On behalf of the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs, I welcome the opportunity to reply to this debate on the recent and ongoing tragic events in and around Gorazde. I fully share the concerns expressed by Deputy Owen about these events.
I know all Deputies share the Government's horror and revulsion at the situation in Gorazde. As Deputy Owen said, it has been highlighted vividly by the reports from Dr. McLaughlin. We commend her courage and that of Mr. O'Dwyer, the other Irish member of the UNHCR team in Gorazde. Their reports have graphically exposed the recent outrages at Gorazde which have shocked the international community.
The unrelenting assault by the Bosnian Serbs on this small town, where some 65,000 people have gathered for protection, is an affront to human dignity. It has left more than 400 people dead and more than 1,000 seriously injured. It is a further flagrant violation of international humanitarian law, examples of which we witnessed all too frequently in Bosnia for more than two years.
Given that many thousands of displaced persons had taken refuge in Gorazde and five other mostly Muslim towns, these were designated as safe areas by the Security Council in May 1993. Deputies will recall that this step was advocated by the Irish Government at that time. Clearly it did not prove possible to achieve all of the UN's objectives in the designated safe areas, due to the inflexible attitude of the Bosnian Serbs and their continuing military actions. Events in Gorazde have highlighted this dramatically.
It should be borne in mind, however, that Sarajevo is at last free from attack. While the situation at a number of other designated safe areas remains critical, the UN has, unlike in Gorazde, now been able to deploy in considerable strength in these towns. This has been a major factor in enabling UNPROFOR to work towards achieving its objectives.
In Gorazde the United Nations made repeated attempts to secure the agreement of the Bosnian Serbs to an effective ceasefire and to stop their advance into the enclave. Undertakings to do so were repeatedly violated. In light of the shelling of Gorazde, which jeopardised the lives of UN personnel there, as well as inflicting high casualities on the town's population, close air support was provided by NATO forces at the request of the Secretary-General on 10 and 11 April. As Deputies are aware, the use of air-power at safe areas under the authority of the United Nations was provided for in Resolution 836 adopted by the Security Council in June 1993.
In advance of the action by NATO forces, clear and unambiguous warnings were repeatedly given to the Bosnian Serbs to cease their onslaught. Decisions to use force, including air-power, to achieve the very specific objectives of Security Council resolutions raise difficult and complex questions. The Secretary-General's decision to authorise close air support in defence of UN personnel was taken after giving due weight to all the factors involved. Bosnian Serb commanders who defied the appeals and warnings of the international community bear the responsibility for the action taken.
It is deplorable that the Bosnian Serbs have continued their actions against Gorazde, inflicting high casualties on its population and threatening the lives of UN personnel who, courageously, remained in the town. Their actions also represent a substantial setback to the peace process, in which much progress had been made recently towards an overall settlement in former Yugoslavia. The fighting between Bosnian Croats and Muslims in Central Bosnia — the major conflict area for more than nine months — has been brought to an end. Both parties have agreed to establish a Croat-Muslim Federation in Bosnia. A ceasefire in Croatia, was agreed last month and forces are withdrawing from the confrontation lines.
The recent events at Gorazde have given rise to questions in some quarters as to whether the UN should continue to be engaged in Bosnia. It is clear that the UN has not been able to achieve all of its objectives, but it would be the ultimate tragedy if, following events at Gorazde, despair should precipitate a withdrawal of the UN peacekeeping force. However difficult and frustrating the process may be, the presence of the UN in Bosnia is vital to create the climate for negotiations and to provide desperately needed aid, not least in Gorazde, whose inhabitants are threatened by an appalling humanitarian crisis.
The EU has been frequently criticised for its inability to end the conflict in Bosnia. However, it should be emphasised that the EU, which co-chairs the International Conference on Former Yugoslavia, is fully engaged in the search for peace. EU member states are contributing some 15,000 personnel to UNPROFOR. A valuable contribution is also being made to a peaceful settlement by the 200 EU monitors in the EU monitor mission. Some 65 per cent of the total cost of the humanitarian operation in former Yugoslavia has been provided by the EU and its member states. The EU has also agreed in principle to administer the town of Mostar for a two year period. This is a major contribution to the rapproachement between Bosnia's Croats and Muslims.
In its policy on former Yugoslavia, the Government has pursued three essential aims: to maintain and develop the search for a peaceful settlement to the conflict in Bosnia on the basis of the European Union's peace plan; to prevent the spread of the conflict, and to ensure the supply and delivery of humanitarian assistance to the victims.
The Government will continue its efforts to promote these essential objectives through its participation in the International Conference on former Yugoslavia, its participation in UNPROFOR and in the EU Monitor Mission. We are also providing help for the victims of the conflict and support the work of the International Tribunal which has been established to prosecute the perpetrators of war crimes. We will continue our support for the vigorous implementation of the sanctions against Serbia and Montenegro.
