Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 17 Jun 2003

Vol. 568 No. 5

Written Answers. - Foreign Conflicts.

Aengus Ó Snodaigh

Ceist:

233 Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if and when the Government has raised concerns with the Spanish Prime Minister over the Spanish Government's banning of democratically elected Basque political parties, its closure of newspapers and radio stations, its prosecution of Basque culture and language activists, the arrest and imprisonment of the executive of Basque youth organisations, and the ongoing, documented abuse of Basque political prisoners which has been condemned by human rights organisations; and his views on whether such actions will contribute to a just and lasting peaceful resolution of that conflict. [16826/03]

Aengus Ó Snodaigh

Ceist:

234 Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the Government's position on the recent EU decision to comply with the Spanish state's request to add the Basque political party Batasuna to a list of organisations suspected of having links with terrorism; and his views on whether the proscription of a democratically elected political party will make a positive contribution to the search for a just and peaceful solution to that conflict. [16827/03]

Minister for Foreign Affairs (Mr. Cowen)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 233 and 234 together.

Batasuna, together with the related organisations Herri Batasuna and Euskal Herritarrok, were proscribed as aliases of the terrorist organisation ETA, following a vote of the Spanish Parliament on 26 August 2002 and a decision of the Spanish Supreme Court on 17 March 2003.

In addition, I understand that there is a separate investigation by Judge Baltasar Garzón into the activities of Batasuna and other organisations related to ETA.

Under the terms of Common Position 2001/931/CFSP, EU member states shall, through police and judicial co-operation in criminal matters within the framework of Title VI of the Treaty on European Union, afford each other the widest possible assistance in preventing and combating terrorist acts. In this context, the EU as a whole decided on 5 June 2003 to add Batasuna, and the related organisations, to the list established by Common Position 2001/931/CFSP.

As I understand the situation, ETA has not abandoned the use of force. Nor have ETA or the political party associated with it, Batasuna, committed themselves to exclusively peaceful and democratic means of pursuing their aims. Regrettably, as recently as 30 May two policemen were killed in a car bomb attack attributed to ETA. There can be no place in our democracies for the use or threat of the use of force. The interest of all the people of the Basque country would be best served by a decision by ETA to desist from violence and, together with their associates in Batasuna, commit themselves exclusively to peaceful and democratic means of pursuing their aims.