Dinny McGinley
Question:34 Mr. McGinley asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will make a statement on the situation in Angola and the steps he and the EU General Affairs Council have taken to bring peace to the region. [12842/00]
Written Answers. - Foreign Conflicts.
The Government, together with its EU partners, is following closely the situation in Angola, including the significant developments registered on the military front in recent months. In January of this year, we restated our conviction that there is no alternative to a political settlement in bringing peace and stability to the country and people of Angola.
Together with its EU partners, the Government has reiterated that UNITA bears the prime responsibility for the war in Angola. We have expressed concern about UNITA's persistent defiance of UN Security Council resolutions, and its failure to comply with key provisions of the Lusaka Protocol. We fully support the Security Council sanctions, which aim to promote peaceful settlement by limiting UNITA's ability to pursue its objectives by military means. In this context we welcome the report last March by the panel of experts established by the UN Security Council on the violation of security council sanctions against UNITA. The Security Council considered the report on 18 April and adopted a resolution, taking the monitoring of the implementation of sanctions a stage further. We have urged UNITA to cease military activities and to enter into a meaningful dialogue with the Government as soon as possible.
The EU continues to encourage the Angolan Government to create a political, social and economic environment for democracy which will foster respect for the rule of law in Angola. In this regard, we have stressed that the Government has a special responsibility for the promotion of human rights, democratic principles, good governance and the strengthening of a free civil society, including in areas controlled by UNITA.
We have also called on the Government of Angola, as a signatory of the Ottawa Convention, and on UNITA, to immediately cease mine-laying activities in the country. In addition, we have expressed concern at the recent fighting between Angolan Armed Forces and UNITA across international borders in the area, and have stressed the importance of stability and inter-state co-operation in the region.
Together with our European partners, we will be ready to consider how to assist the Government of Angola in facing the challenges of rebuilding and reconstructing the country within a democratic environment, and will continue to give particular attention to the alleviation of the suffering of the Angolan population affected by the conflict. The EU common position on Angola, adopted by the Council in 1995, is currently being updated and will be considered by the council in the coming months.
Frances Fitzgerald
Question:36 Ms Fitzgerald asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the steps the European Union has taken in relation to tensions between India and Pakistan. [12851/00]
Relations between India and Pakistan have been difficult since both states were established in 1947, and any tension between them is a matter of great concern. Such concern is further compounded by the fact that both countries have now acquired nuclear weapons capability.
The meeting between the Prime Ministers of India and Pakistan in February 1999 resulted in the Lahore Declaration, which stated that both countries would endeavour to resolve their differences through peaceful negotiation. This was a welcome and promising development. However, the Kargi incident last summer in Kashmir, which left an estimated 1,000 soldiers dead on each side, followed by the shooting down of a Pakistani aircraft in August by the Indian air force, were serious reverses. The overthrow, in October 1999, of the civilian Government of Pakistan by the military under General Musharraf, was a further negative development, as were the mutual tensions resulting from the hi-jacking of an Indian airliner and accusations by the Indian authorities of complicity in terrorism on the part of Pakistan.
Throughout this period the EU, both collectively and through the bilateral contacts of individual member states, including Ireland, has availed of every opportunity to make our serious concern known to both parties and to urge both the Indian and Pakistani Governments towards restraint, dialogue and the resolution of their differences through negotiation. The EU will continue to follow this course of persuasion. However, as the Deputy will appreciate, the success of this approach will depend primarily on a positive response from both of the parties to which it is addressed. While I would hope that both sides will continue to exercise the restraint which we have seen more recently, I am not in a position to say when there may be any significant improvement in the situation.