Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)

None of our aid goes directly to the Zimbabwean Government. It goes to the NGOs and other organisations. I agree with the Deputy that the international community needs to mobilise support to put as much pressure as possible on this regime, which, unfortunately, has been there for some time. However, there are signs, as instanced by some comments by the US ambassador, that there seems to be a much more open revolt against the Government than heretofore. The problem all along was that anyone who spoke out previously was very quickly put down, but there are now so many voices calling for human rights and fair play that the Zimbabwean Government will ultimately have to give in to pressure.

See this speech in context