With our European Union partners the Government is fully engaged in the search for an overall settlement in Bosnia. Our aim is a comprehensive and durable peace for that country and the region. What has been achieved in recent weeks must not be lost. A ceasefire at Gorazde is now essential. This should be built on and extended throughout Bosnia.
European Union Foreign Ministers, in Luxembourg on 18 April, demanded an immediate and unconditional ceasefire, the withdrawal of Bosnia Serbs from the vicinity of Gorazde, and the lifting of all obstructions which have been placed in UNPROFOR's path. Ministers also called for an intensive and co-ordinated effort by the international community, involving the European Union, the United Nations, United States and Russia, to relaunch the negotiations on the basis of the European Union plan of action which has been accepted by all the parties. President Yeltsin has proposed a Summit meeting between Russia, the United States and the European Union. Our Government has welcomed this initiative.
All civilised people must be outraged at the recent and ongoing events at Gorazde but it is important to bear in mind that a lasting settlement cannot be imposed on Bosnia. The Bosnian Serbs, in particular, must return to the negotiating table to arrive at a solution through negotiation.
It should also be recalled that, while the Security Council has authorised the use of force in certain circumstances, the mandate for UNPROFOR in Bosnia is of an essentially humanitarian nature — to facilitate the distribution of aid and to promote a political settlement.
A ceasefire at Gorazde was negotiated early on Tuesday morning. This provided for the deployment of some 100 UNPROFOR troops to the left bank of the Drina river. In addition, United Nations military observers are to be deployed throughout the town and a medical team given access to Gorazde. It was hoped that these arrangements would facilitate the delivery of vital humanitarian assistance and the immediate evacuation of the wounded. However, the Serb shelling against Gorazde continued yesterday, when a hospital was shelled and more than 40 people were killed, mocking the commitments undertaken by the Bosnian Serbs earlier that day. It is utterly contemptible that the Bosnian Serbs should categorise the hospital as a military target. No possible justification, no military logic, can be cited in support of the shelling of Gorazde yesterday. The information available to us from the UNHCR suggests that the pattern of fire and the nature of the ordnance can have been dictated only by the objective of killing and maiming people in their homes.
In these circumstances, it was not possible to deploy the UNPROFOR personnel yesterday. An effective ceasefire and the immediate deployment of United Nations troops is essential in Gorazde and the Government is fully suppotive of the ongoing UN efforts to bring this about.
If access for humanitarian aid deliveries and clearances for evacuation of the injured and innocent victims of this conflict can be agreed, Ireland will contribute to the UNHCR's effort to bring relief to the people of Gorazde. International agencies are aware of the willingness to respond to requests for medical evacuations. We will remain in close contact with them on the humanitarian situation and on the medical needs of the victims of the conflict.
The latest information available to me is that, following contact between the United Nations and the Bosnian Serbs overnight, a convoy of UNPROFOR troops, with 41 medical personnel and a field hospital, left Sarajevo en route for Gorazde at 1.30 this morning. I understand that it is now half-way to Gorazde. It will need to overcome many obstacles at Bosnian Serb checkpoints before arriving in that town where, we understand, shelling has continued and, perhaps, intensified today.
In our approach to the conflict in former Yugoslavia, the Irish Government has always favoured dialogue and negotiation. However, as we have seen in Sarajevo, the threat or use of force is sometimes necessary to achieve our humanitarian and political objectives. In the case of Gorazde, the international communtiy cannot leave its besieged citizens defenceless. We hope that the negotiations can be successful. However, if they do not succeed, the most serious consideration will have to be given to the request from the United Nations Secretary-General to NATO to authorise air strikes, at the request of the United Nations against artillery, mortar positions or tanks in or around Gorazde and other safe areas which are determined by UNPROFOR to be responsible for attacks against civilian targets within those areas.
Earlier, I mentioned Dr. McLaughlin and Mr. O'Dwyer. I know members fully share the Government's preoccupations regarding the safety of these two Irish citizens who are trapped in Gorazde. Their small UNHCR team has been doing outstanding work in the most appalling conditions. Deputies will be aware that the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs has directly requested the intervention of the Bosnian Serb leader, Dr. Karadzic, to guarantee safe passage for the evacuation of these aid workers from Gorazde. The Tánaiste has also requested President Milosevic's intervention on this matter. We are liaising closely with the UNHCR regarding the safety of our aid workers. Mrs. Ogata, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, is also working strenuously to this end.
My latest information is that Dr. McLaughlin and Mr. Dwyer are managing to exist in the most perilous and desperate conditions. I earnestly hope that the effective ceasefire, which the United Nations is working strenuously to put in place, will permit UNHCR staff to reach Gorazde and those who wish to leave to do so in safety.
I am sure that all Members will agree that these two Irish citizens deserve our highest commendation and support for their efforts on behalf of the victims of war in Gorazde.
