asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the representations he has made recently to the Government of South Africa for the release of Nelson Mandela; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Written Answers. - Release of Nelson Mandela.
19.
Successive Irish Governments have made repeated calls to the South African Government to release Nelson Mandela. I welcome the opportunity Deputy Taylor's question affords me to appeal once again to South Africa immediately and unconditionally to release Nelson Mandela and all other political prisoners and to seize the opportunity this would afford to initiate meaningful dialogue towards achieving to truly democratic and multi-racial South Africa.
Nelson Mandela has now spent over a quarter of a century in jail for his committed stand against apartheid. His continued imprisonment is a constant reminder of the ongoing denial of basic human rights to the majority population in South Africa.
Ireland, together with her partners in the Twelve, has called on numerous occasions for the immediate and unconditional release of Nelson Mandela as a necessary first step towards creating conditions for genuine dialogue in South Africa. This position was reiterated by the Heads of Government of the Twelve at the European Council in Hanover in June and by Foreign Ministers of the Twelve in their statement on the occasion of Nelson Mandela's 70th birthday. The Twelve, in their statement on 19 August, again renewed their appeal in favour of Nelson Mandela, noting in addition that his release has become all the more imperative for humanitarian reasons.
During the debate on 28 June here in the Dáil on the motion supporting Nelson Mandela's contribution to the cause of freedom in South Africa, I again renewed the Government's call for his immediate release without conditions. This was repeated by the Taoiseach in his joint statement with Prime Minister Hawke of Australia and Prime Minister Lange of New Zealand during the Taoiseach's official visit to these countries in July.
More recently, during my statement to the General Assembly of the United Nations on 29 September, I again called on the South African Government to take steps to dismantle the system of apartheid, starting with the release of all political prisoners, including Nelson Mandela. A similar appeal was made by the Foreign Minister of Greece on behalf of the Twelve when he spoke to the General Assembly on 27 September.