Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Chair for his kind words and am glad to address this important issue in the House. I welcome this all-party motion on Burma and the further opportunity to set out the Government's views, which I know are widely shared across both Houses of the Oireachtas and throughout the country.

Although a semblance of calm has returned to cities and towns in Burma and the military regime there talks about a return to normalcy, the situation remains completely unacceptable. In recent weeks, the people of Burma made clear on the streets their unequivocal demands for democracy, national reconciliation and an end to military dictatorship and the Irish Government and people stand firmly behind them. The regime tried to quell the voices of monks, nuns and unarmed civilians who were peacefully demonstrating in the streets through bullets, beatings, tear-gassing, widespread arrests and brutal repression.

The numbers killed, injured, arrested or missing are not yet, and may never be, known precisely. While the regime has tried to cut off communication with the outside world in the hope of covering up its actions, it has not been able to hide the evidence of its brutality or the strength of discontent and opposition to its rule among the people of Burma.

The Government has long taken a strong position on Burma, including the detention of Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners. It has spoken out firmly on the issue for many years at the UN General Assembly and in all other appropriate fora. It raises its concerns consistently in meetings with the Association of South East Asian Nations, ASEAN, and other Asian countries. In international meetings at which Irish Ministers and officials have encountered Burmese Ministers or delegations, they have always used the opportunity to make clear in a forthright manner the views of the Government and people of Ireland.

Through the Irish Aid programme, the Government has provided support for humanitarian causes and for the democratic process. It maintains close links with Burma Action Ireland and the small Burmese community in Ireland and offers some assistance for their activities. In addition to regular meetings between Ministers and Burma Action Ireland, President McAleese met representatives of the group and the Burmese community yesterday. The Government has always worked proactively to ensure Burma remains high among the priorities of the EU and the UN and is discussed at the Human Rights Council, the UN General Assembly and the Security Council. For example, Ireland proposed and circulated a joint EU ministerial statement on Burma that was adopted at the Council in April.

As the crisis escalated in recent weeks, the Government has stepped up its action in support of the Burmese people. On 24 August, during the early days of the popular demonstrations, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Dermot Ahern, issued 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 this with a statement on 24 September in support of the demonstrators and appealed to the regime to exercise restraint, release all political detainees and initiate a process of dialogue and national reconciliation. Immediately after the widespread attacks on the unarmed demonstrators on 26 September, he condemned forcefully the use of force and called again for restraint, dialogue and reconciliation.

All these statements called on ASEAN and other Asian countries that may exercise influence with the Burmese regime to do all in their power to protect the people of Burma, encourage restraint, dialogue and reconciliation, support the role of the UN and, in particular, to facilitate an immediate visit to the country by the UN Secretary General's special envoy, Dr. Ibrahim Gambari.

The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Dermot Ahern, followed up these statements by writing to the foreign ministers of China and India to call on them to use their influence to stop the violence in Burma and to encourage positive change. These messages were delivered to the ambassadors of China and India in Dublin and by the Irish ambassadors in Beijing and New Delhi. At his request, the Irish ambassadors in the ASEAN region made urgent démarches to the governments of Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. Equally, the Irish ambassadors at the UN in New York and Geneva have been active in conveying these messages to Security Council members, as well as to ASEAN and Asian neighbours of Burma. The Government is pleased these representations have received encouraging responses.

In his address to the UN General Assembly in New York last week and in his bilateral meetings there with the UN Secretary General and international foreign ministers, including the Foreign Minister of Indonesia, the Minister again highlighted Irish concerns. He also had a detailed discussion on the issue with US Secretary of State Rice in Washington and, on Monday, with Foreign Secretary Miliband in London.

While the situation in Burma is deplorable, we believe the events of the past few weeks represent a possible turning point. For the first time, ASEAN, as an organisation, as well as many of its members, have spoken out in condemnation of the brutality of the Burmese regime. They have expressed revulsion at the violence used against unarmed demonstrators and have called for national dialogue and reconciliation. Similarly, the Government of China has been 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 progress towards democracy. The significance of these statements and actions by Burma's neighbours should not be underestimated as the influence of the EU and the US is comparatively limited and such regional pressure, while it may not be as forthright as one would like, is essential.

Chinese and ASEAN involvement made it possible to achieve agreement to hold a special session of the UN Human Rights Council on Burma and to adopt a strong resolution there by consensus. They also helped to force the agreement of the Burmese regime, headed by Senior General Than Shwe, to grant a visa to UN Special Envoy Ibrahim Gambari to visit the country to meet General Shwe personally, and to allow him to meet democratic leader Aung San Suu Kyi twice during his visit.

