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Seanad Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 27 Nov 1996

Vol. 149 No. 10

Great Lakes Region of Africa: Statements (Resumed).

I join in welcoming our visitors. European states are privileged although they do not always behave well. Without being discourteous, I must state that the involvement of the French in Africa has not always been savoury because, as in the case of Opération Tourquoise, a noted violator of human rights was rescued by the French armed services. The selling of arms and ammunitions to both sides in Zaire by countries whose representatives are present in the House is a disgrace and a reproach to the European Union.

When one considers reports issued by the European Commission on the so called Konver Programme, one discovers that large sums of money were made available for the conversion of factories producing military equipment into more peaceful enterprises. However, the Commission's report undermines this fact by stating:

...conversion of military into civilian orientated production at factory level is not considered a feasible strategy by most companies. Apart from the huge investment costs and difficulty of access for newcomers to establish civilian markets, conversion is hindered by the difference between on the one side, production of defence goods which is driven by technology and Government specifications and, on the other side, civilian markets which are mainly driven by price with marketing playing a major role.

In post-Thatcherite Europe, a free market is available in respect of everything except armaments which are to be specifically supported by Governments. That is a disgrace and a reproach to everyone.

The Newsletter of the Western Union Institute for Security Studies No 14 of June 1995 contained a report of a seminar on the European defence market which states:

...the market has shrunk and industrialists were in no doubt that the smaller companies were in crisis. Companies were therefore forming conglomerates and collaborating on new products, and internationalisation was a growing phenomenon. The discussion then turned to the adaption of the institutional frame work in particular the WEAG and EU.

This displays the "arms for export" mentality. There is overproduction in Europe in a shrinking market and companies are determined to sell armaments wherever possible. That is regrettable and it is a disgrace.

There is also the matter of Mr. Mobutu in the Congo, who sequestered enormous amounts of money in Swiss bank accounts for his own use. We must question the ethics of the Swiss who allowed the accumulation of this amount of money while people in Zaire and elsewhere are starving. Questions must be put to Swiss bankers in this regard.

As a result of this tragedy, I stand open to correction by the Minister of State, but a separation process, which is valuable, appears to have begun between the major elements of the military and most of the civilian population. It is regrettable that some of the civilian population has been taken into the bush by military elements. Those involved in crimes against humanity must be brought to justice. I would like to believe this will not be done on an ad hoc basis similar to that which obtained at the war crimes tribunals in Zaire and Rwanda. We must encourage the establishment of a standing war crimes tribunal at international level which can be brought into operation immediately and not be obliged to wait until the circumstances of a situation of this kind deteriorate to the point where we must appeal for action.

In the context of reconciliation, it must be impossible and unspeakable to confront one's neighbours, who originate from the same genetic pool. This situation is similar to Northern Ireland. People outside Zaire cannot tell the difference between Hutus and Tutsis because they are basically the same. How could a person from Zaire tell the difference between a Presbyterian, a Roman Catholic, a Methodist or a Seventh Day Adventist? They come from the same genetic pool and are part of the same family and it is always more bitter when one has that type of crime committed against one. I have had contact with women in that area who have attempted to reconcile against all the odds. I hope their work will continue in that regard.

I would like to place on record some material I received from GOAL. Mr. O'Shea from GOAL recently addressed the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and, while I do not necessarily agree with everything he says, the House ought to be aware of his hands-on experience. The document is dated 25 November 1996 and states:

"1. GOAL is shocked by the decision of the international community not to deploy immediately a military force in Central Africa. The only conclusion to be drawn from the meeting of military chiefs in Stuttgart over the weekend is that there is precious little interest in the fate of the Rwandan refugees stranded in Zaire. The UN say there are 700,000 helpless souls in urgent need. The US Government tend to agree with the Rwandan Government that almost all of the refugees are back in Rwanda.

2. GOAL believes that it is imperative that the human rights of the Hutu refugees and indeed the resettled Tutsi population in Rwanda, Burundi and Zaire are immediately protected and guaranteed.

3. We believe that only the presence of an international military force on the ground will ensure that this occurs. The returning refugees who may feel frightened or threatened would be greatly encouraged by the knowledge that an independent military force was on hand to protect their interests."

I understand that there has been sporadic violence against people who have returned and that some have been murdered. This is very regrettable.

