President under increased pressure to break silence over Ukraine letter

Government TDs and Senators have called on President Michael D Higgins to break his silence over a letter written by his wife Sabina Coyne Higgins on the war in Ukraine, following days of controversy and criticism.

The President failed to address the matter at the official opening of Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann in Westmeath on Sunday, and a series of questions posed by The Irish Times also went unanswered.

In her letter, Ms Higgins said the war in Ukraine would continue until both countries agreed a ceasefire and entered negotiations. She criticised an Irish Times editorial published on July 20th, saying she was “disappointed” and “dismayed” that it did not “encourage any ceasefire negotiations that might lead to a positive settlement”.

The letter was published on the Áras an Uachtaráin website but later removed. The Irish Times sought a comment from the Áras about the removal of the letter but received no response.

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The intervention by Ms Higgins has drawn public criticism from some Ukrainians in Ireland, as well as from at least one Ukrainian MP. A growing number of Government politicians are now calling for the President to answer questions on the matter.

Fianna Fáil TD Willie O’Dea said the President needs to address the matter “right now.”

“He should address this. Silence implies he is of the same opinion, which would be out of line with the Government’s approach and the approach of most members of the Oireachtas. He should clarify his position right now. Ukrainians are the victims here, and they have suffered enough.”

Fianna Fáil senator Lorraine Clifford Lee also sought clarification. “I think it was highly inappropriate that her letter was published on the Áras website. They need to explain why this was done.”

Fine Gael senator Martin Conway also said: ”I believe that President Higgins has a duty to explain why the letter was posted on President.ie, and why it was subsequently removed from the website. He also needs to make a clear and unambiguous statement supporting the Government position on Ukraine.”

Fine Gael Senator John McGahon warned that the issue “will not go away.”

“The Áras cannot just pulled down the shutters and ignore genuine questions from the media and the Irish people. We should know why President Higgins saw fit to have the letter published on President.ie, his official website. When he realised the backlash, did he then ask for the letter to be removed from the website? Is President Higgins refusing to answer media queries, because he had a hand in drafting the letter? There are a number of questions that can be clarified and easily answered by President Higgins,” he said, adding that “the silence is deafening.”

Mr McGahon said “his refusal to answer highlights a tacit endorsement of the letter”.

Earlier, Irish MEP Clare Daly has said she “salutes” Ms Higgins for the letter.

Speaking to The Irish Times, Ms Daly said it had “echoed” arguments made by her and fellow Irish MEP Mick Wallace “from the start” of the war that “only a negotiated peace can end the war, and this is what the international community should be working for”.

“A negotiated peace is not defeat, it is an agreement reached between parties. If the terms are not acceptable to either side, it cannot be agreed. Without trying, the slaughter continues, while the arms manufacturers laugh all the way to the bank,” Ms Daly said.

“The audacity of warmongering Fianna Fáil senators criticising her and implying that calling for peace is anti-Ukrainian is truly sickening,” she said, referring to comments by Fianna Fáil Senator Malcolm Byrne in which he called on the President to clearly state his “opposition to the brutality of Vladimir Putin” and to show that Ireland “holds Russia responsible for the war and ongoing barbarism”.

“Were those of us who called for an end to the war in Iraq and Afghanistan agents of the US? Were those who campaigned for an end to the Vietnam War enemies of the Vietnamese? Their comments are simply ridiculous. All wars end in peace,” she said.

Ms Daly and Mr Wallace have been long-time critics of Nato and speeches voicing their opposition to European Union sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine have featured on Russian state-run media in recent months.*

In a series of posts on Twitter at the weekend, the Peace and Neutrality Alliance (Pana) said it also “supports the position advocated by Sabina Higgins”.

“If the [Government] were using its place on the UNSC [United Nations Security Council] to advocate for a ceasefire and negotiations, her intervention would not have been necessary,” Pana said.

Mrs Higgins’s letter was a “wise intervention”, the organisation said, asking: “Is there any upper limit on the number of casualties that are acceptable before we get serious about peace?”

Mrs Higgins’s letter was published on the Áras an Uachtaráin website earlier this week, but by Friday evening it was no longer visible on the site. The Irish Times sought a comment from the Áras both on Friday night and again on Saturday about the apparent removal of the letter but has received no response..

Speaking on RTÉ's This Week programme earlier on Sunday, John McGahon said the letter was “a slap in the face to the 47,000 Ukrainian refugees who have come to this island of Ireland to seek safety and sanctuary.

The letter “provided a moral equivalence” between Russia and Ukraine, he said.

“If you were to read that letter, you would think this is a dispute between two countries over a contested piece of land. It is Russian tanks that have rolled into Ukraine, it is Russian missiles that have flattened Ukrainian cities.”

*This article was amended on Thursday, August 4th, 2022 to describe the manner in which Ms Daly and Mr Wallace’s opposition to sanctions featured on Russian state-run media.