Tom Kitt (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)

I am grateful to my colleague, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, for agreeing to share time with me on this important motion.

As parliamentarians, we should not underestimate the significance of today's debate and the influence we can bring to bear on the plight of a fellow parliamentarian whose human rights are being denied. I express my thanks to my colleague, Deputy Howlin, a fellow member for many years of a European parliamentary network organisation, AEPA, Association of European Parliamentarians for Africa, who raised Roy Bennett's case with me some weeks ago, putting forward the possibility of Dáil Éireann highlighting Mr. Bennett's case. I recall that during the late 1980s, shortly after my election to the Dáil, at the height of the apartheid regime in South Africa, Deputy Howlin, I and other colleagues in this House met the ANC in Harare and Lusaka. These were days when Mr. Mugabe and company were highly regarded internationally as they led the push for freedom and democracy in South Africa.

This motion is before the House thanks to the support of my colleague, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Dermot Ahern, and my staff. Deputy Nolan informed me last night that Mr. David Coltard, MP, a colleague of Roy Bennett in Zimbabwe and spokesman on justice for the MDC, contacted the Deputy to say that there is considerable awareness in Zimbabwe of our debate today. He told Deputy Nolan that we have given him and others great encouragement and confidence in their campaign.

Like many others in this House, I am greatly concerned at the treatment of Roy Bennett and the arbitrary manner in which he has been sentenced to 12 months' imprisonment for an offence which ordinarily would attract only a very small fine on conviction in a civil court. As parliamentarians, I believe we are all affronted by the procedures used by the ZANU-PF majority in the Zimbabwean Parliament in convicting and sentencing Roy Bennett. While not condoning in any way Mr. Bennett's behaviour which resulted in his imprisonment, it is clear there was no real effort by those who subsequently heard his case to ensure justice or provide him with a fair and impartial hearing. This departure from internationally accepted parliamentary norms has been protested by speakers of other parliaments. I urge the Ceann Comhairle to make known the very strong views of the House on this matter by conveying the terms of our motion to the speaker of the Zimbabwean Parliament.

Roy Bennett's treatment sadly illustrates the climate of oppression and lack of respect for human rights which prevails in Zimbabwe today. It is difficult to escape the conclusion that an underlying motivation in jailing Mr. Bennett has been a desire on the part of those in power in Zimbabwe to silence a vocal critic of the regime. The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Dermot Ahern, has outlined the various steps which the Government has taken to raise Mr. Bennett's case. Ireland has urged action at EU level and steps are being taken to express the Union's concerns to Zimbabwe's neighbours in the SADC community. I just returned from South Africa last week and availed of the opportunity to make known our concerns on Mr. Bennett's treatment to the political leaders whom I met there. We must continue to urge SADC members to use whatever influence they can to improve the political and human rights situation in Zimbabwe.

We are just one week away from important parliamentary elections in Zimbabwe. Unfortunately, the conduct of the campaign to date does not give great cause for optimism that the people of Zimbabwe will be able to participate in a free and fair poll next Thursday. Numerous reports by organisations such as Amnesty International and the Law Society of Zimbabwe have highlighted how intimidatory tactics and the use of repressive legislation have stifled political debate and ensured the playing field is not level for all competing parties. Even at this late stage, one can only urge the Zimbabwean Government to honour its commitments to comply fully with the SADC guidelines for the holding of democratic elections. It will be important to base any judgment on the election outcome on the degree to which there has been compliance with these guidelines. As mentioned by the Minister, efforts are being made to enable the Irish Ambassador in South Africa to be present in Zimbabwe to monitor the elections with other EU ambassadors.

The Government intends to remain active on the issue of Zimbabwe in the coming months. The people of Zimbabwe deserve a better future than the failed policies pursued by the Mugabe Government. Ireland and its EU partners will continue efforts to ensure that this better future is delivered. One way in which the Zimbabwe Government can demonstrate willingness to reform is to review the unjust sentencing of Roy Bennett. The Government will continue to press for this and will remain active on his behalf.

Today's debate is unprecedented. Today we remove our political party shirts and collectively wear our national colours in uniting behind the case of Roy Bennett. I am confident that our efforts and the efforts of other parliaments throughout the world will make a difference.

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