Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the motion. I welcome that the Government, the Minister, Deputy Coveney, and the Minister of State, Deputy Byrne, have brought the motion before the House as it is very important that we would do that. As I was coming into Leinster House earlier today, I paused briefly to speak to some of the demonstrators who had gathered outside the gates in solidarity with the people of Belarus. The thought struck me, as I informed one of the protesters that I would be speaking on the motion this evening in solidarity with them, that, in their own country, those people could not do that. Thankfully, in our country, in our democracy, we can do that freely and safely without the risk of being imprisoned like the hundreds of political prisoners in Belarus at the moment.

On the doorstep of the European Union in recent times, we have witnessed appalling abuses of fundamental human rights, whether it is from the regime in Israel most recently, as they shamed itself in front of the world, in Turkey or, of course, in Belarus. I concur with the very strong condemnation that has been expressed by Members on all sides of the House in regard to what has been happening in Belarus. When we think about this, it is just over a two and a half hour drive from one of our EU capitals to Minsk but, really, it is like driving into a different world, a far darker world, a far more dangerous world and a repressed world, right on the doorstep of the European Union. How we act now and into the future will be critical in regard to the stability of that entire region, and the safety and security of the European Union as well.

I want to express my solidarity with Roman Protasevich, Sofia Sapega and all of the aforementioned prisoners in Belarus. I am calling for their immediate release and for fair and free elections to take place in Belarus. I concur with the entire wording of the very strong motion that is before the House. I echo the words of Deputy Neale Richmond in regard to ensuring that we go further and that we fully utilise our position on the UN Security Council to ensure there is a strong global response and strong global action against this tyrannical regime in Belarus. We have to give full consideration to the call by Deputy Richmond in regard to making Ireland a safe place for those repressed activists in Belarus to come to. We have to follow our words with strong actions. Deputy Richmond's proposal this evening is a very solid one and one that should be given strong consideration by the Government and enacted, if possible.

What happened in regard to Ryanair flight FR4978 was an affront to the European Union and to all of our freedoms. As an Irishman, given it was an Irish airline, I feel it was an affront to our country as well. We cannot allow that to happen again. We must ensure there is severe punishment for what happened. The danger of normalising this and allowing it to happen again is that it would have far-reaching consequences. I hope this was the final straw, that bridge too far. It was total brazenness by the regime in Belarus. I hope it will now also be the catalyst for a change of regime in Belarus. It is simply not acceptable and it can never be acceptable. As I said, it puts all of our freedoms at risk when this type of thing happens.

The work of Libereco has been mentioned. I have signed up to be a godparent for one of the imprisoned activists in Belarus and I would encourage all parliamentarians in this country to do likewise. I commend Deputy Richmond on his proactive work in that regard and the other Irish parliamentarians, here and in the European Parliament, who have done so as well. It is very important that we would show solidarity with people who are defending what is right, defending democracy, defending what we hold so dear and what we value as a country and as a people. It is right that we, as the fairly elected representatives of our people, send a very strong message across Europe and across the world in solidarity with people who are incarcerated for defending that very right. It is not acceptable and it is never acceptable.

When we look at the world in recent years, when we look across the Atlantic, when we look at the devaluation of democracy that we saw in particular during the Trump Administration, that goes some way to explaining how there can be a devaluation of democracy in far more questionable regimes. That is the thin end of the wedge, unfortunately, and it has played a part in where we are at today.

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