Last Friday, I had the honour of visiting the memorial in Hiroshima to the victims of the atomic bomb. I laid a wreath at that cenotaph there on behalf of the 160 Members of this House and the people we have the honour to represent. I heard the enormously heart-rending story of a 92-year-old lady, Ms Yoshiko Kajimoto, who had miraculously survived the impact of the bomb. The cenotaph is a simple yet beautiful arch. Underneath it is a stone coffin inscribed with the words "Let all the souls here rest in peace, for we shall not repeat the evil.” The names of 336,000 people who died following the dropping of that bomb are registered at that site.
It is 78 years since the atomic bomb was dropped, and we are witnessing a new evil in the context of the war in Ukraine. For the past year, a sovereign democratic State and member of our European family, Ukraine, has been the victim of unspeakable acts of brutality perpetrated by Russia and its proxy forces. Just as innocent men, women and children were slaughtered in Hiroshima, innocent men, women and children are being indiscriminately killed in Ukraine by missiles and drones. We think of the immense human suffering, with casualties in the hundreds of thousands, and millions of innocent people displaced. Ireland is a militarily neutral country but we will never be politically neutral where there is such a flagrant disregard for international law. To equivocate in the face of evil is to condone it. To stand idly by is to abandon innocent people to terror and death.
As I speak to you today in this House, I am conscious that there are 450 parliamentarians in another house, the Russian Duma, who are in a position to exert influence in respect of the war in Ukraine. I urge them to find some courage. Among their ranks there must be some members with courage and integrity and some sense of morality. I ask them to speak out and name the reality of what is being done, ostensibly in the name of the Russian people.
As we mark the first anniversary of Russia's unlawful and brutal war, we remember and stand in solidarity with the people of Ukraine. We acknowledge the generosity of the Irish people and their kindness and welcoming spirit in having almost 77,000 Ukrainian displaced people in our country at present. I ask colleagues to rise in respectful silence for the victims of this unjustified war and in support of those who are courageously defending the values that we all cherish.