Alan M. Dukes
Question:23 Mr. Dukes asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will make a statement on conditions in Nicaragua following recent killings there.
Written Answers. - Crisis in Nicaragua.
Andrew Boylan
Question:35 Mr. Boylan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will make a statement on conditions in Nicaragua following recent killings there.
Nora Owen
Question:104 Mrs. Owen asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will make a statement on conditions in Nicaragua following recent killings there.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 23, 35 and 104 together.
Nicaragua has been experiencing great difficulty in reaching genuine national reconciliation following the end, in 1990, of the 12 year civil war. This has led in recent months to a political crisis culminating in serious violence in the northern town of Esteli which left 45 people dead and 98 wounded.
An attempt to bring about reconciliation by launching a "national dialogue" between all parties has not been successful. The dialogue was to have been conducted in the presence of the foreign ministers of the other Central American Republics. An attempt by the OAS Secretary General to break the deadlock between the parties has also failed.
Consultations are taking place between the Secretaries General of the United Nations and the Organisation of American States to consider how the UN and the OAS might assist Nicaragua to bring together political and social forces to work towards the strengthening of democracy. Ireland has condemned the use of violence for political ends in Nicaragua. Together with our partners in the European Community we will continue to monitor the situation closely with a view to seeing what positive role the European Community can play in assisting the efforts of the UN and the OAS.