Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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Question 141: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will provide an update on the present situation in Ecuador following a reported kidnapping of the country's President in recent weeks [36087/10]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The events to which the Deputy refers occurred on Thursday 30 September in Quito, when President Correa was assaulted by police officers demonstrating against a proposed law relating to their benefits and salaries. The President was subsequently confined by a group of police demonstrators in a Quito hospital until released through the intervention of the Armed Forces. Five persons were reportedly killed in the course of these altercations, and 38 people were wounded. A State of Emergency was instituted for seven days which has now expired in all areas except the capital. As soon as the disturbances broke out, a special session of the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States (OAS) was convened, and a statement was issued in support of constitutional government in Ecuador. On 1 October, an extraordinary session of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) was held in Buenos Aires, and a statement was issued in support of President Correa and his administration.

I understand the situation has now returned to normal.