Bush told of abhorrence at prisoner abuse

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern today raised the issue of prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib prison with President Bush.

Mr Ahern, the current President of the European Council, said: “President Bush is very much aware of the abhorrence that the people of Ireland and of Europe felt at the abuse of Iraqi prisoners by coalition forces.

“We discussed this issue again today and I re-iterated the concern of the Irish Government. I also welcomed President Bush’s personal commitment to deal with this issue in a comprehensive manner.

“I also raised again the issue of the treatment of prisoners in Guantanamo - this is an area in which our views are well known to the US government.”

The instability in Iraq dominated the talks which were initially scheduled to focus on increasing trans-Atlantic business links.

Mr Ahern admitted the issue of Iraq was high on the agenda throughout the day’s talks in the luxurious Dromoland Castle in Co Clare.

“It is vital that we move forward together in the coming days as the transfer of sovereignty approaches,” he said.

“Ireland is absolutely committed to playing its part in supporting the people of Iraq to build a truly sovereign and secure country.”

As the talks went on inside the 16th century castle, more than 4,000 police officers and 2,000 soldiers patrolled the surrounding countryside in the biggest security operation ever staged in Ireland.

Thousands of anti-war protesters also gathered around the venue as President Bush prepared to attend a press conference before flying out of Shannon Airport on his way to a UN summit in Turkey.

Mr Ahern said he also brought the President up to date with the latest efforts to revive a power-sharing administration in Northern Ireland.

“I briefed President Bush on recent developments in the peace process, including my discussions in London yesterday with Tony Blair,” he said.

“We also discussed the situation of undocumented Irish immigrants in the US.”

The Taoiseach said recent policies announced by Mr Bush should go some way to alleviating the plight of unregistered Irish nationals in the US.

“These initiatives should go some way to address the situation of the many undocumented Irish people living in and contributing to the US economy and society,” he said.

The talks between the two leaders also focused on international issues and the EU and US adopted a joint Declaration on the situation in Sudan and on the fight against HIV/Aids.

“These are important Irish foreign policy priorities and I am particularly pleased that these national priorities have been translated into concrete EU-US action,” Mr Ahern said.

“We had a very good discussion on the way ahead in the Middle East Peace Process. The re-invigoration of the Quartet and the plans for an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza provide a window of opportunity to move ahead with the implementation of the Road Map.”