HL Deb 19 April 1982 vol 429 cc378-80

2.39 p.m.

Lord Avebury

My Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.

The Question was as follows:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what they consider to be the implications for peace in the Horn of Africa of the treaty between Libya, Ethiopia and the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen.

The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Belstead)

My Lords, the treaty has not been welcomed by neighbouring countries. It does not seem therefore that this treaty is likely to make any positive contribution to peace in the Horn of Africa.

Lord Avebury

My Lords, will not the noble Lord the Minister go a little further and say that one of the aims of this pact appears to be to destabilise neighbouring countries in the region such as the Sudan, Somalia and Saudi Arabia? Have the Government noted the recent upsurge of acts of international terrorism perpetrated by Libyan and Ethiopian criminals, such as the bomb outrage in Berlin on March 22nd, the stockpiling in Khartoum of arms and equipment of sabotage of a kind similar to those discovered in Nairobi, and the activities of Ethiopian death squads in Djibouti? What steps do the Government think can be taken by the United Kingdom in collaboration with neighbouring countries of the region to protect the victims of this aggression?

Lord Belstead

My Lords, I agree with the noble Lord, Lord Avebury, that there is probably very little doubt but that the real objective of the signatories to this treaty is to destabilise matters in the Horn of Africa, particularly the position of Somalia. So far as Libya is concerned, our relations have improved somewhat since 1980, when Libyans were murdered on the streets of London. This has enabled us to enter into some cautious dialogue with the Libyans. I will go little further than that in regard to that country.

Baroness Llewelyn-Davies of Hastoe

My Lords, since the noble Lord referred to Somalia and since it is one of the poorest countries in the world with its addition of the frightful burden of tragic refugees, could not the noble Lord's Government consider giving more than what even the Daily Telegraph called a "small dole" in the form of aid?

Lord Belstead

My Lords, I am sure that the facts do not support the suggestion made by the noble Baroness. Last year we provided relief for refugees in Somalia amounting to £3 million, and of course we have been donors towards the European Community aid for Somalia amounting to some £45 million.

Baroness Llewelyn-Davies of Hastoe

My Lords, does the noble Lord really consider that a large sum of money for such distress?

Lord Belstead

Yes, my Lords.

Baroness Airey of Abingdon

My Lords, is the Minister aware that there is great anxiety in the region mentioned by the noble Lord, Lord Avebury? Is he also aware that the success which we anticipate and which we all pray for in the Falklands will establish our reputation for defence for peace in the world? May I ask that attention should then be increased in this area, which includes Egypt, Somalia, Oman, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia, all of which are threatened by Soviet strategy in that region?

Lord Belstead

My Lords, I think that the Government should take seriously the question asked by my noble friend Lady Airey, and that is why the Government attach considerable importance to the United States-Somalia defence access agreement, which was concluded in August 1980 and which provides the United States with facilities at Berbera and Mogadishu. So far as the shadowy authority of the Soviet Union is concerned, I would go so far as to say that the Government do not believe that the Soviet Union inspired this treaty. The national preoccupations of the three signatories are quite sufficient to explain the treaty's terms.

Lord Avebury

My Lords, did not the noble Lord hear his colleague on the Front Bench just say in answer to a previous question that we could not allow aggressors to get away with their activities, and we are not looking at a region in which Ethiopia in par- ticular has been the aggressor over very many years? In addition to the military steps which are being taken by the United States in conjunction with Somalia to build up their strength in opposition to that aggression, would not one of the best ways of resisting it be to ensure that the economies of the neighbouring countries are more stable than they have been in the past? Would not the noble Lord therefore agree to a combined initiative by the West—particularly the EEC—to look again at the volume of aid to Somalia and the Sudan with a view to relieving them of the burden of the large number of refugees to whom they have to play host and to making their economies really stable and flourishing?

Lord Belstead

My Lords, it is because the Government take seriously the point which has been put to me by the noble Lord that we attach importance to the substantial aid which is given by the European Community to these countries—a matter which is of course kept under review.