Dáil debates

Tuesday, 27 February 2018

Topical Issue Debate

Foreign Conflicts

7:05 pm

Photo of Gino KennyGino Kenny (Dublin Mid West, People Before Profit Alliance)
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Is the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade not here?

Photo of Richard BrutonRichard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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He is in Europe today. I will take the matter on his behalf.

Photo of Gino KennyGino Kenny (Dublin Mid West, People Before Profit Alliance)
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Some of the reports coming out of eastern Ghouta are horrific. Over the past nine days, 600 people have been killed, including 150 children. The reports are literally unbelievable - a massacre of civilians. It seems like the suffering of the ordinary Syrian people is never-ending. Many people who watch the news feel a sense of hopelessness. I certainly do when I see the horrendous situation in Syria.

There is something that the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade can do. He is not helpless. He should immediately call the Russian ambassador and ask why the latter's country is bombing eastern Ghouta, where 150 children and 600 people overall have been killed. He should ask how the ambassador can justify the indiscriminate bombing of hospitals and schools and the slaughter of people while the world watches on.

In Deputy Bruton's capacity as a Minister, he should immediately have the Russian ambassador to Ireland called to justify the war crimes with which the latter's Government is assisting the murderous Assad regime.

Photo of Richard Boyd BarrettRichard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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I echo that call. What is being done by the dictator Assad is horrific. His brutal and vicious attempt to crush what was a genuine popular uprising by the people of Syria against his dictatorship has been cruel in the extreme and backed by the military might of Russia, unleashing carnage on the people of Ghouta. Thousands of people who need to be medically evacuated cannot get out. Promises of humanitarian pauses come to nothing. The people are being pounded by Assad with the assistance of Russia.

I do not believe in external military interference in this situation. That has made it worse. The Saudis and United States have also backed militias. Turkey is invading parts of northern Syria to try to crush the Kurds because of its internal politics. The Iranians, who are trying to get involved, have a major case to answer for disgracefully backing Assad in his horrific attacks. It is ironic that Iran can rightly talk about the need for solidarity with the Palestinian people and yet support the dictator Assad in the vicious assault that he is waging against the people of eastern Ghouta in a war that has led to 11 million people, half of the population of Syria, being displaced. Most of that number is the responsibility of Assad and his key ally, Russia, but plenty of others also have responsibility and blood on their hands. The least we can do is exercise moral pressure, call in the Russian ambassador and ask him to justify the horrific actions that his Government is responsible for in Syria.

Photo of Richard BrutonRichard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputies for raising this matter. I share their despondency with the situation in eastern Ghouta. The pictures that we are seeing are horrifying even by the standards of this conflict, which has been appalling throughout. On behalf of the Government, I condemn in the strongest terms the continued attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure, including homes, hospitals and schools.

Regarding the Government's response, the Tánaiste attended the UN Security Council briefing on this issue in New York last week, where the UN Secretary General, Mr. António Guterres, appealed for an immediate suspension of violence in eastern Ghouta to allow for the delivery of humanitarian aid and for evacuations. Ireland strongly endorsed that call.

Ireland welcomes the adoption of a Security Council resolution on Saturday that called for an immediate ceasefire and unimpeded humanitarian access to besieged populations in Syria. However, the bombardment of eastern Ghouta has continued in defiance of this resolution. This morning, there were reports of continued attacks even during what was meant to be a five-hour pause. I am also concerned by the reports of chemical attacks in recent days. The Foreign Affairs Council of the EU met yesterday. Ireland added its voice to calls for the immediate and full implementation of the ceasefire demanded by the UN Security Council.

As to intervening with Russian authorities, I understand the Tánaiste previously met the Russian deputy foreign Minister, Mr. Vladimir Titov, and communicated directly our concerns to the Russian authorities about their support for the prolonged suffering of the Syrian people. Numerous times, he has relayed to the Russian ambassador Ireland's concern with the situation. I will convey to him the Deputies' call that further steps should be taken along this road.

It is a difficult situation. It is hard to continue hoping that political solutions can be found, but I understand that the UN special envoy, Mr. Staffan de Mistura, is continuing his efforts. Forlorn as they may seem at this stage, we are determined to support those efforts. As the Deputies know, there has been a policy of supporting sanctions and we support measures to ensure legal accountability for all of the war crimes that are being committed against humanity in Syria. Ireland takes the strongest possible view of this situation and welcomes the Deputies' support for our position.

Photo of Gino KennyGino Kenny (Dublin Mid West, People Before Profit Alliance)
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I will restate what I said - it is imperative that the Russian ambassador be called to account for the war crimes that his country is committing. That discussion should not be a past or passing thing. The ambassador should be brought before the Tánaiste and asked directly how his country can justify killing hundreds of people, not only in Ghouta, but also in Aleppo and other cities across Syria. He should be demanded to appear. That is the least the Government can do, not only for the poor suffering people of Syria, but also for the people of this country and the Syrians residing in Dublin who are asking what is happening in Syria. People are being slaughtered. He should be made accountable for the crimes of his country. Will the Minister, Deputy Bruton, give a commitment that the Russian ambassador will be summoned immediately to be questioned by the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade?

Photo of Richard Boyd BarrettRichard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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I echo the Deputy's comments. What Russia is doing is horrific. At the very least, it should be forced by our Government and every other country to justify the unjustifiable publicly. What Russia is doing to kids and innocent people cannot be justified - the devastation of eastern Ghouta, the slaughter of hundreds of people, the destruction of hospitals and schools etc.

Beyond that, we should continue pushing for the most generous support and acceptance of Syrian refugees fleeing from this horror into Europe. Europe's response to those refugees has not been great. It has essentially used Turkey as a buffer to keep many of these desperate Syrians out. Turkey is also implicated in this, given that it has invaded northern Syrian to serve its cynical desire to crush the Kurdish movement. We should be consistent across the entire region and call out, for example, the Saudi regime, which is backing militias in the area, and other external powers like the US that are inflaming a disaster in Syria for their own cynical interests, but let us start with the Russian ambassador by calling him in.

7:15 pm

Photo of Richard BrutonRichard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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I assure the Deputy the Russian authorities are in no doubt of Ireland's position but I will pass on his suggestion to the Minister. I share the Deputy's dismay. Over 13 million people have required humanitarian assistance in Syria alone and 5.5 million have fled to neighbouring countries. To be fair to the EU, to date it has mobilised more than €10.4 billion for humanitarian stabilisation and resilience assistance in Syria and neighbouring countries. It has hosted a donor conference with pledges of €5.6 billion in April 2017 and plans to host another conference in April 2018. It has also supported sanctions and so on. It is a really serious situation. Our calls are very small in comparison to the scale of what is happening. I absolutely share the condemnation the Deputies have expressed.