February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
Moreover, far from suspending the assembly elections set for next May, they want elections called earlier than May.
The letter to Blair, dated Monday, Oct. 21, was signed by Reps. Ben Gilman, Peter King, Richard Neal and Joe Crowley. They said they had learned with regret of the suspension of the assembly and executive, which had been carried out to avert a collapse of the power-sharing government.
The four described the power-sharing government as the “cornerstone” of the peace agreement and “our greatest hope” for a Northern Ireland free of violence. “Accordingly, we believe it is imperative to move toward an early restoration of the Northern Ireland Assembly and the Executive in order to prevent a political vacuum which has the potential to be filled by paramilitary elements from either side,” they said.