Ahern to raise murder of Irish Vatican diplomat at Papal meeting

THE murder of a Nenagh-born Vatican diplomat in Africa will be raised by Foreign Affairs Minister Dermot Ahern when he meets the Pope in Rome tomorrow.

Mr Ahern will call for an international inquiry into the death of 58-year-old Archbishop Michael Courtney, Papal Nuncio to Burundi, who died in December 2003 when his car was ambushed by gunmen.

The minister has been granted a private audience with Pope Benedict XVI and Archbishop Goivanni Lajolo, Vatican Secretary for Relations with States, at midday on Wednesday.

The Co Louth TD will also brief the Vatican on the Northern peace process, the situation in the Middle East, stem cell research and United Nations reform.

Mr Ahern said today: “We will be reviewing progress being made into bringing the murderers of Archbishop Michael Courtney to justice.

“I have remained in close contact with the Burundian authorities regarding the ongoing internal investigation into Archbishop Courtney’s murder.”

The initial blame for Archbishop Courtney’s murder was placed on the rebel forces of the Forces Nationales de Liberation (FNL).

However, the FNL has strenuously denied responsibility and accused the Burundian Army, or Tutsi elements within it, of deliberately targeting the diplomat due to his efforts to promote peace and reconciliation between the Tutsi and Hutu communities in Burundi.

An official investigation was launched by the Burundian authorities following the murder.

The Irish Government has maintained regular contact with the Burundian authorities and Mr Ahern also raised the matter with his Burundian counterpart at the UN General Assembly in September 2005.

“The Irish Government remains open to the idea of an international commission of inquiry being launched, in the event that the official Burundian investigation fails to make any further progress,” Mr Ahern said yesterday.

“In our view, we need to find out the true circumstances of what occurred. We may work through the proposed United Nations special tribunal, which would also be supportive generally of the UN’s efforts in promoting reconciliation and reconstruction within Burundi.

“We intend to continue encouraging the UN Secretariat in this direction. We will be informing the Vatican authorities of how our efforts are proceeding,” he said.