I am happy to be afforded this occasion to address the Dáil on the situation in Cambodia, a situation which is continuing to cause concern both here in Ireland and internationally. The announced withdrawal of the Vietnamese occupation forces in late September, and the fears of many that the Khmer Rouge could once again seize power by force, have refocused attention on this small country, whose inhabitants have had to endure so much suffering.
Who among us could forget the infamous "Killing Fields" of the Pol Pot-led Khmer Rouge regime, which reigned with such absolute terror between 1975 and 1978? The memory of the deaths of over one million of their fellow citizens caused by the Pol Pot regime is etched irreversibly on the collective consciousness of the world. The absolute horror of that period must never be repeated.
The Government have, therefore, been deeply concerned at the recent intensification of hostilities in Cambodia in the wake of the Vietnamese pullout. We have been particularly concerned by the reported successes of the Khmer Rouge forces on the ground, since a central plank of our policy on Cambodia has always been that everything must be done to prevent the return to power of the Pol Pot Khmer Rouge regime, which is guilty of so many heinous crimes against its own people.
But our policy must not be, and is not, based solely on a negative reaction to any prospect of a return to power of the Pol Pot-led Khmer Rouge. The Cambodian people need and deserve our best efforts to chart a course towards a comprehensive political solution to this conflict, which has so scarred their country in human and physical terms. Our policy throughout the years has remained consistent and coherent in its adherence to a set of core principles, around which, in our view, any settlement must be built.
The Government believe that a just, lasting and comprehensive settlement must be based on the independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of Cambodia. It must include the withdrawal of all foreign forces under United Nations supervision. We also insist on the absolute right of the Cambodian people to determine their own destiny free from outside interference. The exercise of this right must find expression in the holding of internationally supervised, free and fair elections. Any settlement must, of course, ensure that the people of Cambodia are never again subjected to the inhuman barbarities which they suffered under the Pol Pot regime.
Ireland, along with its partners in the European Community, has welcomed the withdrawal of Vietnamese troops from Cambodia. We would have wished that the withdrawal had been effected under the supervision of the United Nations in order that it could have been fully verified and accepted by the international community. The fact that it has not been so verified has given rise to controversy regarding the extent of the Vietnamese withdrawal and a refusal by certain key countries to accept that the withdrawal has been total.
The occupation of Cambodia by foreign forces was a fundamental stumbling block to progress towards a settlement, as well as being a transgression of one of the basic principles of the United Nations Charter. The Government consider that the withdrawal of Vietnamese forces provides a valuable opportunity to move towards a comprehensive political settlement. We therefore strongly urge an immediate end to hostilities by all sides in Cambodia, as well as an end to all foreign and military aid to the parties to the conflict. Ireland has already made a plea at the United Nations, as recently as last month, that all sides to the conflict resist the temptation to seek to advance their objective by force of arms and instead devote themselves to the search for a solution by peaceful means.
The window of opportunity provided by the Vietnamese withdrawal must not be allowed to be closed by the forces of intransigence. The Government believe that the recent international conference on Cambodia held in Paris in August, under the chairmanship of France and Indonesia, managed to make worthwhile progress towards a settlement. The conference had to be suspended before a number of important issues could be resolved. It is now time to resume the conference and tackle these issues in a spirit of flexibility and compromise. The Cambodian people deserve no less.
The issue of Cambodia is due to be debated at the United Nations during the course of the next two days. At the end of the debate the General Assembly will be asked to vote on a draft resolution setting out the Assembly's view on the current situation in Cambodia. A number of representations have been made to me concerning Ireland's vote on this resolution, and whether we will be voting to allow the present incumbents of the Cambodian seat to remain in control of that seat.
As the Minister of State at my Department, Deputy Sean Calleary, informed the Dáil during the Adjournment Debate on 2 November last, the issue of the representation of Cambodia at the General Assembly is not due to be voted on during the current session of the Assembly. In the past, this issue has been raised in the form of a challenge to the credentials of the delegation of the Coalition Government of Democratic Kampuchea. Such a challenge has not been made at the current session of the General Assembly. Whenever such a challenge has been mounted in the past, Ireland has abstained in the vote, on the grounds that neither the Coalition Government of Democratic Kampuchea, nor the Government of Mr. Hun Sen in Phnom Penh, has received any form of endorsement from the people of Cambodia. We hope that at the next session of the General Assembly the Cambodian seat will be held by a delegation which truly represents the people of Cambodia, following the exercise by them of their right to self-determination through participation in free and fair elections.
The draft resolution on the situation in Cambodia, which has been tabled by the ASEAN counties and which has a large number of co-sponsors, has been carefully examined to ascertain the extent to which the fundamental principles espoused by Ireland have been included in the text. From Ireland's point of view, the draft resolution contains all of the points which we regard as fundamental, notably: withdrawal of all foreign forces under UN supervision; restoration and preservation of the independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and neutral status of Cambodia; the right of the Cambodian people to determine their own future through internationally supervised free and fair elections; and the incompatibility of a return of the Pol Pot Khmer Rouge régime with the achievement of lasting peace in Cambodia.
As a result of the inclusion of these fundamental points in the draft resolution, Ireland will vote in favour of it when the voting scheduled for Thursday, 16 November, takes place. Although Ireland will vote in favour of the draft resolution, we have declined to co-sponsor it — despite having co-sponsored the corresponding resolutions in previous years — because there are some points in the draft resolution with which we are not entirely satisfied. For example, we would have preferred a stronger emphasis on the need for an immediate cease-fire and a return by all parties to the negotiating table. We also believe that the references to the non-return of the Pol Pot Khmer Rouge régime could be more explicit. Therefore, in voting in favour of the draft resolution, Ireland will deliver a statement in explanation of its vote, which will state clearly the fundamental principles on which our policy is based and which will particularly emphasise our total opposition to a return to power of the genocidal Pol Pot Khmer Rouge régime.
The Cambodian people have suffered for long enough. It is time to give them the opportunity to put the past behind them and to elect a Government which can lead the country on the difficult path to national reconstruction. To achieve this aim, the international community must prevent a return to power of the discredited and barbarous Pol Pot Khmer Rouge régime.
As an expression of our solidarity with the long-suffering people of Cambodia, the Government have decided to make available the sum of IR£50,000 for emergency humanitarian relief inside Cambodia. We hope that, when peace has finally been restored in Cambodia, the international community will join in assisting the democratically-elected Government in the massive task of reconstruction which they face. I am sure that I reflect the views of all Deputies when I express the hope that the Cambodian people will not have too much longer to wait before they are allowed to get on with living their lives in peace, free from outside interference. I can assure Deputies that Ireland will continue to do whatever it can to advance this aim.