Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 7 May 2003

Vol. 566 No. 1

Written Answers. - Commission of Inquiry.

Jim O'Keeffe

Question:

267 Mr. J. O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the response of the Ukrainian authorities to the issues raised with them by his Department in October 2002 in relation to a murdered journalist (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12052/03]

Minister for Foreign Affairs (Mr. Cowen)

As I stated in the House on 29 January last, in reply to a parliamentary question, Ireland supports an independent commission of inquiry into the death of the person referred to in the Deputy's question. Our EU partners share this position and the European Union made a political declaration calling for a full and transparent inquiry on 5 February 2001. I raised the case directly with the Ukrainian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr. Zlenko, when I last met him at the UN General Assembly in New York on 10 November 2001 and my officials raised the case again with the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry in October 2002. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has noted our concerns, which have been repeated by successive EU Presidencies.

We will continue to follow closely developments in the case, including developments in multilateral fora such as the Council of Europe and the OSCE. The Council of Europe has played a leading role and the proposal by the Parliamentary Assembly, Recommendation 1538, that an independent commission of inquiry, which would include international investigators, should be established, has won wide support. I am pleased to note that the proposal has the support not only of my colleagues in the committee of Ministers, but also of the OSCE representative on freedom of the media as well as members of the family of the person concerned.

I am aware that the Council of Europe remains in close contact with Ukraine on the state of the investigation into the case, but I remain seriously concerned about the lack of progress in bringing it to fruition. I noted in the House on 29 January that Ukraine had requested assistance with the investigation from member states of the Council of Europe and that EU member states are prepared to help. However, Ukraine has also stated that such assistance is at present incompatible with its domestic legislation. This is not acceptable. If Ukraine really wants assistance, it must amend its legislation, or introduce new legislation to permit this.

We believe that any investigation must be conducted with maximum transparency and without any bias from the political point of view. In this context, I call on Ukraine to make the necessary arrangements to establish the independent commission of inquiry so that the truth behind the death of the person concerned can be cleared up once and for all.