Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 27 April 2021

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence

Situation in Myanmar: Discussion with Dr. Mary C. Murphy

Photo of Joe O'ReillyJoe O'Reilly (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I join colleagues in thanking Dr. Murphy for speaking to us today and for her passionate interest in this area. I glanced through her research project on the parliament, which is so sad. At the time of her research, it looked as if things would be so different. She met what seemed to be a very enthusiastic set of parliamentarians who wanted to do their job better. As has been said by the Chairman and Deputy Brady, the images on television of the unfolding humanitarian crisis are so distressing. We know that at least 720 people have been killed and more than 3,000 imprisoned. We also know a little of the barbarity that exists in the prisons and the overall picture is very distressing. It is good that we are addressing these issues here today.

Am I correct in assuming, in terms of geopolitics, that the military junta is being supported by China and to a lesser degree by Russia? Is that why the ASEAN response did not include releasing prisoners and was somewhat muted? Is there a connection there? Would it be fair to say that we in the West, including the USA, are supporting the return of the National Unity Government, NUG, and that China is supporting the military junta? Is that a valid assessment and if so, what are the implications of that? If it is not valid, I would be interested in hearing more from Dr. Murphy. It is very interesting to see that the ASEAN agreement fell short of a full settlement or was that done on a tactical basis to try to achieve some moderate solution initially? I presume Dr. Murphy is happy with what we are doing within the UN Security Council. The briefing documentation would suggest that we are very active at the Security Council on this question, as we should be. I presume Dr. Murphy is happy in that regard.

I understand from the briefing material that in excess of €1 million was given directly in aid to Myanmar. What is Dr. Murphy's view of the entire humanitarian effort? I presume it is never good enough but is she satisfied that the aid is getting to its intended target or is the junta making efforts to thwart that? Dr. Murphy's recommendations to us with regard to the embassies are eminently sensible and, as the Chairman said, we will discuss them further as a committee. I thank Dr. Murphy very much.

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