Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State to the House and thank him for outlining the Government’s current position on the Ukraine. However, the sands are shifting and the crisis continues to escalate. The recent takeover by pro-Russian separatists of Ukrainian army personnel carriers has escalated the crisis to a new plain. It seems likely that the forthcoming talks in Geneva will end up as a verbal fight between the Russian foreign Minister, Mr. Sergei Lavrov, and the Ukrainian foreign Minister, Mr. Andrii Deshchytsia.
There is an old saying that those who ignore history are condemned to repeat it. What is going on in the Ukraine and Mr. Putin’s sabre-rattling is reminiscent of Hitler and his attitude to the Sudeten Germans in 1938. The Sudeten German Party, led by Konrad Henlein, received both verbal and financial support from Hitler. Hitler had constantly talked about putting all Germans into one reichand that no true German would have to live outside of Germany. How reminiscent is that of the language of the Russian President, Mr. Putin, in recent months? In 1938, Hitler ordered his generals to start to make plans for the invasion of Czechoslovakia. He also ordered Henlein and his followers to start to create trouble in the Sudetenland, therefore proving to the outside world that the Czech Government was incapable of maintaining order in its own state. An exact parallel can be found in the utterances coming from Moscow over the past several weeks since the crisis first escalated.
Hitler planned to use this chaos to put his army into the Sudetenland to restore law and order. Fomenting confusion and anarchy in the eastern part of Ukraine is the secret agenda of the Moscow Government so it can justify marching the Russian army into the region to protect the Russian minority there. That is why I am heartened by the Minister’s points about the common approach taken by the EU. I understand the significance and implications of sanctions, particularly with the move to phase 3 which will impose severe repercussions for the Russian and western European economies. What will be the implications of such a move for Ireland?
Ireland is sympathetic to the Ukrainian cause. I am pleased there are representatives of the Ukrainian community in the Visitors Gallery to hear this debate. I want to reassure them that the Irish people are in solidarity and at one with their cause to ensure their territorial integrity and sovereignty is maintained. We have a long and dark history of colonialism stretching over centuries. The Irish people have an empathy with any country such as Ukraine when its sovereignty is threatened with violation and invasion.
An interesting aspect of the 1938 Sudetenland crisis that draws a parallel with the present day crisis is that Britain, under Neville Chamberlain, chose to negotiate with Hitler over the Sudeten crisis. Part of the reason for that was because Britain was incapable militarily of taking on the might of the Third Reich. France had signed an agreement with Czechoslovakia offering support if the country was attacked. However, Hitler could all but guarantee that in 1938 the French would do nothing. The USSR had also given Czechoslovakia a promise of help but the USSR was in internal chaos during this time and unlikely to help Czechoslovakia out.
History proves that one has to stand up to bullyboy tactics. I urge the European Union collectively to stand down the Russian President, Mr. Putin, and his expansionist plans. Irrespective of what he is saying, I do not believe one word coming from Moscow. I believe they want to break up the Ukraine and take away its eastern provinces to incorporate them into the Russian Federation. That is unacceptable. The Minister of State made it clear that any violation of Ukrainian sovereignty would be met with stiff resistance from the European Union. As Churchill put it, it is far better to jaw-jaw than war-war. I hope the continuing negotiations will bear fruit.
Ultimately, we in the European Union, and in Ireland as part of it, stand steadfast with the people of the Ukraine and support them in their free and democratic elections in the next month. One of the key planks of the argument made by pro-Russian forces is that they do not want to deal with what they see as an undemocratic and fascist-led Government in Kiev. It is unfortunate that in the current interim administration, there are representatives of a party, the ideology of which none of us would share. It is an unfortunate reality that, following the revolution in Kiev, the compromise arrived at by the various democratic forces has resulted in part of the Government comprising a party that would not be acceptable in any country. I hope this is a temporary arrangement and the people of the Ukraine will have the opportunity to elect a free and democratic Government. I am pleased the Minister of State indicated there will be Irish monitors there next month for the presidential election.
We on the Fianna Fáil side fully support the Minister of State’s and the Government’s efforts to ensure the Ukraine, ultimately, will live in peaceful co-existence with its Russian neighbours.