Rich Neal: “I want to also thank the gentleman from New York (Mr. Crowley) and say that in the short period of time that he has been…”

“I want to also thank the gentleman from New York (Mr. Crowley) and say that in the short period of time that he has been here he has been able to raise the profile of these kinds of issues. I think it is a testament to how successful and effective he has been in this short period of time. I certainly want to thank the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith) as well for the Rosemary Nelson, I think, opportunity where we could shed some light on that issue for the world to indeed see. While we celebrate the first anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement in the north of Ireland, an agreement which people in the north of Ireland and the Republic of Ireland have now offered their support for, we nonetheless, I think, have to call attention to the 1-year anniversary in this sense: The people voted for an agreement which is historic in nature. This problem, again the longest standing political dispute in the history of the Western world, begins in geography eight centuries ago, certainly was reinforced during the Reformation, but during the last 30 years it has been a battle about civil rights. What I think is significant about the Good Friday Agreement is that again both communities in the north of Ireland, both traditions, voted for the agreement. So we ask ourselves today, why has it not been implemented as the people voted? The answer is this: Because once again the unionist community has said the famous word ``no.''”