Shane Ross (Independent)

I take this opportunity to ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Martin, to exert maximum influence to ensure the final round of the Zimbabwean presidential elections is free and fair. This is not the first time I have raised the situation in Zimbabwe in the House. That country is at a critical juncture. The unsatisfactory presidential and parliamentary elections which already took place have resulted in what will supposedly be a run-off between the current President, Mr. Robert Mugabe, and his main opponent, Mr. Morgan Tsvangirai, who has returned to Zimbabwe having fled it some time ago.

Given our anti-imperialist past, our neutrality and the fact that we have some history in common with Zimbabwe, Ireland has a particularly strong and influential voice on such matters. It would be extraordinarily helpful if the new Minister for Foreign Affairs, as well as taking a stand along with other EU Ministers to ensure the upcoming elections are fair and free, were also to take unilateral action in this regard. Ireland's voice on such issues is powerful and useful.

As a first step, the international community should ensure, having seen what happened in the first round, that independent observers are sent to observe this fresh round of presidential elections. One does not have to be a private investigator or a member of the special branch to recognise that the activities surrounding the first round of elections were unsatisfactory. There was clearly mass intimidation and there may also have been fraud. It took an extraordinary length of time for the election results to be released, which is completely unacceptable and unprecedented in any democratic country. The suspicion cannot be dismissed that the figures that were finally released were not authentic, even though Mr. Mugabe was defeated by some 48% to 43%. It seems this was simply a ploy to ensure Mr. Tsvangirai came in at below 50%, thus ensuring a run-off.

The concern is that, having ensured a run-off in this way, the current regime will engineer a victory for the incumbent by hook or by crook. That may not necessarily happen but there is absolutely no ground for optimism that it will be otherwise. We must consider whether the result of this election is inevitable, namely, that the President, Mr. Mugabe, will be re-elected one way or the other. Serious violations of human rights are already taking place in Zimbabwe, with members of opposition political parties and opposition movements being murdered and starved. All types of violations are being perpetrated in an effort, presumably, to ensure the opposition is intimidated and prevented from participating in the poll on 27 June.

It may be somewhat unfair to say that Ireland is doing virtually nothing about this but our voice is certainly not a loud one in a situation where human rights are at stake. I do not have time to spell out the situation in Zimbabwe. To say that the rule of law has broken down is an understatement. Health services are in an appalling state, AIDS is rampant and the life expectancy is a mere 44 years for men and 43 years for women. The economy is disordered and disorganised and food riots have already taken place. Inflation is running at an incredible 1,000,000% per annum. Displacement of the population is ongoing, with many people leaving the country. It is almost impossible to hold free and fair elections in the jurisdiction. It is unlikely, for example, that the opposition has been able or will be able to hold any democratic rallies. Mr. Tsvangirai was frightened to come back to the country but eventually did so at what may well be a high personal cost.

I urge the Minister either to take unilateral action to raise Ireland's voice in calling for elections that are as fair and free as possible or to ensure maximum pressure is applied to the one individual credited with having influence on this situation, the South African President, Mr. Thabo Mbeki. The Government must take robust diplomatic action to convey our disappointment that Mr. Mbeki's protests against the activities of the regime in Zimbabwe, if any such protests have taken place, have been extraordinarily ineffective. Mr. Mbeki has clout in Zimbabwe. There is a good deal of trade between the two countries, they share a common border and Zimbabwe relies on South Africa for a significant portion of what is left of its economy.

I plead with the Minister of State, Deputy Haughey, to give a response which will offer some comfort to the people of Zimbabwe that they have friends in Ireland, that we identify with them, that we deplore the fact that these elections seem unlikely to be conducted in a democratic fashion and that we will do everything we can to set that right.