Martin Cullen
Question:38 Mr. Cullen asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the present state of relations between Ireland and Iran; and whether he has made any representations to the Iranian Government arising out of the Salman Rushdie affair.
Written Answers. - Death Threat Against Mr. Salman Rushdie.
John Bruton
Question:58 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs Ireland's attitude towards the fatwa or death threat issued by the Iranian authorities against Mr. Salman Rushdie; and if Ireland has made any representations to the Iranian authorities to have this withdrawn.
Desmond J. O'Malley
Question:81 Mr. O'Malley asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the steps, if any, he proposes to take to persuade the Government of Iran to safeguard the life of a person (details supplied).
I propose to take Questions Nos. 38, 58 and 81 together.
The Government remains deeply concerned at the death sentence pronounced by a fatwa against Mr. Salman Rushdie in 1989. We have made this clear to the Iranian authorities who can be in no doubt about the depth of our concern and our rejection of the threat against Mr. Rushdie's life. We cannot accept a policy that advocates or condones the assassination of a writer because of what he has written.
The European Community and its member states have condemned the fatwa and called for its revocation. This was repeated at the UN General Assembly last year and by Heads of Government at the Edinburgh European Council in December.
When Mr. Rushdie visited Ireland last month I discussed with him his situation and the possibilities open to Ireland and the international community to exert pressure to have the death threat withdrawn. We are considering this further with our Community partners.
Ireland has diplomatic relations with Iran and we maintain Embassies in each other's capitals. Political and economic relations are active. The first meeting of the Ireland-Iran Joint Economic Commission took place in March last year. The next meeting is scheduled to take place in Dublin, but dates have not yet been fixed.
I can assure the House that the Government will continue to bring home to the Iranian authorities the strength of feeling in the Government and among the Irish people on this issue.