Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)

I am pleased to move this motion regarding the case of Mr. Roy Bennett, the Movement for Democratic Change, MDC, Member of Parliament in the Zimbabwean Parliament. It is important that Dáil Éireann should have the opportunity to discuss and convey its concerns regarding this serious ill-treatment of a fellow parliamentarian in a country with which Ireland has strong links.

Both the German and Swedish Parliaments have conveyed their concerns via their respective speakers to the Zimbabwean authorities regarding the treatment of Mr. Bennett, while the European Parliament has also commented critically on Mr. Bennett's treatment in a resolution adopted last December. The Government has closely followed Mr. Bennett's case and shares many of the concerns expressed regarding the manner in which Mr. Bennett has been treated and the handling of the matter by the Zimbabwean Parliament.

There is no doubt that certain of the procedures employed in the establishment of the committee of privileges of the Zimbabwean Parliament, which heard Mr. Bennett's case and which subsequently sentenced him to 12 months' imprisonment with labour, are open to question. From a review of the events following the incident in the Zimbabwean Parliament on 18 May 2004, during which Mr. Bennett shoved the Zimbabwean Minister for Justice to the floor, it is difficult to conclude in any objective way that Mr. Bennett received a fair hearing. It is also clear that Mr. Bennett was subjected to considerable provocation immediately prior to the incident, which resulted in his imprisonment.

While I do not wish to condone those actions that resulted in Mr. Bennett's imprisonment, it is clear that the sentence imposed was politically motivated and wholly disproportionate to the offence committed. There is no precedent for the Zimbabwean Parliament having sentenced one of its members to imprisonment in this way, even though similar events have occurred in that legislature in the past. The severity of the sentence is unprecedented internationally.

At my request, our embassy in South Africa, which is also accredited to Zimbabwe, has been actively pursuing the case of Mr. Bennett. Our ambassador conveyed our serious concerns at a meeting with the acting director general of the Zimbabwean Foreign Ministry in Harare on 8 March. The ambassador has also raised Mr. Bennett's case with a wide range of contacts during his regular visits to Zimbabwe, including the Zimbabwean Lawyers for Human Rights, the MDC and the much-respected figure of Archbishop Pius Ncube.

The Government has chosen to raise Mr. Bennett's case on account of the serious political and human rights issues that arise. Mr. Bennett is not an Irish citizen and, accordingly, we have no consular standing in the matter. Our embassy has not received any approaches from the Bennett family to intervene on his behalf. Our ambassador is extremely active in engaging with and working on behalf of the sizeable Irish community in Zimbabwe. As with the remainder of the Zimbabwean population, the Irish community in that country has many concerns arising from the serious political, human rights and humanitarian situation that prevails there.

The ambassador and his diplomatic staff pay regular visits to Zimbabwe for the purpose of meeting the Irish community. In an effort to improve the level of consular service that we provide to our nationals in Zimbabwe, I have decided in principle to appoint an honorary consul general in Zimbabwe and will pursue the modalities of such an appointment with the Zimbabwean authorities.

Ireland, along with the UK, has also taken the lead in raising Mr. Bennett's case at EU level and ensuring that EU ambassadors in Harare remain active on this matter. The EU is now taking steps to discuss the affair with the members of SADC, the Southern African Development Community, of which Zimbabwe is a member, as an example of the continuing failure of the Zimbabwean Government to improve the human rights situation in Zimbabwe in areas such as freedom of expression and association, despite commitments to do so in advance of this month's parliamentary elections.

I regret that efforts to appeal Mr. Bennett's sentencing in the Zimbabwean High Court have proved unsuccessful. He continues to be held in deplorable conditions in prison. A welcome and positive development, however, has been the decision of the new electoral court in Zimbabwe on 15 March to rule against efforts to disqualify Mr. Bennett and prevent him from standing in this month's elections. Pending an appeal the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission yesterday decided to lodge, Mr. Bennett has been cleared to stand in the poll in his Chimanimani district, which has been put back for one month and is due to take place on 30 April to provide a reasonable period for campaigning.