The agreement of the members of the UN Human Rights Council — including China, Russia and some of Burma's neighbours — to accede to a request from the EU to hold a special session on Burma last week was in itself a highly significant move forward, but the outcome, a tough resolution adopted by consensus, is unprecedented in terms of Council action on Burma. 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 allow investigation of the situation. In this regard, the Council called on the Burmese authorities to co-operate fully with the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro, including urgent facilitation of a visit by him to that country. We believe this sends the clearest of signals to the Burmese regime that the international community is prepared to stand together to ensure the days of impunity are over.

As regards the UN Special Envoy's visit to Burma, Dr. Gambari briefed the Security Council last Friday on the three objectives of his mandate, which were to assess the situation on the ground; to deliver clear messages from the Secretary General to the Burmese authorities at the highest level; and to promote dialogue between the Government and the opposition as the best path to ending the current crisis and achieving national reconciliation. In his assessment, Dr. Gambari admitted that the circumstances and duration of his trip had not made it possible to carry out a comprehensive evaluation of recent and current events. However, he was quite clear in his view that "since 1988, the democratic aspirations of the people ... have been systematically denied by the Government in the name of stability and security", and that the exclusion of key stakeholders from the Burmese Government's National Convention, which was supposed to pave a way for the return of democracy, "undermines the credibility and legitimacy of the process". He also expressed concern that reports were still coming in of abuses being committed by the security forces and others, including raids on private homes, beatings, arbitrary arrests, disappearances, and mass relocation of arrested monks.

On the second point of his mandate, Dr. Gambari confirmed that he had succeeded in delivering clear and strong messages on behalf of the Secretary General, which included calls on the regime to respond constructively to the demands of the international community and its neighbours. He stated, "No country can afford to act in isolation from the standards by which all members of the international community are held". In addition to the release of detainees and other immediate measures demanded by Dr. Gambari, he called on the regime to address the political and socio-economic factors underlying the demonstration, including, from a political point of view, the initiation of a process of dialogue and national reconciliation. Dr. Gambari admitted it remained unclear how responsive the authorities would be to the list of messages he set out, but he felt he had succeeded in increasing the regime's understanding of regional and international perceptions of the situation in the country.

Finally, with regard to his task of promoting dialogue, Dr. Gambari described himself as being "cautiously encouraged" by what he described as the "potentially welcome development" of Senior General Than Shwe's offer to meet Aung San Suu Kyi. It should, however, be noted that despite the specific demand from the UN Secretary General that any dialogue with Aung San Suu Kyi be unconditional, the Burmese authorities have imposed a number of conditions which, unsurprisingly, have been broadly criticised by the NLD and many Burmese. After so many years of ruthless repression of viewpoints other than its own, scepticism about the regime's bona fides is inevitable, and fully justified. However, it is important that some way be found to exploit the opening which now seems to exist — no matter how slim it may be — for the dialogue for which we have long called. It is our hope that the UN Secretary General and his envoy will succeed in having these conditions removed and that Dr. Gambari's wish for the dialogue to resume as soon as possible will be realised. It remains to be seen whether the regime's appointment of a minister to liaise with Aung San Suu Kyi represents a serious willingness on its part to engage in genuine dialogue.

Dr. Gambari has also suggested the creation of a broad-based grouping to examine the work done to date on a new constitution. In addition to this, he suggested that a poverty alleviation commission be set up to identify and address the country's major socio-economic needs. The Government believes Dr. Gambari's recommendations, if implemented, offer the best way forward for the people of Burma. It is important that Dr. Gambari, who will return to Burma next month for a follow-up visit, receives strong support from the international community, particularly from Burma's neighbours. It is also the Government's view that Dr. Gambari's proposals for a constitutional review commission and poverty alleviation commission make sense, and I would like work on these to advance as soon as possible.

While we wish to encourage all possible constructive initiatives, Ireland and its EU partners are also considering an extension of sanctions against the regime. We already apply a range of sanctions and restrictive measures to Burma, and options for toughening them are currently under urgent consideration. Ireland has taken a leading role in this regard. It is expected that EU Ministers will take up 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 in order that they will not cause further suffering to the people of Burma.

The Government continues to stand firm with the people of Burma at this time, as do all Opposition parties and the people of Ireland. News about Burma may have faded from the international headlines, but we in Ireland have not forgotten and will not forget the demands for freedom and justice so clearly expressed by the people of Burma. We will continue to monitor very closely developments in Burma, to work unrelentingly with the EU, the UN and the countries of Asia on this issue, and to keep the focus of the world on the plight of the people of Burma. We will continue to demand that the Burmese military regime desist from further violence against it people, release all recent and long-term detainees, including Aung San Suu Kyi, initiate inclusive dialogue with the democratic opposition and ethnic minorities, prioritise national reconciliation, and co-operate in full with the UN and the demands of the international community.