David Norris (Independent)

I am glad to welcome the Minister of State to the House. I know of his interest in this matter. I commend the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Dermot Ahern, for his work in New York. Other European countries have also played a positive role. The British Prime Minister was very clear in this regard, as were both the French President, Mr. Sarkozy, and his Foreign Minister, Mr. Kouchner, who even went so far as to suggest they would try to get the French oil giant, Total, to pull out of Burma. I am not sure such a move would be appropriate because it would simply open the way for China to further colonise the country.

This is a point that needs to be put on the record. Burma is in fact an economic colony of Beijing. China has the key, as demonstrated when it vetoed the resolution at the UN Security Council. The tragic situation in Burma highlights clearly the truth of what President Ahmadinejad told the United Nations, namely, that the entire organisation still reflects the situation at the end of the Second World War. If we want effective work from the United Nations, we need to examine the permanent membership of the Security Council and the disproportionate power given to permanent members by the use of the veto.

Burma is a very beautiful country, rich in natural resources and with a gentle and lovely people. It is ruled by a vicious and inward-looking regime. While the present turmoil was sparked by the enormous rise in commodity prices, the small ruling elite was insulated from its impact and continues to live in considerable luxury. The members of the elite have not had experience of the rest of the world and have not travelled or been educated abroad and so on. However, they are quite capable of inflicting serious damage upon their own people.

This happened in 1998, when there was great repression and at least 3,000 people were killed. The difference between then and now is the advance in technology. Whereas in 1988 the regime was able to conceal the situation and the outside world did not know until it was all over, we now have contemporary reports. I followed events in Burma on television and radio in Cyprus. I saw in a newspaper blurred images, taken on a mobile phone, of the bloodied faces of monks. We also know of attacks on pagodas and monasteries. The events in Burma could not be concealed.

The murder of a Japanese tourist while taking footage of the protests was disastrous for the Burmese authorities and raises the question of whether Japan, one of the main donors of assistance to Burma, will cut off aid. The most interesting aspect of the initial phase of the protests was that they consisted exclusively of monks and were entirely peaceful. A gentle revolution led by monks who had made clear to civilians that they should not get involved as it would mean exposing themselves to danger was brutally attacked. It was at that point that ordinary members of the population became involved in the protests to a significant degree.

Buddhist monks in Burma are representative of the population because entering a monastery for a period is almost a form of national service. Virtually every young Burmese male becomes a monk for a time before rejoining civilian life. The question arises as to what are the feelings of soldiers who may have experienced being a monk. We have entered the end game for the Burmese regime and while it may take a long time, the skids are under the junta. I am glad that is the case.

In terms of Buddhist culture, it was significant that the monks refused to accept offerings from members of the military. This is tantamount to an excommunication of the government agencies. The role of the Association of South East Asian Nations, ASEAN, is significant because these states have been mealy-mouthed previously. We have listened to calls for constructive engagement but this means sweet damn all. The economic interests and vulnerabilities of these undemocratic regimes mean they were unwilling to apply pressure on the Burmese regime.

China is the key to this issue but I would not hold my breath in that regard. I appeal to the Government to apply greater diplomatic pressure on the Chinese Government. The Chinese ambassador should be told in unambiguous terms that it is perfectly clear that China could have the violence switched off tomorrow if it wished, given its absolute control of what is an economic colony of China.

A question also arises with regard to the attitude of the West. Tragically — Senator Walsh alluded to this point — while President Bush and his wife may have said all the right things — their comments were bang on — they are a busted flush with no moral authority because the United States is involved in the kidnap, torture and bombing of civilians. Who are they to lecture the Burmese regime? On the other hand, a small country such as Ireland still has some moral authority, despite the ongoing use of Shannon Airport for military purposes. Complaints emanating from the United States about the undemocratic nature of the regime are justified but what about Palestine where a government returned in a proper election has been subverted? A similar process took place in Algeria. In other words, from the point of view of the West, democracy only works when it produces the result we want. This approach leaves our moral authority elided.

Senators should start a debate on whether it is appropriate to support holding the Olympic Games in Beijing in the light of the consistent and gross violation of human rights by the Chinese authorities in Burma and Tibet. I say this despite hearing Jung Chang, the author of Wild Swans, in a discussion of her interesting and analytical biography of Mao Tse-tung on the wireless in recent days, state the staging of the Olympic Games in China has put pressure on the authorities to open up a little. She also stated, however, that it would be no harm to send the Chinese authorities a warning. If we are to stand in solidarity with the people of Burma, we must raise these issues with China because we only have one chance to use the Olympic Games for this purpose. Now is the time to demand that China take real, constructive action on Burma or face the prospect of the debate heating up and protests taking place against the Olympic Games.

I thank Senator Cummins for his kind words but the real praise should be directed towards the Burma action group.