Mr. Bennett's treatment needs to be seen as part of an overall pattern of harassment, intimidation and violence that opposition politicians and supporters have faced in Zimbabwe for some years. The well documented incidents of violence and intimidation directed against Mr. Bennett and his family are, unfortunately, all too indicative of the repressive atmosphere currently prevailing in Zimbabwe. The overall human rights situation in Zimbabwe has, if anything, deteriorated since EU sanctions, targeted against the ruling elite, were first imposed in February 2002. In this regard, a particularly worrying development recently has been the adoption of legislation by the Zimbabwean Parliament that would severely restrict the operations of non-governmental organisations, particularly those in the human rights and humanitarian fields.

Ireland, both nationally and as part of the EU, has made known our concerns to the Zimbabwean authorities at ministerial level regarding the possible serious implications of this new legislation. The adoption of further repressive legislation of this type, along with the failure to make any real progress towards meeting the EU's benchmarks on improving respect for democracy, human rights and the rule of law in Zimbabwe, left the Union with no choice but to renew its restrictive measures for a further 12 months when the External Relations Council considered the issue last month.

It is against this unfavourable background that parliamentary elections have now been called for 31 March in Zimbabwe. This election will represent an important watershed for Zimbabwe and for testing whether there is a real willingness on the part of the Mugabe Government to implement political reforms and work to improve the situation in Zimbabwe as regards democracy, human rights and respect for the rule of law. The Government welcomes the fact that the MDC, despite the many obstacles it faces, has now chosen to participate in these elections.

An important yardstick by which the Government and our EU partners will assess the elections which take place on 31 March are the guidelines for holding democratic elections adopted by SADC leaders at its summit in Mauritius last August. These principles cover, inter alia, full participation of citizens in the political process, freedom of association, political tolerance, equal access to the media for all parties and respecting the independence of the judiciary and the media. The Zimbabwean Government initially committed itself to comply with these guidelines but, to date, has not demonstrated sufficient intent to introduce the necessary changes to guarantee a free and fair election.

While some positive changes have been made, they are very far from meeting the minimum threshold represented by the SADC guidelines. It is quite clear from the conduct of the election campaign to date that conditions that would equate to international standards for holding free and transparent elections cannot really be said to exist on the ground in Zimbabwe. Members of the MDC continue to be harassed and subject to state violence and arrest for attempting to campaign. Newspapers continue to be closed down by the Zimbabwean Government while the state-run broadcast media eschew any notion of balance in their campaign coverage.

Human Rights Watch has concluded in a report issued earlier this week that, due to the lack of respect demonstrated by the Zimbabwean Government for the basic freedoms prescribed in the SADC guidelines, the forthcoming elections are highly unlikely to reflect the free expression of the electorate. The Zimbabwean Government has also singularly failed to comply with the SADC guidelines in the manner in which it has belatedly issued invitations to a restricted number of countries and organisations to observe the elections. No EU country has been invited to send external observers. The Zimbabwean Government has also sought to exclude the SADC parliamentary forum, the only African group that criticised the conduct of the 2002 presidential elections as not being free and fair.

The EU will be required to rely on those invited to monitor, including international and national NGOs, as well as the reports of EU diplomats based in Harare to form its assessment of the election outcome. The Government intends to seek accreditation for our ambassador in Pretoria to join with other EU resident ambassadors in observing the elections, subject to securing the necessary clearances. In the short period which now remains before the elections, Ireland and our EU partners are continuing to engage closely with the SADC and key member states such as South Africa, urging them to use all the influence they have to ensure that, even at this late stage, Zimbabwe complies to the fullest extent possible with the SADC guidelines in advance of the elections.

I also hope the SADC will report objectively on the conduct of the elections, including by indicating clearly where the Zimbabwean Government has failed to comply in substance or in spirit with the SADC guidelines. Along with our EU partners, Ireland will continue to press for the lifting of repressive legislation and greater respect for democracy, human rights and the rule of law in Zimbabwe. We will ensure that the closest possible attention is given to the deplorable human rights situation in Zimbabwe at the current session of the UN Commission on Human Rights in Geneva.

The Government will continue to follow closely the case of Mr. Bennett and others who have been unfairly imprisoned in Zimbabwe and will use what influence we have to press for an early review of his unjust sentencing and consequential release. Accordingly, I am happy to commend the terms of this motion to the Dáil.

See this speech in context