Vol. 261 No. 10
asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs what action he has taken or will take to protest to the Libyan Government about that Government's action in supplying arms and assistance to an organisation which is illegal in this country and to make known to the Government in question that its intervention in the problems of Ireland in the manner indicated by the President of Libya on 11th June, 1972, is deeply resented by the overwhelming majority of Irish people.
6.
asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he has made known to the United Nations Organisation the objections of this State to the action of the Libyan Government in supplying arms and assistance to an illegal organisation in Ireland; and if he will seek the assistance of the United Nations to effectively stop the illegal supply of arms.
7.
asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if his attention has been drawn to the statement of the Libyan President that he had supplied arms and money to an illegal organisation in this country; if he has checked the veracity of this statement; if so, with what results; if he is considering any diplomatic protest regarding this matter; what action he intends taking; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
With your permission, a Cheann Comhairle, I propose to take Questions Nos. 5, 6 and 7 together.
Following reports in the news media, I instructed our permanent representative to the United Nations to see his Libyan colleague without delay and request clarification of the alleged remarks and the fullest information as to the facts. I also instructed the permanent representative to explain the policy of the Government in relation to the situation in Ireland and to make clear that the supply of arms to an illegal organisation in any part of the country, if this has happened or should happen, would be a matter of the gravest concern to us.
Can the Minister say whether the meeting has yet taken place between the Irish and the Libyan Ambassadors at the UN?
Our Ambassador has presented a memorandum but the reply has not yet reached him.
Has it been brought to the attention of the Minister and, if so, has he brought it to the attention of the Libyan authorities that in a report of the 2nd June it was said that in the last week of May nine members of the Palestinian Liberation Front, called guerrilla terrorists, had a meeting in Dublin with members of an illegal organisation here for the purpose of making a pact similar to the one made recently between Palestinian guerrillas and some Japanese anarchists?
We have no evidence that there have been any arms imported from Libya. I would be inclined to follow up this report but, at the same time, would not accept it as being true. The same goes for what was reported to be said by the President of Libya. We have had it monitored but there are certain difficulties in translating from the Arabic and we are waiting to be quite clear as to what was said. In the meantime we have made clear as possible what are our views on violence in the North of Ireland, that this violence should cease, and that it would be a matter of the gravest concern to the Government if there was any truth in the interpretation of the Libyan President's remarks. The Ambassador was asked to indicate that, if arms are being supplied, such supplies should cease at once. He was asked also to ascertain the fullest information about any supplies which might have been sent already.
Would the Minister accept one interpretation of the President's remarks as being that the President merely put the question to Britain as to how they would react to his supplying arms to Ireland in view of the fact that Britain was supplying arms to enemies in his territory? Surely the Minister should have been able to obtain a correct interpretation of what was said so that any doubt that exists could be cleared up immediately.
I do not translate from Arabic but those who do say there are some difficulties involved. Two sets of people who monitored what was said by the President found that there was an area in which they were not quite clear. I have asked our permanent representative in the UN to find out from the permanent representative of the Libyan Government there whether we might be made aware clearly of what was said.
Is this a modern language at all?
I am not responsible for the language.
Surely within the Department there is somebody who is competent to translate from Arabic.
It is the language that has inbuilt difficulties.
I presume that by now the Arabs have overcome these difficulties. I would have thought that there would be somebody in the Department capable of translating Arabic.
The manner in which the remarks were put in Arabic could be interpreted in two ways and we are trying to ascertain what was the intention of the President.
He must have the habits of our President.
Will the Minister take steps to ensure that any projects in progress presently by Irishman in Libya will have the full protection of the Government?
That is a separate question.
I have spoken privately to the Minister about this.
I think the anxiety of the company mentioned by the Deputy is that no approach of ours on this question would prejudice their trading position. That is why we have been prudent in waiting to see what is the actual position.
