§ 25. Mr. Fenner Brockwayasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will make a statement on the situation on the Yemen border of the Protectorate of Aden.
§ 19. Mr. Nabarroasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he will make a statement upon the recent disturbances on the border of the Aden Protectorate and Yemen.
§ 35. Mr. J. Hyndasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he will make a statement concerning the military actions that have been taking place on frontiers of the Yemen and the Aden Protectorate.
§ 44 and 48. Mr. Russellasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies (1) if he will make a statement on the situation on the Aden-Yemen frontier;
(2) what assistance is being given to the Sharif of Beihan to defend his State against unprovoked attacks by Yemeni troops.
§ 52. Mr. J. Johnsonasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will make a statement upon the situation now existing upon the border between the Aden Protectorate and the Yemen.
§ 57. Mr. John Hallasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what attacks have been made by regular or irregular Yemen forces against border villages in the Protectorate of Aden.
§ Mr. MaclayI would refer the hon. Members to the reply I gave on 22nd January to the right hon. and learned Member for Rowley Regis and Tipton (Mr. A. Henderson), to which I would now add two points. First, I regret that since 19th January there have been further considerable raids into Protectorate territory by Yemeni forces, during one of which an important Yemeni sheik was killed by Protectorate tribesmen defending themselves.
Secondly, the Yemeni Government have given an unsatisfactory reply to our offer of an early meeting of officials on the frontier, referring to "occupied Yemen" no doubt for propaganda purposes; but this reference is a clear admission that the Yemeni authorities are directly fomenting the warfare inside the Protectorate, which they could stop at once if they wished. In this reply they seem to be reeking to make Yemeni claims to the Protectorate the subject of the talks. This is entirely unacceptable, but we remain prepared to have local, or other diplomatic talks, on the conditions already stated, with a view to restoring peaceful relations on the frontier.
§ Mr. BrockwayWhilst thanking the right hon. Gentleman for that addition to the long reply of yesterday, may I ask him this question? Is it not a fact that yesterday the Yemeni Government indicated that they were prepared to enter into the talks with British officials? Secondly, in view of the explosive situation in the Middle East, is it not desirable that the British Government should take this matter to the United Nations so that, through a commission of the United Nations, there might be a settlement of this problem of the disputed frontier?
§ Mr. MaclayIn reply to the first part of that question, as I said in my reply, we remain prepared to have local or other diplomatic talks, but on the conditions already stated, with a view to restoring peaceful relations on the frontier. As regards the second part, obviously the question of the United Nations is one which must be kept under consideration.
§ Mr. RussellWill my right hon. Friend undertake to give every possible assistance to loyal local chiefs who ask for it?
§ Mr. MaclayI believe the House will agree that it is our absolute duty and responsibility to protect those for whom we have responsibilities in the Protectorate.
§ Mr. P. Noel-BakerAs it is many weeks since these troubles began, and since it is extremely desirable in our British interest that the facts should be established, will the Secretary of State not consider very seriously what my hon. Friend has proposed, namely, a commission front the United Nations of impartial persons to establish the facts?
§ Mr. MaclayHer Majesty's Government are certainly keeping under review the possibility of having neutral observers for the frontier. I should add that we have instructed the United Kingdom Delegation to the United Nations to rebut the false charges made there by the Yemeni Delegation.
§ Mr. Noel-BakerIs it not true that British rebuttals are not very gladly received in the Middle East at present, and is it not in our interest, before the situation becomes impossibly dangerous, that an impartial commission should go there and see what is happening?
§ Mr. MaclayI think the right hon. Gentleman will agree that it would be wise to see first what result is achieved by the local talks and further direct diplomatic exchanges.
§ Mr. HallMay I ask my right hon. Friend if representations have been made to the United Nations protesting against the continued incitement to violence which one hears over the Cairo radio every day?
§ Mr. MaclayAs I said earlier, we have taken the strongest steps in the United Nations to rebut the fantastic accusations which have been made there by the Yemeni Government, and undoubtedly the point which my hon. Friend has mentioned is one to be kept under consideration.
§ Mr. JohnsonIs it not a fact that these disturbances have been going on for some years, particularly north of the Abyan 182 Cotton Board area? Will the Minister pay some attention to the social and economic conditions of our territory, and would he give us some indication of what he is doing for the economic development and political federation of the tribes on our side of this line?
§ Mr. MaclayThat is another question, which I would rather not deal with at the moment. I should add that it is clear that the way in which these raids have developed recently, as distinct from the sporadic raiding that went on over a period, shows that some outside body is influencing them very much.