asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the Government's attitude to the results of the referendum held, in Chile on 11 September 1980; and if the Government regard the results of the referendum as legalising the regime of General Pinochet.
6.
Ceisteanna—Questions . Oral Answers . - Chilean Regime .
5.
asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he is prepared to raise, with the Foreign Ministers of the EEC, the question of the referendum organised by General Pinochet in Chile on 11 September 1980; and if he will attempt to ensure that the EEC condemns the Pinochet regime and refuses to recognise the results of the referendum as validating or legally binding the dictatorial regime of General Pinochet.
7.
asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the action he proposes to take in the 1980 session of the United Nations in relation to the position of Chile and the status of the regime of General Pinochet; and if he is prepared to ensure that the Irish representation in the United Nations maintains its opposition to the illegal seizure of power from a democratically elected Government in 1973.
: With the Ceann Comhairle's permission I propose to take Questions Nos. 5, 6 and 7 together.
As the Deputy is no doubt aware, in my reply to a related question from Deputy O'Keeffe on 15 May last I expressed the opinion that the level of protection of human rights had not been maintained in Chile nor had there been any notable improvement in respect of the implementation of the elementary rights to freedom of association and expression up to that time. Subsequent events in that country have contributed little towards altering that opinion.
According to recent authoritative reports the situation regarding human rights, which appeared to be improving, has again taken a turn for the worst with increased accounts of political arrests and torture.
The constitutional referendum held on 11 September last clearly did not represent the democratic process in action as we know it, and the result is unlikely to convince people outside of Chile's borders that real democracy exists there. The outcome of the referendum means that the military retains key decision-making powers, that General Pinochet is to lead the country for one or more additional eight-year terms and that all left-wing political parties are outlawed.
In recent years Ireland has co-sponsored or supported UN General Assembly resolutions calling for the restoration of democratic rights to the Chilean people. We do not feel that a referendum held without, for example, allowing opposition groups to properly function and in the absence of electoral lists, is a satisfactory response to such resolutions. We also note that the Catholic Church in Chile has expressed criticism of the plebiscite and that it has been attacked by the US, Italy, the Council of Europe and the International Commission of Jurists.
I can assure the Deputy that the Government will continue to pay close attention to events in Chile and will take all measures open to us both within the Nine and in the United Nations to help restore true democracy to the people of that country.
: I welcome, on behalf of the Labour Party and on behalf of the Chilean delegation that we met, the unequivocal statement that the Minister has given to the House. Is he now prepared in the capacity we now have—and for that I also congratulate the Government on their success in achieving with the help of the permanent delegation a seat on the Security Council—to issue that statement on behalf of Ireland, not necessarily in the form of a reply to a Parliamentary Question but in the form of an official statement from the Irish Government so that we too can join the ranks of the countries that the Minister listed in his statement?
: Yes, we can consider doing that in the appropriate form.
: May I ask the Minister to take the matter a step further? He is probably aware that there is a motion on the Order Paper in my name asking Dáil Éireann formally to condemn the fraudulent referendum held in Chile and support the UN position on the Chilean situation? Would the Minister consider taking that motion with all-party support so that we, like the Spanish Cortez and other assemblies could be formally on record as having condemned this abuse of democracy?
: Certainly, I shall take it up with our Whip's Office if Deputy O'Keeffe does likewise with their Party Whips—likewise Deputy Blaney.