As international pressure on the Indonesian government mounted yesterday, the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, was awaiting legal advice as to whether the Government could invoke international law and force the UN to intervene and stop the bloodshed in East Timor.
Meanwhile a five-member UN Security Council delegation and the UN Commissioner for Human Rights, Mrs Mary Robinson, are expected in Dili this morning, hoping to see the situation there for themselves after a week of killing, burning and looting by Indonesian-backed militias.
The Government is considering invoking the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in order to force the Security Council to intervene. Options were being examined by officials from the Attorney General's office and the Department of Foreign Affairs.
Although the convention came into force in 1951, it has rarely been invoked. It defines genocide as any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group: killing members of the group; causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group; or forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.
The convention empowers any contracting party to call for UN action under the Charter of the UN for the prevention and suppression of acts of genocide.
Legal sources were confident last night that the convention provided Ireland with strong grounds for action, even though Indonesia is not a signatory.
Among the legal advice awaited by the Taoiseach was whether a Cabinet decision would be required for the Government to invoke the convention.
The proposal to invoke the convention was made to the Taoiseach yesterday afternoon during a 45-minute meeting with the chairman and director of Trocaire, Bishop John Kirby, Trocaire director and Mr Justin Kilcullen as well as Mr Tom Hyland of the East Timor Ireland Solidarity Campaign.
"Ireland should have the courage to do what needs to be done in East Timor," said Mr Kilcullen.
Mr Hyland demanded a Government response by last night. "Every minute of deliberations will mean more lives lost," he said. "The people of East Timor are counting on someone or some country having the moral courage to invoke the convention and come to their assistance. If the government takes these actions it will save a generation in East Timor."
Trocaire also sent a letter to President Clinton calling for the genocide convention to be invoked. Mr Clinton said yesterday on his way to the APEC summit in Auckland: "It is now clear that the Indonesian military is aiding and abetting the militia violence." He said Jakarta "must reverse this course".