Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)

The Minister, Deputy Dermot Ahern, in his address today to the UN General Assembly in New York, will again highlight our concerns. He is taking every opportunity while at the General Assembly and in Washington to discuss the situation in Burma with the UN Secretary General, the US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, and other leaders.

The situation in Burma is truly deplorable, but we believe that the events of the past few weeks represent a possible turning point. For the first time, ASEAN, as an organisation, has spoken out in condemnation of the brutality of the Burmese regime, expressing its "revulsion" at the violence used against unarmed demonstrators and calling for national dialogue and reconciliation. Similarly, the Government of China — which maintains very close links with the Burmese regime — is working behind the scenes with the military leaders and has spoken out more clearly than ever before in calling not only for calm and stability, but also for reconciliation and democracy.

The significance of these statements and actions of Burma's regional neighbours cannot be underestimated. The immediate effect of the pressure brought to bear on Burma by China and ASEAN countries was the agreement of the regime to grant a visa to UN special envoy, Dr. Gambari, and its agreement to allow him to meet democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi. He met today with the junta leader, General Than Shwe, and will meet Ms Suu Kyi again tomorrow, before returning to New York on Thursday, where he is scheduled to brief the Security Council. The Secretary General has advised the Minister, Deputy Ahern, that Dr. Gambari will return to Burma next month.

At the UN Human Rights Council, Ireland actively supported the EU's call for a special session on Burma, which took place today, and delivered a strong national statement. We very much welcome the strong resolution adopted by consensus at the Council today — including, significantly, by Burma's regional neighbours. Among other provisions, the resolution deplores the regime's violent repression of peaceful protestors, calls for the human rights and fundamental freedoms of the people of Burma to be fully respected and demands international access to the country to investigate the situation. We believe this sends the clearest of signals to the Burmese regime that the international community is prepared to stand together to ensure that the days of impunity are over. Ireland and our EU partners apply a range of sanctions and restrictive measures to Burma. Options for an extension of sanctions are under urgent consideration. It is expected that EU Ministers will consider this question at the next General Affairs Council on 15 October. A priority for us is to ensure that any new measures are targeted against the regime and do not cause further suffering to the people of Burma.

The Government continues to stand firm with the people of Burma at this time as, I know, do the people of Ireland. We will continue to monitor developments in Burma very closely and to work unrelentingly with EU, the UN and the countries of Asia and to keep the focus of the world on the plight of the people of Burma.

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