Mr. Dugdale(by Private Notice) asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he will make a statement about the riots which have been occurring in Aden over the week-end during which police were ordered to fire?
§ The Secretary of State for the Colonies (Mr. Alan Lennox-Boyd)Yes, Sir. On 31st October, following the conviction in the Aden Supreme Court of two Aden journalists who had been cited for contempt of court, disturbances broke out in Crater, the commercial centre of the Colony. In an attempt to restore order the police used tear gas and, after the Riot Act had been read by a magistrate, fired seven rounds. There were further scattered incidents on the same day. On Saturday, 1st November, after further disturbances, the troops took over and were forced to open fire on four occasions; on each occasion one round was fired. Order was restored by the evening of 1st November.
A general strike was called by the Aden T.U.C. in protest against the convictions, and this was ended on Sunday, 2nd November, when workers returned to their jobs. Life in the Colony has now returned to normal. Buses and taxis are running and all the shops are open; port and other services are functioning normally.
The total number of arrests for rioting, looting and curfew breaking was 560. There are 12 injured remaining in hospital, none of them critical. The total number of deaths during the whole disturbance was five. A number of police were injured, but none seriously.
Mr. DugdaleMay I ask the Colonial Secretary whether he will order two inquiries to be made, the first into the manner in which the disturbances were handled and the second into the long-term as well as the short-term causes of these disturbances in order that steps may be taken to prevent their recurrence?
§ Mr. Lennox-BoydNo, Sir. I see no reason for doing that. I think that the situation was handled with great skill and expedition, and what might have been much more serious events were prevented. I see no reason at all for an inquiry. I am glad to say that I shall have the opportunity of talking to the Governor very soon in London because, before these riots took place, I had already arranged that the Governor of Aden should pay a short visit to London to discuss certain matters with me and Her Majesty's Government. He arrives on Wednesday morning.
§ Mr. WallIs not one reason for the increasing unrest in Aden the interest taken in that Colony by the United Arab Republic and the outpourings of Cairo Radio? Is it not therefore vitally important to deal with subversion as firmly as possible wherever it occurs and to give the maximum support to the allied sheiks?
§ Mr. Lennox-BoydAlthough the strike was called by the Aden the rioters were mainly Yemeni immigrant workers, and the Aden population as a whole clearly did not sympathise.
§ Mr. J. GriffithsI gather that the occasion for these riots and a general strike and for all that happened—which is a very serious matter, with five killed and many injured—was the conviction of two journalists. Could the Secretary of State tell us what lies behind this? [Laughter.] Hon. Members may laugh, but the calling of a general strike by the trade union body and circumstances in which five people are killed and many injured certainly call for an inquiry. In similar circumstances in the past special inquiries have been made to find out the root causes. Does the Minister propose to do that, or would he enlighten the House on the causes behind this trouble?
§ Mr. Lennox-BoydThe one-hour strike had no industrial objective and no political objective. Its sole objective was intimidation of court proceedings and an attempt to bring pressure to bear so that defendants in court proceedings would be dealt with leniently. This is the sort of thing which cannot be tolerated, and I entirely uphold the action which was taken.