First, let me thank the Seanad for giving me this opportunity to outline the Government's position on the motion before us. The issues raised in the motion are serious ones, which are of deep concern to the Government. The Government fully realise the depth of feeling on the subject of Cambodia among Members of this House and of many ordinary Irish people. The Seanad's concern that Ireland be seen to behave honourably, and in accordance with the principles that Ireland stands for in the world, is laudable.
Let me first set out some of the fundamental principles that Ireland — as a small, democratic country — upholds in the international community. I am sure Senators will agree that first among these principles is the right of every nation to self-determination. A first requirement of this principle is that a country be rid of foreign invaders. A second principle is that a country, once independent, should be allowed to live in peace and to run its affairs without outside interference. In supporting these two principles, we are part of an international consensus because the Charter of the United Nations spells out clearly the right of every people to self-determination and clearly rejects interference in a country's internal affairs.
There are other principles which, though not shared by all the countries of the world, Ireland upholds as a modern parliamentary democracy. First among these is the principle that the rulers of a country should be chosen by the people in free and open elections. Second is that universal and fundamental human rights — above all, the most basic right to life — are a matter of legitimate international concern, and an exception to the general rule of non-interference in a country's internal affairs. Having outlined these general principles which we uphold, let me now explain how we have applied them in the tragic case of Cambodia.
Cambodia is a small country with a larger and more powerful neighbour, Vietnam. It obtained its independence from France in 1953, and from then until 1970 was governed by Prince Norodom Sihanouk, who combined the functions of monarch and head of government. Arising from the upheaval in the region caused by the Vietnam war, Prince Sihanouk was ousted by Lon Nol in 1970. Lon Nol was in turn ousted by the Khmer Rouge in 1975, following a lengthy guerilla campaign against his US-backed administration. Prince Sihanouk was briefly restored to power but was later ousted by the Khmer Rouge. As we all now know — but, sadly, did not know at the time — the Khmer Rouge, in the name of a fanatically distorted ideology, engaged in a programme of mass collectivisation and population dislocation, using methods so indescribably brutal that over a million Cambodians died. Among the many victims were close family members of Prince Sihanouk.
Border clashes between Cambodia and its larger neighbour, Vietnam, culminated in Vietnam's invasion of Cambodia early in 1979, the ousting of the Khmer Rouge, and the installation of a government, first led by Heng Samrin, and subsequently by the current incumbent, Hun Sen, both of them former Khmer Rouge commanders.
In this very brief account of the recent history of this tragic country, the issue that I am sure Senators are most disturbed about — and I fully share this concern — is the massive and flagrant violations of human rights which took place under the Pol Pot régime. Sadly, it was only after the Vietnamese invasion — itself a violation of a fundamental principle of the United Nations Charter — that the full horror of the Pol Pot "Killing Fields" were revealed to a shocked world. Unfortunately, we were also up against the "non-interference" doctrine which despotic governments continue to use to avoid international scrutiny of their human rights records.
Applying the principles I outlined earlier to the present situation in Cambodia, the Government firmly believe that a just, lasting and comprehensive settlement must be based on the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Cambodia. It must include the withdrawal of all foreign forces under United Nations supervision. We also insist on the absolute right of the Cambodian people to determine their own destiny free from outside interference. The exercise of this right must find expression in the holding of internationally-supervised, free and fair elections. And, of course, any settlement must ensure that the people of Cambodia are never again subjected to the inhuman barbarities which they suffered under the Pol Pot régime.
The Government have been deeply concerned at the recent intensification of hostilities in Cambodia in the wake of the announced Vietnamese withdrawal of troops. I say "announced withdrawal" since, unfortunately, the withdrawal was not effected under the supervision of the United Nations, which has given rise to controversy regarding the extent of the withdrawal. It is regrettable that the Hun Sen Government and Vietnam did not agree to UN supervision of the troop withdrawals — if they had, doubts on this issue would not be entertained. We have been particularly concerned by the reported successes of the Khmer Rouge forces on the ground, since a central plank of our policy on Cambodia has always been that everything must be done to prevent the return to power of the Pol Pot Khmer Rouge régime which is guilty of so many terrible crimes against its own people.
Let me now address a question which — as I know from comments made by Members of both Houses of the Oireachtas and by private representation to me — has been seriously misunderstood. This is the issue of the representation of Cambodia at the current session of the General Assembly. I repeat again here — as I stated in the Dáil on 2 November and as the Minister repeated in the Dáil on 14 November — that the issue of the representation of Cambodia at the General Assembly is not due to be voted on during the current session of the Assembly. In the past, this issue has been raised in the form of a challenge to the credentials of the delegation of the coalition government of Democratic Kampuchea. Such a challenge has not been made at the current session of the General Assembly. The assembly decided on 17 October last — without a vote — to accept the credentials of all delegations, including those of the delegation of the coalition government of Democratic Kampuchea. This issue is therefore closed for this session of the General Assembly. It will in no way be affected by the outcome of the vote on the resolution on the situation in Cambodia, which is to take place later today in New York.
