Rónán Mullen (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I would also like to welcome the family connection in the Gallery.

I second and thank Senator Brian Ó Domhnaill for what he said this morning. I met the very fine people that are in a group, Unbroken, this morning. All of them have a personal story to tell that connects in with the horror of rape and the very difficult subject of abortion. To think that people who generously give of their time and courageously tell their story, which is not an easy thing to do, would be denied the opportunity of doing so in a public space, like a hotel, because of highly manipulative and abusive campaigning behind the scenes to deprive them of a platform is horrific. The situation does connect in with a wider problem in western society, and it happens here in Ireland. I refer to the tendency to give no platform to people one disagrees with. I happen to know that the Gibson Hotel, the Spencer Hotel and I think, in the context of another gathering that touched on the abortion issue from a pro-life perspective, the Ashling Hotel, have all found themselves cancelling events and denying space in recent days to groups. I do not think any of those groups were in the business of saying or doing anything disruptive. They were telling their truth, as they see it, according to the facts as they have them.

I intend to take this matter further. I will try to talk to people of goodwill, who may or may not agree with my point of view on these issues, to see can we draw attention to the danger of free speech and respectful debate that does exist when something like this happens. I personally feel that the media is lacking. If the shoe were on the other foot and the media was on a different side of the argument this situation would be all over the Joe Duffy show. Whether I am right or wrong on that aspect, I ask people who disagree with me to at least join with me in saying that people must be allowed access to public space. Campaigns of this kind, that are designed to deprive people of a platform, pressurising hotel managers using social media, and perhaps telling untruths about the groups that propose to meet, are utterly unhelpful and is not going to be good for our society.

I will briefly outline what I came here to say today. There is something tragic about the fall from grace by Aung San Suu Kyi. Even more tragic is the plight of the Rohingya Muslims and the horrors that have taken place. In Myanmar, some 400,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled. We have heard stories of soldiers raping women, decapitating children and setting whole villages ablaze. Ms Aung San Suu Kyi was a hero of democracy and in many ways is still the best hope for democracy in that country. She has found herself unable to stand up to the military to the point of being disingenuous. She has condemned human rights abuses in general but failed to talk about the specifics. It is a tragedy for her and it is a tragedy for Myanmar. The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade has spoken on this issue. It is of such importance that we should debate it in this House. I hope that a debate can be arranged in early course with the Minister attending.