Queen praises the peacemakers

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.