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AN TAOISEACH ENDA Kenny has heard from a number of human rights groups ahead of his weekend visit to China.
Kenny is to lead a trade and investment mission to China on Sunday, where he will join Jobs and Enterprise Minister Richard Bruton and representatives from 90 Irish exporting companies.
As Ireland tries to majorly tap into the lucrative Chinese market, the Taoiseach has come under pressure to discuss China’s humanitarian record with Government officials in Beijing.
The Tibetan Community of Ireland handed a petition into the Taoiseach’s office on Wednesday, urging Kenny to speak directly to the Chinese government on behalf of Tibet.
Chairman of the group Samdup Tashi said, “Taoiseach Enda Kenny said in the Dail, on the 22 February, that China’s human rights record was improving. We would like to remind him that this is not correct and we have much evidence to the contrary and that he must raise the issue of Tibet and the horrendous treatment of Tibetans, the imprisonment of Tibetan people without trial and the killing of Tibetan people inside their own country by China, as a matter of urgency.”
Amnesty International were granted a meeting with Kenny yesterday during which representatives asked him to “deliver a clear and forceful message on human rights”.
“Amnesty International has urged the Irish Government to make human rights a central part of the discourse with the Chinese authorities,” said executive director Colm O’Gorman.
The return trip to China comes just weeks after Xi Jinping’s State visit to Ireland. China’s VP spent three days in Ireland, during which Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Eamon Gilmore insisted the issue of human rights abuses was raised.
Although Amnesty recognised the “need and opportunity” for trade with China, it said that Ireland should not “shy away” from naming China’s human rights abuses while doing business with the country.
The activist group had a specific list of concerns, including detention-without-trials in China, treatment of human rights lawyers and prisoner executions.
The group said the issues are particularly prevalent as Ireland seeks election to the United Nations Human Rights Council.
No specific cases were discussed with Xi Jinping during his visit to Ireland, according to Gilmore but Amnesty wants this trip to be different.
It listed five individual cases which it urged the government to discuss with Chinese authorities, including the immediate release of Nobel peace laureate Liu Xiaobo.
Access China
Before leaving for China yesterday, Minister Bruton launched a guide to doing business in China to help facilitate Irish companies break the export market there.
Over the next two days, Bruton will lead 130 executives from 90 companies across Hong Kong and Shenzen. They will then travel to Shanghai on Saturday evening.
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Aodhan was asked on RTÉ radio if he would welcome such a centre in Clontarf where he lives. In a roundabout way the answer was no and he believes it is for other areas to deal with this.
@Michael McLoughlin:
Car break ins, assaults, drug dealing increase in areas adjacent to injection and methadone centres.
Send all drug users to a remote Island and give them as much drugs as they want.
They’ve opted out of society. We owe them nothing.
@m flynsk: is it not society doesn’t want them?plus your way of thinking and typing belongs in the Stone Age get a book and educate yourself,these people never got up one day and thought ahh hay I’ll be a heroine addict(all drug users) that you say could you explain that part a bit better because it makes you sound an uneducated Fool!
Put it beside your house then. Dublin 8 is already all of Dublin’s drug users dumping ground. Each community should be responsible for their own. We have enough centres, hostels, needle exchanges etc. All within a 10 minute walk of each other.
@Thomas Quinn: Problem is – the majority of people who use drugs are located in inner city areas, or at least frequent there. They are not out in great numbers in Sutton or Dundrum. I’d be happy with smaller sites dotted around the city but that’s probably not economical. It was supposed to be a pilot. DCC should have at least piloted it. If it worked -hooray. If it didn’t, halt it.
@Annie Citric: We have to move from Dublin 8 next year because it is so bad now already. Guardai do not stop or search anyone within a radius of these charity or government hostels/needle exhanges or drug clinics and with so many in the area that means dealers walk around with impunity. 5 guys deal openly opposite the late night centre and carry blades and bat’s intimidating people openly and St Patrick’s Park is filled with the walking dead. I have removed needles close by were my daughter plays. I have a solution for these centres. Prison. Lock them up and give them free heroin in supervision. If they want to get clean provide the support and weaning off service there too along with job support upon release. Enough is enough.
@Annie Citric: Unless you’ve done a census on IV drug users and their home addresses that’s a guess at best. There is a cohort of city centre dwelling addicts but there are a considerable amount who use their free passes on public transport to travel into the city centre each day because that’s where the “treatment” centres and homeless shelters are. Time to move them into the localities where these people actually come from instead of constantly drawing them into The D1/D2/D8 areas. Maybe then ordinary decent taxpaying workers can enjoy the city centre, and maybe the city will get a chance to become a more family friendly place, instead of something resembling a set from the walking dead.
@Annie Citric: The users travel to those places to get their drugs they are fro all over the country and for all backgrounds
@Annie Citric: how would you like to see an injection centre put on the doorstep of your children’s school, having to have the blinds closed because of the sightings they have to see day in and day out. That centre will only attract more dealers and more addicts. They need help to come off drugs not keeping them on it.
The failed labour minister backs another loser.
The city council listened to the local community and said NO.
Drug users bring crime, anti social behaviour and violence and to create a Walking dead zombie farm, where stoned, out of their heads, criminals can bring heroin, that they bought illegally with the proceeds of a criminal act and shoot up at the Tax payers expense. GET A GRIP.. It wouldn’t help on of them become clean.
Hopefully now D1 and D2 get cleaned up and the stoned Zombies destroing the city are removed.
Well done DCC and the Hug a thug brigade can go to hell
@Mark Mccormack: I lived around the corner from one in Brisbane and it was grand. There was never an issue. This has worked in other countries. A pilot scheme is worth a shot.
@Ned Flanders: live not too far from there myself. It does work, it works in Portugal, it works in the Netherlands. Addiction is a side effect of social isolation and a lack of purpose. These centres solve these root causes and the addiction fades in many cases. If we elevate the lowest in society we improve society.
Today’s goverment only approve popular decisions..vote hunting
Merchants Quay ( Franciscan Order) own a massive nursing home (Assisi House) on the Navan Rd beside the Papal Nuncio. Its where they keep there most prolific sex offender Ronald Bennet. That could be used as an injecting centre ? On all the bus routes and near the city centre.
@Jim Lahy: Grafton st is an excellent choice for the centre, Luas and plenty of buses there so addicts can travel hassle free for treatment.
@Niall O’Neill: Except for the people who use those very heavily used services and we have enough addicts of our own thanks all the same
Bit of a shame, that. Pity these poor souls couldn’t be given free drugs to be taken out of their misery and the dealers out of business.
An injecting centre??? Would it not make more sense to get people off drugs than offer them a legal place to take them?? It appears to me that injecting centres are the first step to make drug taking socially acceptable.
@Michael MC Evoy: I don’t think taking heroin is ever going to be accepted by society. It will never ever be gotten rid of either. The only thing that can be done is at least try and reduce the harm caused and save lives.
Why can these facilities not be placed in local existing hospitals throughout the city ? Taking new build units into the community is of course going to cause concern. These are drug addiction units and as such a hospital is the best place for them .
There remains a dire need to address & prevent the shooting up & user debris in public areas.
Surely there is a simpler way by fitting out mobile dispensary units to cater for 4 or 6 per session, so that there is no need to congregate all users to 1 place.
Am not impressed that these users are expected to purchase their own gear, thus continuing the criminal connection & influence. This gear not alone is illegal, but is potentially lethal.
Cannot the seized gear be quality & safety tested for use in such mobile units?
have your say