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23 November 2015

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EU 'mutual defence clause' threatens Irish neutrality

Irish Defence Minister Simon Coveney is welcomed by regime troops in Mali

THERE is growing opposition to Government plans to deploy additional members of the Irish Defence Forces to Mali in order to relieve French troops. 

The concern comes just days after 27 people were killed during a siege by Islamist gunmen at a hotel in the Malian capital Bamako.

Speaking on The Week in Politics on Sunday, Sinn Féin Deputy Leader Mary Lou McDonald TD said her party would oppose any attempt to boost the Irish contingent in Mali from the current ten troops already stationed there.

In the aftermath of the Paris attacks claimed by the so-called Islamic State group, France became the first state to enact the Mutual Defence Clause of the Lisbon Treaty which compels other EU states to come to the aid of a member which is under attack.

During the referendum on the Lisbon Treaty, Mary Lou McDonald says Sinn Féin had warned that the clause would erode Irish neutrality:

“As a neutral state we should not be subject to any such alliance or any such clauses,” she said.

Currently, 1,000 French troops are operating in Mali as part of France's Operation Barkhane counter-terrorism deployment to prop-up the Mali regime which came to power in a coup in 2012 when high-ranking military officers overthrew the Government and executed some of its supporters.

Other French forces are in Mali as part of a UN mission.

The 2012 coup destabilised the country, allowing nomadic Tuareg rebels to seize control of much of the country's north. During the subsequent chaos, Islamic groups linked to Al Qaeda exploited the civil conflict to gain a foothold in parts of the country.

Mary Lou McDonald said that while the people of Ireland stand with the people of Paris, that does not extend to compromising Irish neutrality:

“The regime in Mali stands accused very recently of the most horrific of human rights abuses,” said Mary Lou McDonald.

Junior Minister for European Affairs, Dara Murphy of Fine Gael said Ireland has committed to the Lisbon Treaty:

“We are committed to being part of Europe's common defence strategy. And I believe it is morally right that we should do that. The people of Europe were attacked last week. We have a responsibility as a family of European nations to support our French colleagues.”

Noting that Mali is part of France's colonial history in Africa, Mary Lou said everybody must work to ensure such horror as the Paris attacks never occurs again:

“Being neutral isn't about sitting on your hands and doing nothing,” she said. “It's about recognising Ireland's past and our experience of having been colonised and what we can bring to the table – diplomatically and politically. Not tagging along as a bit-player with the big boys.”

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