Whenever the credentials of the Cambodian delegation have been challenged in the past, Ireland — in accordance with the general principles I outlined earlier — has abstained in the vote, on the grounds that neither the Democratic Kampuchea coalition, nor the government of Mr. Hun Sen in Phnom Penh, has received any form of endorsement from the people of Cambodia. The last time that such a challenge was mounted was in 1982, when Ireland was one of the minority in the Assembly who did not vote in favour of the credentials of the delegation of Democratic Kampuchea. It is our sincere hope — and I know that I speak also for all parties in both Houses of the Oireachtas — that, at the next session of the General Assembly, the Cambodian seat will be held by a delegation which truly represents the people of Cambodia, following the exercise by them of their right to self-determination through participation in free and fair elections.
The issue that the General Assembly is facing is the general situation in Cambodia and especially the urgent need for a settlement to the conflict. The Assembly has been debating the question of Cambodia since yesterday. It is due to complete its consideration of the question later today, with a vote on a resolution which will set out the Assembly's view of the situation. I have already arranged to circulate a copy of the resolution, which has been tabled by the ASEAN countries, with the co-sponsorship of 75 countries — about half the membership of the United Nations. I hope that Senators will have had an opportunity to examine it, particularly its operative paragraphs. I should add that our delegation to the United Nations has been actively involved in efforts to persuade the ASEAN countries to table a resolution which would embody the fundamental principles for which Ireland stands, as well as being even-handed in its presentation.
The draft resolution of the situation in Cambodia has been carefully examined to ascertain the extent to which the fundamental principles espoused by Ireland have been included in the text. I hope Senators will share my view that the draft resolution contains all of the points which Ireland should regard as fundamental, notably: withdrawal of all foreign forces under UN supervision; restoration and preservation of the independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and neutral status of Cambodia; the right of the Cambodian people to determine their own future through internationally-supervised free and fair elections and the incompatibility of a return of the Pol Pot Khmer Rouge regime with the achievement of lasting peace in Cambodia.
As a result of the inclusion of these fundamental points in the draft resolution, our delegation at the United Nations will vote in favour of it when the voting scheduled for later today takes place. However, our ambassador has been instructed not to co-sponsor the resolution — despite having co-sponsored the corresponding resolutions in previous years — because there are some points in the draft resolution with which we are not entirely satisfied. For example, we would have preferred a stronger emphasis on the need for an immediate ceasefire and a return by all parties to the negotiating table. We also believe that the references to the non-return of the Pol Pot Khmer Rouge regime could be more explicit. Therefore, in voting in favour of the draft resolution, our ambassador will deliver a statement in explanation of Ireland's vote, which will state clearly the fundamental principles on which our policy is based and which will particularly emphasise our total opposition to a return to power of the genocidal Pol Pot Khmer Rouge régime.
The occupation of Cambodia by foreign forces was a fundamental stumbling block to progress towards a settlement, as well as being a transgression of one of the basic principles of the United Nations Charter which Ireland fully supports. The Government consider that the withdrawal of Vietnamese forces provides a valuable opportunity to move towards a comprehensive political settlement. We therefore strongly urge an immediate end to hostilities by all sides in Cambodia, as well as an end to all foreign military aid to the parties to the conflict. Our delegation at the United Nations has already made a plea at the General Assembly, as recently as last month, that all sides to the conflict resist the temptation to seek to advance their objectives by force of arms and instead devote themselves to the search for a solution by peaceful means. Our ambassador will repeat this in the course of the debate on the situation in Cambodia later today.
The window of opportunity provided by the Vietnamese withdrawal must not be allowed to be closed by the forces of intransigence. The Government believe that the recent international conference on Cambodia held in Paris in August, under the chairmanship of France and Indonesia, managed to make worthwhile progress towards a settlement. The conference had to be suspended before a number of important issues could be resolved. It is now time to resume the conference and tackle these issues in a spirit of flexibility and compromise.
It is the Government's sincere wish that the suffering of the people of Cambodia be finally brought to an end and that they be given the opportunity to put the past behind them and to elect a government which can lead the country on the difficult path to national reconstruction. To achieve this aim, the international community must prevent a return to power of the discredited and barbarous Pol Pot Khmer Rouge regime but it must also assist the government of the new Cambodia, which we hope will be elected in the near future, in the major task of recovery and development which faces it.
As the Minister announced in the Dáil on 14 November, the Government have decided to make available the sum of £50,000 for emergency humanitarian relief inside Cambodia. While such emergency relief is the immediate priority, we hope that, when peace has finally been restored in Cambodia, the international community will join in assisting the democratically-elected government in the massive task of reconstruction which they face. I can assure Senators that Ireland will fully support such an international effort to assist the people of this small and long-suffering country. Because, in the final analysis. we must remember that, in this case it is the Cambodian people who matter to us in Ireland.
In conclusion, may I again thank the Members of the Seanad for their interest in this vital issue and to say that the Government fully endorse the motion that is before us. I hope all Senators will unite around this motion which expresses the deep feelings of all of us on the tragic situation in Cambodia.