Statement on the atrocities in the United States of America, by Michael Noonan, TD, Leader of Fine Gael, to Dáil Éireann on 18th September, 2001
Ba mhaith liom, a Cheann Comhairle, comhbhrón mhuintir Fhine Gael a thairiscint do ghaolta na ndaoine a fuair bás ins na Stáit Aontaithe Dé Máirt seo caite. Ba mhaith liom comhbhrón a dhéanamh le Muintir Mheiriceá agus a rá leo go bhfuil ár smaointe is ár bpaidreacha leo i rith na laethanta dorcha seo.
Tá feall déanta ar chosmhuintir na Stáit Aontaithe ach mar a deireann an seanfhocal, ‘filleann an feall ar an bhfeallaire’.
Tá súil agam nuair a fhilleann an feall áirithe seo, gur ar an bhfeallaire, ar a lucht leanúna agus orthu siúd a thugann tacaíocht dó a fhillfidh sé agus ní ar na boicht i dtíortha iargúlta an domhain.
I join with you, Taoiseach, in conveying the sympathy of the Irish people to the President and the people of the United States. The atrocities in New York, in Washington DC and in Pennsylvania have left a mark, the full extent of which cannot yet be appreciated.
It is appropriate that I begin by expressing sympathy with the families, the relatives and the friends of the Irish citizens who have been killed. The names of a small number are known and the pain of loss has already hit their loved ones. Others, at this stage, are listed as missing and while we join in the hope that their families cling to, our sense of optimism diminishes as the days go on. We can only pray that all of them will be given the strength to cope with the difficult situations which they all face.
I know the House will understand if I move next to sympathise with the families, relatives and friends of those killed while working in the rescue efforts. I refer in particular to the fire fighters, the Chaplain, Fr Michael Judge, the members of the New York Police Department, and the doctors, nurses and paramedics. For many generations the New York fire fighters and the members of the New York Police Department have included overwhelming numbers from the Irish-American community and any of us in this House who have worked to maintain contact with that community, know only too well of the pride those Americans take in their Irish ancestry. St Patrick’s Day parades in Ireland and in the US are nothing without them and in recent years, they have been the backbone of Irish-American tourism to this country. They were fiercely loyal to the City of New York and to the United States. But their affection for this country was never in doubt and their pride in meeting visiting Irish ministers and politicians was always very obvious. May I also express sympathy to the families, relatives and friends of all of those who have been killed, Americans and non-Americans alike. A substantial number of British people and a number of citizens from our European Union partner countries have been killed or are missing. We include them also in our grief.
The atrocities in the United States of America last week represented an attack, not just on the United States itself but also on democracy as a whole. The symbols attacked may have been symbols of world trade in the case of the Twin Towers in New York or superpower in the case of the Pentagon. But the attacks were attacks on ordinary people. People from 62 countries are listed as missing or dead. As I have over the last week reflected on what has happened, I am constantly brought back to that great address delivered by Abraham Lincoln at the dedication of the cemetery at Gettysburg on 19 November 1863. President Lincoln’s address came at a time when Civil War threatened the United States from within. Speaking at Gettysburg, President Lincoln said and I quote:
"that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain – that this nation under God, shall have a new breath of freedom – and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth".
That form of government, that democracy not only survived but has flourished since Gettysburg. I have no doubt that last week’s atrocities, this time a threat from without, will not weaken US democracy.
It has survived and indeed frequently been strengthened by political crises, economic depression and major internal political differences. But it has remained a government of the people, by the people and for the people. And its strength is such that it will remain so after the events of last week.
There is a particular irony in the fact that the twin towers, the buildings involving most of the casualties, were within sight of that great symbol of freedom, the Statue of Liberty. Part of the inscription on the statue is worth recalling. It reads:
"From her beacon-hand glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command the air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame. ‘Keep ancient lands your storied pomp!’ cries she with silent lips.
Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!."
These dastardly attacks within the shadow of the Statue of Liberty were on ordinary people, American and non-American, men and women, black and white, rich and poor. But they will not achieve anything because the ordinary people will successfully resist. And from this House today, I know that the main message that will go out loud and clear is a message to the people of the United States. Emotionally, our solidarity is with you. Politically, our solidarity is with you. You have supported us in our dark days. In earlier generations you gave refuge and hope to our emigrants. In very recent years, you made a huge contribution to our Peace Process. And without your involvement, the Irish economy would not be in the positive state that it is today.
