Benjamin Gilman: “I want to thank Mr. Walsh, the distinguished Chairman of the Friends of Ireland for tonight's Special Order. The Irish…”

“I want to thank Mr. Walsh, the distinguished Chairman of the Friends of Ireland for tonight's Special Order. The Irish peace process is in crisis and we need to make sure that both governments and peace loving people around the globe know what happened and why we are here. It is disappointing and a step backwards in the search for lasting peace and justice in the north of Ireland that the British Government has suspended the vital power sharing institutions that had been the best chance to produce overall change in the north. Even after positive steps were being made to resolve the arms issue, the unionist veto by the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) was again exercised to force suspension under the threat of resignation by the UUP's First Minister, David Trimble. Terms of the Good Friday Accord set out the time frames and means to bring about lasting change, including removal of the guns from Irish politics. Those who have unilaterally changed its terms and exercised a veto over its operation and terms once again must explain their intransigence to the Irish people, both north and south, who support the Good Friday Accord in overwhelming terms. We need to get the institutions back up and running in order to create the climate and framework for arms decommissioning as envisioned by the terms of the Good Friday Accord.”