Pat Moylan (Fianna Fail)

The Minister, Deputy Michael Smith, is an important and active Minister in the Government. I compliment on and thank him for his work for the Defence Forces. It is acknowledged throughout the country that the Minister has made a major contribution to the development of facilities for the Defence Forces.

I will outline the reason our troops are going to Liberia. The people of Ireland are proud to have troops with the ability and training to take on this important work. Last October the west African peacekeepers in Liberia traded their camouflage helmets for the blue helmets of UN forces, inaugurating a new UN mission intended to secure lasting peace for a nation in ruins after 14 years of conflict. In August, Nigerian troops were the first to arrive to halt the fighting between rebel groups and the government of former warlord Charles Taylor. The Nigerian-led peace force succeeded in imposing a ceasefire in Monrovia, ending fighting that killed more than 1,000 civilians in the city.

Mr. Taylor resigned under international pressure on 11 August, leading to a power sharing and peace deal between the government and rebels. Liberia descended into chaos in 1989 when Mr. Taylor, then a warlord, invaded the country from neighbouring Ivory Coast. Following his seven year insurgency that led to the death of more than 150,000 people, war weary Liberians elected him president in 1997. Insurgents took up arms against him in 1999 and marched on the capital in June.