It is much too early to speculate in detail on how last weeks atrocities in the United States will change the course of history. We can, however, say beyond doubt that international relations will from now on be conducted on a different basis. The conflict on which the United States and its allies seem set to embark will not be a conflict of one superpower against another superpower. It will not be, cold war style, a conflict between East and West. And I sincerely hope that it will not be a conflict between the West and Islam.
Whatever the nature of the conflict, we must never lose sight of the fact that in the United Nations, we have an organisation and the structures to cope with whatever emerges. I am glad that the Government has joined with the other members of the United Nations Security Council in unanimously adopting last week Resolution 1368 calling on all states to bring to justice the perpetrators of the atrocities committed in the United States. And I am glad that the Taoiseach, in a radio interview over the weekend, referred to Resolution 1269 adopted by the Security Council in October 1999.
The only basis for the conduct of international relations is the rule of law and Ireland has, since Liam Cosgrave led us into the United Nations in 1955, enthusiastically backed the work of that organisation in providing the framework and the structures for relationships between states and for peace and stability in the world. The United Nations has been and must remain a corner stone of all our foreign policy and the Government can be assured of Fine Gael’s support as it seeks to bring into play to the maximum extent possible the instruments of the United Nations as the world faces into an unchartered, an unpredictable and an uncertain future.
The battle against international terrorism must, of course, be fought internationally. But we must never forget a lesson which we in these islands have learned over the last 30 years. Security and counter-security measures alone are in most situations not sufficient. It is important to look also at the underlying causes of terrorism and to acknowledge that there may well be political, economic and social issues that require to be dealt with.
There are 80 – 90 local conflicts which are currently as great a threat to world peace as the cold war ever was. Many of these conflicts involve states and groups who feel alienated and excluded, particularly when they find themselves in conflict with the world superpower. States and groups who feel alienated are particularly dangerous and are prone to resort to extreme measures, including terrorism and even the development of nuclear capacity. We should never forget that five states currently the scenes of localised conflict either have or are close to developing nuclear weapons or other weapons of mass destruction.
As a country with a good track record at the United Nations and, indeed, with a good track record generally in international affairs, we must make ourselves available to others who are not well placed. During our current membership of the United Nations Security Council and in particular in our term next month as President of that Council, we will have a particular opportunity to hold out the hand of friendship and the hand of co-operation.
Before I conclude, I would like to refer briefly to the situation which we face this very week close to home. By the end of the week, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland will have to take a decision relating to the institutions created under the Good Friday Agreement. A range of issues divides the Parties but in an overall context, the differences have been significantly narrowed. The putting of weapons beyond use and accepting of new policing arrangements are the major issues facing Sinn Féin and the IRA. I believe this is an appropriate time and that this House is an appropriate place from which to send a clear message to Sinn Féin and the IRA. You cannot continue to threaten the Good Friday Agreement, all elements of which have been endorsed by the overwhelming majority of the Irish people voting in a freely conducted and fair referendum. It is not your Agreement. It belongs to all the people of this island.
Nor can you threaten and risk damaging the goodwill which this country and its people enjoy in the United States, including with the US Administration. Your continuing refusal to put arms and explosives beyond use in Ireland is an appalling signal to send at any time but particularly so following last week’s atrocities. And the questions raised about the relationship between Sinn Féin and the IRA with a major terrorist group in Colombia also need to be addressed – and not flippantly. I am with Ambassador Hass, President Bush’s Special Envoy, when he says that he does not believe that members of Sinn Féin were in Colombia on holidays.
It is time for Sinn Féin and the IRA to get off the fence. End the use of violence. End the threat of the use of violence. Break your links with other groups who are associated with terrorism.
As long as you hold guns and explosives, you cannot become full members of democracy. As long as you continue to withhold support from policing, you cannot be full members of democracy. As long as you fraternise with terrorists, you cannot be full members of democracy.
In the context of what has happened in the United States last week, Sinn Féin and the IRA must now take the necessary steps in the next few days to join with the rest of us in the only system of Government that matters, Government of the people, by the people and for the people.
To draw on the Gettysburg address once more, it is for us the living doubly to dedicate ourselves to the unfinished work of achieving peace and stability on the island of Ireland. Over 5,000 people perished in the United States last week. Over 3,000 people have perished on this island in the last 30 years. There is only one lesson to be drawn from these events. Violence brings nothing but pain and misery and desolation.
As we talk here today, let us all be conscious of the victims of violence, be they in Ireland or the United States, be they Irish or American or European or other. And let us pledge to do everything that we can to ensure that there will be no more victims of terrorism.