to be in the short term", pointing to the aftermath of Gaza, the strengthening of right-wing forces in Israel, the settler movement and changes on the West Bank, and said a genuine cessation of violence and relief for Gaza would have to come first. 1 Left · 1He also said Israelis and Palestinians "aren't going anywhere", urged Israelis to rethink how their children will live in the region, told Palestinians they cannot "outkill, outweaponise the Israelis" and should look to nonviolent strategies, and set a minimum goal of stopping encroachment into the West Bank while helping Gaza rebuild. 2

Left · 1He said democracy must "not be taken for granted", backed large institutions such as the UN and EU while saying they need reform, and named people getting their news from social media as "a big piece" of why democracies seem under attack. 2 Left · 1The Irish Times reported that Obama did not directly attack President Donald Trump, as one attendee had hoped; it read his remark that a Middle East effort would need "a US government that is willing to engage in that creative work which may not be forthcoming for a while" and his line about democracy in the United States as implicit criticism. 2 Left · 1The Irish Times also reported that tickets cost from about £60 to £1,000 for a VIP package, and that Obama said his wife Michelle "is doing wonderfully"; the event ended with him agreeing to "walk on air", quoting Seamus Heaney's epitaph. 2