Jan O'Sullivan
Question:72 Deputy Jan O’Sullivan asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs about the recent situation in Guinea. [46862/09]
View answerTuesday, 15 December 2009
Questions (62)
Written answers
The Government is greatly concerned by recent events in the Republic of Guinea, notably the violent crackdown by security forces on political demonstrations in Conakry on 28 September 2009. There, the armed forces opened fire on a crowd of unarmed protestors, killing 150 and injuring over a thousand. In the days following, there were reports of widespread rape and looting by soldiers. The security situation in the country has remained volatile ever since. On 3 December, President Moussa Dadis Camara was shot, reportedly by his chief aide. He is currently in Morocco recovering after surgery. Reports vary in relation to how serious his injuries are.
While we have few direct bilateral connections with Guinea, we fully support efforts by the European Union to secure greater stability and political progress there. The EU condemned the violence of September 28 and in October agreed to impose an arms embargo on Guinea and to adopt targeted restrictive measures against individuals responsible for the violence and those impeding a return to democracy and constitutional order in the country. The Deputy will recall that on November 18, I welcomed the establishment by the UN Secretary-General, with the approval of the UN Security Council, of an international and independent commission of inquiry to investigate those incidents . This investigation is proceeding under the chairmanship of Mohamed Bedjaoui a former Foreign Minister of Algeria. It is expected to submit its report to the UNSG before the end of the year. President Camara and Guinea's ruling military council have pledged to cooperate fully with the UN investigation.
The Deputy may recall that I have also welcomed the response of the wider international community to the violence in Conakry. The European Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the African Union (AU) are active in seeking a return to the rule of law in Guinea. ECOWAS, in particular, has taken a prominent role in the response to the crackdown. After suspending Guinea from its membership, ECOWAS appointed Burkina Faso President Blaise Compaore as a mediator and, at an extraordinary Summit on 17 October, it mandated him to undertake negotiations on a transition to a constitutional order and credible elections. The Government of Guinea last week withdrew from these talks pending the return of President Camara. ECOWAS has also imposed an arms embargo on Guinea and, together with the AU, has imposed targeted sanctions on individuals who would pose a threat to the transition.
Ireland is engaged in efforts to alleviate the humanitarian situation in Guinea. To date in 2009 Irish Aid has provided approximately €400,000 in assistance to partner organisations working in Guinea. This funding has been provided to Plan Ireland and Childfund Ireland in support of their work in the health sector, and to Concern Universal for their work in disaster risk reduction and community resilience to water-borne diseases. With our EU partners, Ireland will continue to follow developments in Guinea closely and will support efforts to secure a return to democracy and constitutional order in Guinea, with a particular focus on the elections to be held next year.