§ 17. Colonel Tufton Beamishasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what information he has received from the British Minister in Hungary about the number of Hungarians still in prison or slave labour camps in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics or in China, following the reported deportation of 75,000 Hungarians after the 1956 revolution; and what efforts are being made to get the Soviet Government to return all these political prisoners to their own country in the light of obligations incurred by Her Majesty's Government under the Hungarian Peace Treaty and the resolutions agreed to by the United Nations after the revolution.
§ Mr. Ormsby-GoreI have no reliable information about the total number of Hungarians deported to the Soviet Union at the time of the Budapest uprising, or 844 about the number of these deportees subsequently repatriated to Hungary. I have no evidence that any of these deportees were sent to China. The Soviet Government have not seen fit to make any response to the many expressions of concern on this subject made in the General Assembly of the United Nations by Her Majesty's Government and many other Governments. They have also ignored the resolutions of the General Assembly calling upon them to respect human rights in Hungary and have refused to discuss Prince Wan's appeal of September, 1957, for the return of the Hungarian deportees to their own country.
§ Colonel BeamishIs my right hon. Friend aware that it would appear from the evidence submitted a few weeks ago to the United Nations that about 12,000 of these Hungarians have been repatriated during the last 18 months? Does he agree that nothing would be likely to contribute more to crowning with success the Foreign Minister's Conference, which are the words Mr. Gromyko used in expressing his hopes for the Conference, than the return of all these unfortunate people?
§ Mr. Ormsby-GoreThat certainly would be a very helpful development.