Vol. 509 No. 4
41 Mr. Wall asked the Minister for Defence the inquiry, if any, which has been held into the killing of Private William Kedian while serving with UNIFIL in May 1999; if those responsible for the killing have been identified; the action, if any, taken as a result; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20434/99]
79 Mrs. Barnes asked the Minister for Defence the situation in South Lebanon; if there have been further incidents such as those which resulted in a fatality earlier in 1999; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20563/99]
144 Ms Fitzgerald asked the Minister for Defence the situation in South Lebanon; if there have been further incidents such as those which resulted in a fatality earlier in 1999; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20533/99]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 41, 79 and 144 together.
Following the death of Private William Kedian and the wounding of Private Ronald Rushe and Private Darren Clarke on 31 May 1999 while serving with the 85th Irish Battalion in Lebanon, a report was forwarded immediately by UNIFIL headquarters to United Nations headquarters, New York. I refer the Deputy to replies which I gave to questions in the House on 30 June 1999 when I outlined the protests lodged with the Israeli authorities following the incident. A UNIFIL headquarters board of inquiry and an Irish contingent board of inquiry were established to investigate and report on the circumstances surrounding the death of Private William Kedian and the wounding of Private Ronald Rushe and Private Darren Clarke. The results of these inquiries, which have not yet been released, are awaited.
As the House will be aware, I visited the area on 20-22 June 1999 in order to see for myself the situation on the ground and, more importantly, to raise the seriousness of the prevailing security situation in the UNIFIL area of operation with both the Israeli and Lebanese authorities and to seek assurances that the reckless shelling of Irishbatt positions by the Israeli Defence Forces-De Facto Forces which appeared, undoubtedly, to have led to the death of Private Kedian would not recur. During the course of my visit, I met the Israeli Minister of Defence and the Lebanese Minister of Defence, the latter in relation to ongoing hostile activity by the armed elements, Hizbollah. I sought assurances from both that there would not be a recurrence of the recent serious shelling incidents as well as other hostile activity. I indicated to both sides that, while Ireland is committed to the UNIFIL mission, should there not be a cessation of such incidents, serious consideration would be given to the withdrawal of the Irish contingent.
In the weeks following the death of Private Kedian, while there was a general decrease in the number of firings close to Irish positions, there were a number of further serious incidents, including the dropping of a bomb from an Israeli air force jet several hundred metres from an Irish position as well as a direct mortar hit within an Irishbatt post. In the latter incident, it was most fortunate that there was no loss of life.
Between 1 January and 30 September 1999, 102 firings at or close to Irish UNIFIL positions have been recorded, the bulk of which were carried out by the Israeli Defence Forces-De Facto Forces. A total of 225 other incidents were recorded in this period. The situation in the UNIFIL area of operations has continued to remain tense. I can bear witness to this fact from my visits to UNIFIL between 20 and 22 June and my more recent visit between 20 and 24 September 1999.
Is the Minister satisfied that reports and official documentation have not yet been received from UNIFIL? The unfortunate family of William Kedian has still not received an official report on the circumstances surrounding his death. Neither have other families whose dear ones have been injured in similar incidents. On the question of safety, the following formed part of a report on the Minister's visit to Lebanon in The Irish Times of 22 June:
At B Company headquarters in Haddathah, for example, Mr. Smith was shown the remains of a shower unit destroyed by an SLA shell, fired after the "all clear" had been sounded. By a miracle, the message did not get through to the company; otherwise, the unit would have been full of soldiers, emerging from their bunkers, when the mortar landed.
That is a serious statement which was read by the families of personnel serving in Lebanon. What can be done to obtain reports for the families concerned, the Department and the Defence Forces as quickly as possible? If the newspaper report is correct, a catastrophe was avoided by luck rather than by design.
I get a shiver down my spine whenever I think of the incident in question. Having seen the shrapnel, it was only with the help of God that we did not have a great catastrophe on our hands. Fortunately the communication did not get through with the result that our troops were not over ground but in the safety of the bunker.
On the availability of reports, we have done everything we can. We have protested through UNIFIL and directly through the Minister for Foreign Affairs and his Department. I have met both Defence Ministers and made our position clear in no uncertain terms. I have said many times that the safety of our troops is of paramount importance in dealing with the circumstances that can arise and also in terms of their equipment and training. I pay tribute to Colonel Pat Nash and his colleagues who, despite a difficult tour of duty and the loss of William Kedian, have been able to maintain such a high standard and bring everybody else home safe and well. I wish the next contingent equal good luck.
It is always a matter of concern whenever there are delays in obtaining official reports on accidents, in particular those involving fatalities. The experience of the parents and two sisters of William Kedian has been traumatic. I again request the United Nations to speed up the report on the circumstances surrounding his death and to ensure the length of time it takes to produce such reports is reduced. Generally the inquiries of the military tend to be exhaustive in order to produce comprehensive reports. While I do not want to cut across this work, it is time we had the report.
The Minister referred to our commitment to UNIFIL. I understand the new Israeli Prime Minister has given a commitment to withdraw Israeli forces from South Lebanon by July 2000. Does the Minister have any contingency plans to relocate the Irish troops based there or to downscale our commitment?
A more optimistic set of circumstances is developing which, in its own way, is creating tension. Nobody knows what the circumstances will be. We welcome Prime Minister Barak's initiative and hope it is successful. If it is, it is likely that UNIFIL will be required in reduced numbers along the border to ensure peace is maintained. This, in turn, will provide an opportunity for relocation. We are under pressure to do more in Kosovo and do not know from where else pressure will come. The Defence Forces will be interested in alternative opportunities. We have been sending troops to Lebanon for 21 years but we want to see the job completed and peace restored. While we welcome the initiatives which have been taken we cannot make much more than a preliminary guess at this stage about what we might do when the work of UNIFIL has been completed.
It is clear to anyone who has been to South Lebanon that the Irish Defence Forces frequently operate under hostile fire and shelling. Given the changed political situation and the comments of the Israeli Prime Minister, has there been a decrease in the number of incidents with which the Irish Defence Forces have had to deal in recent months following the various international efforts which have been made?
I cannot give a definitive answer to that question. It appears that there has been a decrease in the number of attacks on the Irish battalion since June but it may be the case that the focus has switched to other battalions. There is unrest and unease in the area because of the certainty about what is likely to happen. It is my guess that the overall position has not improved even though the position for the Irish battalion has. I hope that will continue to be the position.
