08 February 2005
Dr. Henry: I thank Senator Ross for sharing his time. This is a very serious case. Mr. Bennett has been subjected to the most terrible conditions in prison and has lost a couple of stone in weight. The question of whether he has contracted tuberculosis remains to be seen. We must object strongly on this aspect of the case, not just from Mr. Bennett’s point of view, but also from the point of view of all those held in prisons in Zimbabwe. They are held in truly dreadful conditions. We have made similar sorts of pleas before for the rights of prisoners in other African countries.
Many people in Zimbabwe, some of whom are holders of Irish passports, are being oppressed by the authorities there. People who hold Irish passports have contacted me. They have been told to give up their Irish passports for a Zimbabwean passport or to leave the country. If one has worked there all one’s life and has a pension paid by the state, then it is impossible to come back to Ireland and live on that money. To my great relief, the Department of Foreign Affairs told me that one cannot deny one’s Irish nationality. If someone takes it away, then it will be given back again. This should be better publicised. It would be a cause of relief and comfort to many people in a country such as Zimbabwe.
I look with horror at the suggestions by the British Conservative Party that there should be a quota of asylum seekers. How can there possibly be a quota of asylum seekers when one does not know what sort of disruption there might be in some part of the world? Sometimes, a country may unexpectedly have to take in people from some part of the world. I suggest that this is the case in Zimbabwe. We should be in a position to take in people from that country and I do not just mean those Europeans who went out there. I am also referring to any of those black Zimbabweans who have had the courage to stand up to the present regime and who may need sanctuary in the future.
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