asked the Minister for External Affairs if he has (a) sought, and (b) obtained, otherwise than from Press reports, information establishing, to his satisfaction, that the Archbishop of Zagreb and Primate of Yugo-Slavia has received a sentence of imprisonment; if he has not received such information, if he will state where he sought same; and if he has succeeded in obtaining such information, if he will state his intentions on the matter.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Sentence on Archbishop.
That the Archbishop of Zagreb received and is serving a sentence of imprisonment is a matter so universally admitted that, beyond Press reports, I have not sought any confirmation of it. The matters on which I have sought confirmation, and upon which I have received certain confidential reports, are: the general conditions at present obtaining in Yugo-Slavia; the circumstances of the Archbishop's trial; the charges made against him; the evidence adduced and the nature of the court. From such reports as I have received I am convinced beyond reasonable doubt (a) that, as the result of the war, the conditions in Yugo-Slavia to-day, as in some other European countries, make it extremely unlikely that the Archbishop of Zagreb could have received a fair trial; (b) that, in fact, he did not receive a fair trial, and that actions which flowed naturally from his pastoral duty were misrepresented as partisan political action; (c) that forged evidence was tendered and accepted, and (d) that the court was partisan.
As I said a fortnight ago, should any practical way present itself in which we can be of any help in bringing effective influence to bear on the situation the opportunity will not be neglected. It must be obvious to all who desire to secure a lasting peace that religious freedom is a necessary, a vital, part of the foundation.
The one course open to me at present is to make representation to the States with which we have diplomatic relations, urging that by whatever means are at their disposal, whether through the United Nations Organisation or otherwise, they should use such influence as would result in bringing to an end this campaign of religious persecution of which the imprisonment of Archbishop Stepinac is but an instance. This I propose to do when I have received the fuller reports which I am awaiting.
Will the Taoiseach say, in view of his statement now, whether, even if he does not accept entirely the phraseology of Deputy Dillon's motion, he would consider putting a motion from the Government before the House that would enable the House to give full expression to the detestation that we have of the actions that the Taoiseach now says he has information about?
The request that Government time should be given for discussion of that motion has been considered and an opportunity for discussing it will be given to the House next week or the week after.