§ 11.17 a.m.
§ Lord KennetMy Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question standing in my name on the Order Paper.
The Question was as follows:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will make a gift of paper to the Election Council of Nicaragua for the general elections to be held there in November.
§ The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Baroness Young)My Lords, it is not our normal practice to provide assistance of this kind for elections held in foreign countries.
§ Lord KennetMy Lords, did not the noble Baroness the day before yesterday write in a Written Answer to Lord Drumalbyn:
We welcome this further step in the establishment of democracy in El Salvador, and look for similar developments in other countries of the region"?—[Official Report, 2/5/84; col. 623].Is not Nicaragua the only other country in the region which is seeking to introduce democracy at the 723 moment? In view of the fact that it is doing so in circumstances which are very difficult for us to imagine—virtual blockade of their ports and so on—in view of the very good precedent of United States' help for the introduction of democracy in El Salvador next door, and in view of the specific request for so simple an item as paper for ballot papers (of which I have informed the Government privately), would she not reconsider the Government's present negative attitude?
§ Baroness YoungMy Lords, I am glad to confirm what I wrote in an Answer to a Written Question to my noble friend Lord Drumalbyn. I also confirm that the noble Lord. Lord Kennet, raised with me privately the question that he has put down on the Order Paper today. But I should say to him that our aid funds are limited, and assistance of this sort is not our highest priority. It is not our practice to give help in this particular form, but I confirm that we are in favour of all moves towards democracy in central America. We shall consider positively any invitation that we may receive to send observers to elections in that region.
§ Lord Cledwyn of PenrhosMy Lords, in view of the fact that democracy, as we understand it, is a very tender plant in central America, would the noble Baroness think again? Is it not the case that we are shortly to open an embassy in Nicaragua, and is it not very much in our interests to give practical help? Pious hopes are one thing; but practical assistance to help the growth of democracy in that area is another. It would be very much in our interest if we were able to offer some practical assistance, not only in the form of paper but in other ways, towards the establishment of a proper election procedure in that part of the world.
§ Baroness YoungMy Lords, I can confirm to the noble Lord, Lord Cledwyn, that we will have diplomatic representation in Nicaragua. That has been announced. On the point that the noble Lord made about help in the Nicaraguan elections, I can add nothing to my original Answer. It is not our normal practice to give this kind of aid to foreign countries. There have, of course, been instances in the past, quite recently, when we suggested in the case of Grenada that some of the aid money could have been used for that particular purpose there. But it is, of course, up to the country concerned to make the suggestion.
§ The Lord Chancellor (Lord Hailsham of Saint Marylebone)My Lords, I must apologise to the noble Lord, Lord Kennet, for the rather incorrect form in which his name appears on the Order paper. I noticed it only this morning and I was not able to correct it in time.
§ Lord LeatherlandMy Lords, after that interruption, may I ask the noble Baroness whether she knows that some of us are more interested in the elections in Britain than in those in Nicaragua? What has she to say with regard to the election results which have been announced this morning?
§ Baroness YoungMy Lords, the noble Lord, Lord Leatherland, will understand that this is rather a 724 different subject. I was, of course, delighted that we had two great parliamentary election successes.