"4. A form of genocide has been perpetrated in Zaire on the Hutu refugees by the Tutsi rebels supported by the Rwandan and Burundi armies who slaughtered 300 people (Hutu refugees) earlier in the month."

So often in the past we have only seen the problem of the Tutsi because that was the major massacre that occurred. The western press tended to see this in simple terms but it is a tragically complex situation in which awful crimes have been committed by both sides.

"5. GOAL believes it is imperative that a military force locates and protects the 700,000 refugees at present marooned in Zaire. These people are faced with Tutsi rebels on one side and the Burundi army on the other. This GOAL believes is the most urgent and critical issue for the international community to address.

6. GOAL believes that the military force must locate and bring to justice the Interahamway — the perpetrators of the 1994 genocides and members of the Interahamway who may have slipped back over the border in recent days must be brought before the courts as a matter or urgency.

7. GOAL believes that the 80,000 prisoners in Rwandan jails suspected of being implicated in the 1994 genocide be afforded an opportunity to prove their innocence."

That is true; 80,000 is an enormous number of people. It is not like Germany where it was done by an efficient technological machine and people were liquidated in an industrialised situation. People in Rwanda were brainwashed by radio broadcasts and incessant propaganda into taking up machetes against their neighbours. Even so it is difficult to believe there are 80,000 war criminals at that level of criminality. Certainly they should be presumed innocent.

"8. GOAL believes it is imperative that a judicial system be established in Rwanda to give assurances to the returning refugees."

This is perhaps an area where Europe can give some degree of professional assistance in terms of a judicial programme. However, that is down the line. The immediate problem is one of desperate need, starvation and disease.

"9. GOAL accepts the rebuilding of Rwanda is an important element in this dreadful situation, but would stress that the priorities must be the safety and security of the Hutu refugee population.

10. We are acutely disappointed that the only voice consistently calling for meaningful assistance for the 700,000 marooned refugees in Zaire is that of Emma Bonino the EU Humanitarian Affairs Commissioner. GOAL fully supports this lady's stance on the issue."

I would not say that it is only Emma Bonino. The Minister was there with that remarkable woman and I would like to think that they remain colleagues in the attempt to do something about this dreadful situation. To say that one person alone, however eminent, is taking the matter seriously could undermine what other people, such as the Minister, are doing.

"11. Many millions of lives have been lost in the world's major famines and disasters since Cambodia 1997 because the international community did not take any action other than supporting the aid community. In GOAL's view the aid community has never been able and probably never will be able to meet the demands of such situations. We see shades of Ethiopia and Somalia in this latest tragedy. Aid agencies, however well motivated, do not have the capacity to bring relief to the numbers involved in disasters of this kind and it is vital to realise that."

I am not going to name the aid agencies involved but I have in my file on Rwanda a number of letters from various aid agencies received earlier this autumn which were placatory, suggesting that a great deal was being done and that people were being fed. Perhaps at that stage they were but how very quickly the issue exploded and how important it is that we register the tragedy and do whatever we can about it.

GOAL called for an immediate and direct military intervention. I am not wise enough to say if that would be successful or advisable. Sometimes military intervention, without a clear mandate, objectives, training and political sensitivity can make matters worse. This matter is so desperate that all options must be considered in the interests, not of the Governments, but of the people of Rwanda and Zaire

I would touch my forelock to the Minister, if I had one, for her strength in dealing with some of the political leaders in Central Africa because many of them are appalling. The Minister dealt firmly but courteously with people whose airspace I would not wish to breath. At the moment one has to deal with these people and I congratulate her.

Last night I listened to Julius Nyerere who is a very wise man. What gave me greatest hope was that he refused to be obsessed by the looming tyrannical figures like President Mobuto. In the long process of history these tyrants are irrelevant. I hope they can be made irrelevant and the kind of action Ireland can take, small as it may be, can help to make them so.

An Leas-Chathaoirleach

Before the Minister replies, I welcome the delegates from the Conference of Chairmen of Foreign Affairs Committees of the European Union Parliaments, the European Parliament and the applicant States. I hope you enjoy your stay in Ireland.

I also welcome the European parliamentarians on behalf of the Government. I thank Senators for this debate and I hope people will understand if I single out the contribution of Senator Cotter who described, in a moving way, how he worked in the camps in Goma, Zaire.

