Mary Upton (Dublin South Central, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 372: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the status of the situation in Tibet at present; his views on the fact that Tibetan citizens may continue to be oppressed by the state; the action, he and the European Union have taken on this issue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4271/09]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I remain deeply concerned by the situation in Tibet. Reports in recent weeks suggest that the Chinese authorities have been engaged in a new security operation in the capital, Lhasa. Some reports indicate that checks on almost 6,000 people have taken place and that around 80 to date have been detained. At the same time, issues relating to the preservation of the religious and cultural identity of Tibetans, the treatment of demonstrators arrested during protests in March 2008 and the wider human rights situation in Tibet remain of concern.

The Government continues to convey its concerns about the situation in Tibet directly to the Chinese authorities in our regular contacts with them in Dublin and Beijing and in the context of regular bilateral discussions on human rights issues. Through these contacts, we continue to underline the importance Ireland attaches to the development of a meaningful dialogue between the Chinese authorities and the Dalai Lama, so that all issues of concern can be fully addressed. We also strongly support, and engage actively in, EU action in relation to Tibet.

I continue to believe that dialogue between the Chinese Government and the Dalai Lama or his representatives remains the most effective way to achieve the protection of Tibetan culture, identity, religion and human rights, and a greater measure of autonomy for Tibet within China. I am pleased that Tibetans in exile meeting in Dharmasala last November endorsed the principles of autonomy over all-out independence and non-violence over physical confrontation, in the pursuit of their agenda for Tibet. This is very much in line with the course that the Dalai Lama has proposed.

However, the current pace and substance of the dialogue between the Dalai Lama and China has been unsatisfactory to date. I call on the Chinese government to re-engage in an accelerated and upgraded dialogue process with the Dalai Lama and his representatives and have consistently stressed this view in our dialogue with the Chinese Government. I would be firmly of the view that positive developments in this dialogue will benefit not only the Tibetan people, but also China itself. It will also serve to curb increasing militancy and demands for secession, particularly from among young Tibetans. These demands diverge from the moderate views of the Dalai Lama, and could be both dangerous and counter-productive, particularly in the course of this emotive year, which marks the fiftieth anniversary of the departure of the Dalai Lama from Tibet in 1949.

At EU level, the situation in Tibet is regularly raised in the context of the EU-Human Rights dialogue, to which Ireland contributes. The most recent dialogue took place in Beijing on 28 November 2008 and the situation in Tibet was among the issues discussed. The Government will continue to monitor carefully the situation in Tibet and it will remain high on the agenda in our contacts with China.

Olivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 373: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he has signed the agreement which will allow Belarussian children to continue travelling here for humanitarian respite breaks. [4293/09]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

The issue raised by the Deputy is of great importance to me personally and to the large number of host families and organisations who have organised annual visits to Ireland by children from Belarus for over 18 years.

My Department became aware of possible restrictions on the children's travel in late August 2008. I met with Adi Roche of Chernobyl Children's Project International on 8 September to review the situation, and also asked the Chargé d'Affaires of the Belarusian Embassy in London to visit Dublin later that week to open discussions on an agreement to provide a framework for visits by Chernobyl children. Intensive discussions with Belarus, at both Ministerial and official level followed.

On 8 December 2008, our Ambassador to Belarus, who is based in Moscow, led a delegation comprising officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Office of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, to Minsk where they successfully concluded negotiations on a bilateral Agreement on the conditions of rest and recuperation of children from the Republic of Belarus in Ireland.

The text of the Agreement was initialled by both parties, and it was agreed that the official signing ceremony would take place as soon as a Presidential Decree issued which would exempt Ireland from the provisions of an earlier Decree relating to future international travel by Belarusian minors. A Protocol to the Agreement was also signed on 8 December, which confirmed that children would be allowed to travel over the Christmas period. I was especially pleased that these visits were able to go ahead, as this was an issue that I had pressed strongly in my contacts with Belarusian Foreign Minister Martynov. I have been gratified by the extremely positive response from the various charities that organised visits to Ireland at that time.

Following contact from the Belarus authorities before Christmas, it was expected that the Agreement would be signed on 30 January 2009 in Minsk. However, my Department was informed last week that a Presidential Decree, which is required to be signed in advance of the signing of the Agreement, has yet to issue. For this reason, it did not prove possible to proceed with signature, and it has now been postponed. The Belarusian side also sought some textual changes to the Agreement, and these are being examined at present.

My Department is maintaining regular contact with the Belarusian authorities, and we are prepared to sign the Agreement at the earliest opportunity. It is my intention to have the Agreement signed as soon as possible after the required Presidential Decree issues and well in advance of the next round of scheduled visits to Ireland by Chernobyl children next summer. I stand ready to intervene personally, if necessary, to finalise this matter.