asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the countries which are supplying arms and support to the protagonists in the armed conflicts in Sudan and Ethiopia, which are causing considerable human suffering; and the steps he intends to take at the United Nations to ensure that the offending nations are condemned for their actions.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Conflicts In Sudan and Ethiopia.
9.
I regret the kind of detailed information sought by Deputy Deasy is not readily available.
The Government believe that the search for peaceful solutions to these conflicts is best pursued by urging the Governments concerned to take the necessary steps to bring them to an end. With our partners in the Twelve, we have called on a number of occasions on all parties to the conflicts in Sudan and Ethiopia to solve their problems by peaceful means and through negotiated political settlements. In their most recent statement on 24 October 1988 on the Horn of Africa, the Foreign Ministers of the Twelve again urged the Governments of the countries concerned "to take further steps to achieve the peaceful settlement of these conflicts, through a genuine process of national reconciliation". These views of the Twelve are being conveyed directly to the Governments of Sudan and Ethiopia.
Also, at the United Nations General Assembly in September 1988, the Greek Presidency, on behalf of the Twelve, appealed to all parties concerned to make serious efforts to achieve peaceful settlements to the conflicts of the region. I take this opportunity to renew that appeal.
I am surprised that the information is not available because in a recent radio interview I heard the Chairman of Concern, a clergyman, blaming western countries for providing the protagonists in the Sudanese civil war with a supply of arms. How is it that the chairman of a voluntary body like Concern can identify who is involved and the Department of Foreign Affairs cannot do so? I am putting the question because I want to know if his statement is true. I suspect that it is not true. The protagonists in the Ethopian war are not receiving supplies from one side. The relief being provided comes almost entirely from western societies, of which we are part. I would like people to name specifically who is to blame, if blame can be attached to any particular country, for the supply of arms.
I want to help the Deputy elicit information but he is embarking on a speech.
Will the Minister endeavour to find the source of the information given by the chairman of Concern? Surely the Department of Foreign Affairs are as well informed as that individual?
The Deputy has made that point.
I do not think it helps the cause of famine relief if people are blamed for something they are not responsible for.
Having regard to what the Deputy has said I will ask the Department of Foreign Affairs to contact the person mentioned to get the information he has.
Is the information not readily available to the Department? Is the Minister not aware that a great proportion of the arms are being purchased from arms suppliers in Great Britain? I should like to ask the Minister if the question of the supply of arms by a member of the Community has been raised at EC talks.
I can only reply to the Deputy along the lines of my response to Deputy Deasy. Detailed information sought by Deputy Deasy is not readily available but, having regard to what that Deputy said, I will ask the Department of Foreign Affairs to contact the chairman of Concern to check on the source of his information. I do not have the information now.
Surely our embassy in Cairo is close enough to the scene of the action for officials there to be able to identity who is involved? What do we have an embassy for?
I take the point made by the Deputy.