This is a time of hope as well as extraordinary danger in Central Africa. The return of the refugees to their homeland in conditions of peace is the greatest development we could have hoped for. We should give thanks for that. We now need to ensure that those people can stay at home and start to prosper in conditions of safety and security.

I do not understand why the generals have to spend so many weeks arguing about the details when on each week there has been a job which a few thousand well equipped, properly mandated soldiers could have done. It is not a case of western forces going in alone — countries such as Ethiopia, Eritrea and South Africa are ready to help. They know the area and understand the problems. This week they can bring assistance and transport to the 300,000 or 700,000 people wandering in Zaire. We have satellites which can see what a farmer in Ireland is doing in relation to setaside and count the number of sheep on an Italian hillside. I cannot understand why we cannot allocate more scientific resources to finding out where the people are in Zaire and the numbers involved. The international agencies need that information. It is something which a technical mission of that force could establish if it went in now. Some countries have technical missions in place, but they need more support.

This crisis has convulsed the UN system. We would all like to see that system prosper and grow, but it needs leadership and a sense of revitalisation. The international tribunal in Arusha is a disgrace. Following the killing of one million people, it has managed to indict fewer than 20 people in two and a half years. That must remain one of the most shameful episodes of this period. Whether it is a lack of resources or leadership in the UN or in the tribunal structure, it is a matter to which we should devote attention.

In Rwanda there is the prospect of a commission modelled on the South African Truth Commission for lesser categories of genocide. It is hoped that it will begin some time in December. It is important that we support the Rwandans in dealing quickly with those in the lesser categories so that the pressure on space in jails can be reduced.

Members spoke about the arms trade. The question of the European Union having an enforceable code of conduct on arms is urgent. The European Union is one of the great forces in the post Cold War period. We have a humanitarian tradition and experience in this regard because of what happened during the last world war. It was from that experience the European Union was born. The EU should have an enforceable code of conduct on armaments. We saw invoices from Mil-Tec blowing on scrap heaps in the Mugunga camp. Ireland does not have an armaments industry but, as Europeans, we must address this problem.

An aid worker in Zaire asked me if General Mobuto could be persuaded to give half his fortune to the suffering people in that country. It is potentially one of the richest countries in the world but it has been looted for the past 30 years. In terms of an evolving European foreign policy, if we want Africa to prosper and to be a trading partner from which we too will prosper, we must ask how generals, such as General Mobuto, acquire fabulous wealth, 17 chateaux and a beautiful seven acre property in the centre of Brussels. We must ask ourselves hard questions. If people involved in and organisers of the genocide are living in countries in the European Union, such countries, following in the humane tradition of the EU, must give them up to the international criminal court system.

Ireland, during its Presidency of the European Union, sought to work on a structure which would allow the different parties in the region to enter into dialogue. It is important to support the transition to democracy in Zaire and security for returning refugees in Rwanda. We must also consider the dangers in Burundi from where reports have come of refugees being killed on their return. I welcome the safe return of the refugees. However, another 400,000 refugees in Tanzania are seeking to return home.

In July this year the Rwandan Vice President, Mr. Paul Kagame, visited Ireland. He led the RPF army in ending the genocide in Rwanda. We visited Strokestown House which, for the benefit of our European visitors, is a beautiful, but sad place in the west. It is a memorial to those who died in the Irish famine 150 years ago. It has a good display for Irish school children who go to learn the history of what happened during the famine. Those in the House this evening are the descendants of the survivors of the famine. The Vice President looked at pictures of what was then the world's response to the Irish famine which was, as somebody said earlier, the workhouse, a large institution into which one placed the dying and the destitute. If people were not already dying of hunger, they had a good chance of dying from fever in the workhouse. Vice President Kagame said they were like the refugee camps of today. Workhouses were meant as a humane solution to the problem, but people at the time knew they were not the only solution and that there were better ones. Refugee camps may be necessary in the short-term to save people but, like our workhouses, they are not a long-term solution. As we see the cycle of refugee camps possibly coming to end, we should resolve to support the Great Lakes region so there will never be a need to rebuild refugee camps on such a scale. I thank Senators for their extremely thoughtful contributions.

When is it proposed to sit again?

At 10.30 a.m. on Wednesday, 4 December 1996.

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