Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)

I thank Deputies Higgins and Costello for raising this issue. On behalf of the Government, I welcome this opportunity to comment on the recent events in Burma.

The Government remains gravely concerned at the appalling situation in Burma. The people of Burma have made clear their demands for democracy, national reconciliation and an end to military dictatorship and the Irish Government and people stand firmly behind them. The regime has tried to quell the voices of the monks, nuns and unarmed civilians, peacefully demonstrating on the streets, through bullets, beatings, gassings, widespread arrests and brutal repression. We do not yet know the numbers killed, injured, arrested or missing, and we may never know them precisely. The regime has worked to cut off communications with the outside world in the hope of covering up what it has been doing, but it has not been able to hide the evidence of its brutal regime, nor the strength of discontent and opposition to its rule among the people of Burma.

The Irish Government has long taken a strong position on the situation in Burma. We have spoken out firmly on the issue for many years at the UN General Assembly and in all other appropriate fora. We consistently raise our concerns in meetings with ASEAN and other Asian countries. In international meetings where our Ministers and officials have encountered Burmese Ministers or delegations, we have used the opportunity to make clear, in a forthright manner, the views of the Government and people of Ireland.

Through our Irish Aid programme, we have provided some support for humanitarian causes and for the democratic process. We maintain close links with Burma Action Ireland and the small Burmese community in Ireland, and we provide some support for their activities. We have worked proactively to ensure that Burma remains high among the priorities of the EU and the UN and have supported discussions at the Human Rights Council, at the UN General Assembly and the Security Council.

In recent weeks, the Government has stepped up its action in support of the Burmese people. In the early days of the popular demonstrations, on 24 August, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Dermot Ahern, made a statement calling for the release of key democracy activists, and for the initiation of inclusive dialogue with opposition parties. As the situation intensified, he followed up with a statement on 24 September in support of the demonstrators, and appealed to the regime to exercise restraint, to release all political detainees and to initiate a process of dialogue and national reconciliation. Immediately following the widespread attacks on the unarmed demonstrators on 26 September, he forcefully condemned the use of force and called again for restraint, dialogue and reconciliation.

The Minister also called on ASEAN and other Asian countries, which may exercise influence on the Burmese regime, to do all in their power to protect the people of Burma, to encourage restraint, dialogue and reconciliation and to support the role of the UN and, in particular, an immediate visit to the country by the UN Secretary General's special envoy, Dr. Ibrahim Gambari. He followed up these statements by writing to the Foreign Ministers of China and India, calling for them to use their influence to stop the violence in Burma and encourage positive change. These messages were delivered to the ambassadors of China and India in Dublin and by our ambassadors in Beijing and New Delhi.

At the request of the Minister, Deputy Dermot Ahern, our ambassadors in the ASEAN region have made urgent démarches to the Governments of Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand. Our ambassadors at the UN in New York and Geneva remain active in conveying these messages to Security Council members, ASEAN and Asian neighbours of Burma. We are pleased that these representations have received encouraging responses.

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