Vol. 234 No. 2
asked the Minister for External Affairs if he has any further information regarding the situation in Nigeria; and if he can envisage the recognition of Biafra as a separate Government by the Federal Government of Nigeria, leading to the restoration of peace in that troubled area.
6.
asked the Minister for External Affairs if his attention has been drawn to the recognition of Biafra by Tanzania; and if this country envisages recognition on similar lines.
With your permission, a Cheann Comhairle, I propose to take Questions Nos. 5 and 6 together.
I have nothing to add to the numerous replies I have already given to Dáil Questions regarding the conflict in Nigeria and recognition of the Eastern Region. We shall, of course, continue to do everything possible to encourage the negotiation of a just and stable peace in which the rights of the people in all parts of Nigeria will be safeguarded.
Could the Minister tell the House if he has had any representations from the Irish Hierarchy in regard to the situation in Nigeria and Biafra?
I do not think that is a question that I should answer "yes" or "no" or whether it is true or not.
Could the Minister tell the House if it is a fact that the Biafran region have offered peace terms to Nigeria, holding the territory they now hold, if they are prepared to call off the present attack?
I have no official information about that.
Further, could the Minister tell me if there is any reason why the Irish Government should not recognise the Biafran territory as a separate entity?
I have already dealt with that in my replies to several questions.
The Minister has not replied to the second question I asked. Tanzania has recognised Biafra. Is there any reason why Ireland, that has a particular interest in the area and a particular interest in the Irish nationals there—Irish nationals have been doing work there for practically a century—should not recognise Biafra?
I have the greatest interest in the Irish nationals who have been there and admire the work they have done in the last 80 or 90 years in that area and in the rest of Nigeria and other parts of Africa. It is a question, having the utmost sympathy with the people involved in this terrible conflict, of what we can do to resolve it. In my judgment, the best thing we can do is to keep advising and urging both sides to have a cease-fire as quickly as possible, to negotiate a peace settlement that will recognise and support the rights of the people in all parts of Nigeria.
May I ask the Minister one further question? Would the Minister consider sending an Irish parliamentary delegation to Biafra for the purpose of trying to bring about peace in that unhappy land?
No.
