asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the steps the Government have taken to inform other countries or international bodies of the resolution dealing with the Central American peace accord which was passed by the Dáil on 5 November 1987; the response, if any, which the Government have received from other countries or international bodies; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Ceisteanna—Question. Oral Answers. - Central American Peace Accord.
8.
The text of the resolution passed by the Dáil on 5 November has been transmitted to the Governments of the five Central American States — Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua — to the Governments of the United States and the Soviet Union, to the Governments of the other EC member states and to the Commission and Council of the European Communities. The resolution does not require a response and, apart from acknowledgments in some cases, none has been received. All the Governments concerned have already expressed support for the Guatemala Agreement.
The Minister in his address to the House in response to the all-party motion, a unique event in itself, indicated that in communicating the terms of the resolution he would be urging a positive response from those countries to the initiative and the views expressed by this House. Surely the Minister is now telling us that his communication is somewhat short of that, in that it did not seek any response from any of the countries to whom he communicated it.
I did not say that. I am surprised that the Deputy who is a lawyer did not listen to me. I said the text of the resolution passed by the Dáil was transmitted by the Government to the five countries concerned, to the United States Government, to the European Communities Governments, to the Commission, and so on, and acknowledgments in some cases have been received. That is what I assured the Dáil I would do and I have done it.
A Cheann Comhairle, I am sorry that I took the Minister up wrongly. I should say, first of all, that I would like to thank him for doing as much as he has done. I understood the intention was to seek a positive response in communicating the text of the resolution. Would the Minister advise the House, in addition to communicating the text of the resolution what else was in the communique issued to the various countries?
The resolution as passed was sent to the Governments concerned. All of these Governments have expressed support for the Guatemala Agreement. I know there are varying degrees of support and some of the support is more meaningful than other support. I am aware of that but in diplomatic language they all agree with the Guatemala Agreement. We are enthusiastically for it which separates us, and so are most of the other European Communities countries.
The Minister is as enthusiastically for the agreement as he is enthusiastically against Libya. Has the Arias Agreement been discussed in relation to European political co-operation and do European Communities collectively intend to take any steps to support the five central American countries in their efforts to find peace?
The Arias initiative, as I am sure Deputy Barry is aware from his period in office, has at all times been supported actively by the European Communities. Dr. Arias on visits to European capitals and during the visit to him by the former president, Foreign Minister Tindemans, received advice on how to go about bringing these states together. I would see the Guatemala Agreement as a very significant step which was taken by Dr. Arias in full consultation with the European Community who were able to advise him on how to set up structures. I should like to see these five Central American states becoming an embryonic common market or Central American community. They actually look on the European Community as a model. There is a very close inter-relationship between the Community and its institutions and the democratic leaders in that part of the world.
It was my clear impression from the discussions on 5 November 1987 that a letter was to be sent communicating the decision of Dáil Éireann to the parties listed by the Minister. Does the Minister agree that what was decided was not that a letter be sent saying that we had adopted this resolution but asking for a response on a number of specific items? Is it not a fact that at least one of the Governments involved, namely the Nicaraguan Government, have sent a response to the Department?
They have indeed. Some countries have sent a response and some have not. The Deputy should not start chasing after things like that.
A telex running to ten pages giving in detail how they had met the terms of the resolution cannot just be regarded as a formal acknowledgement. Has there been a response to the terms of the resolution from the United States Government, for example, and if so, has it been just a formal acknowledgement or an extended response?
I will communicate to the Deputy the exact state of play. The delay so far is not of an inordinate kind in such matters. Some countries, including Nicaragua, have already responded. Others have not yet responded. I will communicate with the Deputy and tell him exactly who has or has not responded. As it progresses I will inform the Deputy continually.
The Minister has indicated that actions to date have been connected with letter writing and communicating the text of the resolution. Do the Government intend to take any further initiatives beyond letter writing, given the unique——
The Deputy has already raised that aspect of the matter. We cannot have repetition.
Could the Minister indicate whether at the United Nations or within Europe there is any proposal to amplify or bring forward our resolution afresh?
At the last meeting of the United Nations to which I contributed I spoke specifically about this matter and made it one of the central points in my speech. I have participated regularly in these discussions in Europe. There is a lot of interesting concern amongst a number of European countries about this matter. We are seeking to exercise what pressure we can. One of the heartening things is that meetings are now taking place with a view to organising a ceasefire between the Contras and the Nicaraguan Government forces. All this has been happening in the past few weeks and the first step was taken on the very day we had our debate. There is some light in that area and I will take on board everything that has been said here and apply the maximum pressure both nationally and within the Community.