Ireland should support France and Germany

national | miscellaneous | news report Tuesday February 11, 2003 20:30 by Graham Caswell - Green Party

Green Party Pres Release

The Green Party today in the Dáil called on the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Brian Cowen, and the Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, to 'get off the fence' and fully support the Franco-German proposal to the UN on Iraq.

"Next Monday the Taoiseach and the Minister for Foreign Affairs travel to an EU meeting to discuss the current crisis in Iraq. The French and German Governments need our backing, we must come down on the side of peace and insist that more time be given to diplomacy. This current rush to war on the part of the United States and Britain must be halted. At EU level, our Government must take a much stronger stand on this issue."

Party Chairman, John Gormley T.D., said the Franco-German proposal was now the only option that could avert a full-scale war. "Now is the time for Ireland to show its commitment to the UN and to our own Constitution by displaying our European credentials in whole-hearted support for old Europe. It is time for Brian Cowen to cease the bellicose rhetoric and to seek more creative solutions to the Iraq crisis."

"We are now behaving more like members of NATO than some of the existing members of NATO", concluded Deputy Gormley.