Vol. 409 No. 5
37 Mr. J. O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs whether his attention has been drawn to concerns expressed by Amnesty International about continuing human rights violations in the Indonesian province of Irian Jaya; and whether Ireland can use its good offices internationally to ensure that these allegations are fully investigated and that human rights are respected by the Indonesian Government.
I am aware of the concerns expressed by Amnesty International in a report dated April 1991 about the human rights situation in Irian Jaya.
The Amnesty report describes what it calls "a continuing pattern of human rights violations". It states that people believed to have advocated Irian Jaya's independence, whether through peaceful or violent means, as well as refugees and others are "at risk of being victims of serious human rights violations including political imprisonment, torture, ill-treatment and extrajudicial execution".
I share the concern expressed by Amnesty International about these matters. I would hope that the Indonesian Government will respond to the call made in the Amnesty report for an impartial investigation of reports of human rights violations by their security forces; and I would urge that Government, with which Ireland has friendly relations, to ensure that the human rights of the people of the area are fully respected.
