HC Deb 11 December 1962 vol 669 cc200-2
18. Mr. C. Boyle

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what discussions, of which Her Majesty's Government were informed, took place during the British Guiana Conference between the Government Party and the Opposition Parties on the future of the Colony; what proposals were put forward by the British Guiana Government during these discussions; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Sandys

The agreed report on the proceedings of the Conference was presented to the House on 6th November as Command Paper 1870. I have not been informed of any discussion between the parties or of any proposals which they may have made to one another outside the ambit of the Conference.

Mr. Royle

The right hon. Gentleman will be aware that my Question was put on the Order Paper before the issue of the White Paper. May I ask him, therefore, whether it is not a fact, arising from the White Paper, that the negotiations broke down on three questions only and that on each of these three questions Dr. Jagan had been prepared to compromise? Does not this seem to show that there might have been greater insistence on the part of the right hon. Gentleman himself on keeping the parties together so that independence would be achieved? Is the right hon. Gentleman further aware that there seems to be some feeling in certain quarters that Her Majesty's Government are anxious to bring about the downfall of Dr. Jagan at any cost?

Mr. Sandys

The last suggestion, of course, is completely without foundation. As for the other point, I can assure the House that I did my utmost to try to bring the parties together, but anybody who studies the Report will see that even at the formal opening meeting in public, in front of the Press and the television cameras, when it was intended that the delegations should confine themselves to an exchange of courtesies, they already began to speak in a most inimical way about one another. That atmosphere, I am afraid, continued throughout the whole Conference, and more so when we were in private session. Of course, various proposals were made on both sides, but in all cases they went so little towards the point of view of the other party that they did not offer any basis for a compromise solution.

Mr. Gardner

While congratulating my right hon. Friend on the manner in which he attempted to get the parties together in this Conference, may I ask whether he will bear three important facts in mind before granting independence to British Guiana. First, that Dr. Jagan, the Prime Minister of British Guiana, has declared himself to be a Communist with Communist ambitions; secondly, that the majority of the people, if given the opportunity in British Guiana, would now vote him out of office primarily because of that fact: and, thirdly, that the holding of a general election is an essential stage before any agreement on independence can be reached?

Mr. Sandys

I have noted my hon. Friend's opinions, but I am sure he will understand that if I am to have any chances as a mediator in these matters it would not help if I were to comment on what he has said.

Mr. Healey

While recognising that this really is a most difficult problem and that there are genuine fears among the various communities in British Guiana, may I ask what steps the right hon. Gentleman proposes to take to try to encourage a rapprochement between the two leading parties? Would he not agree that Dr. Jagan has already agreed to hold elections before independence, although there is still disagreement between the parties about the system under which the elections will be held? In view of the fact that both sides, as the right hon. Gentleman has confessed, have made certain proposals for compromise, will he not use his own effort to try to see that compromise is finally achieved?

Mr. Sandys

As for the holding of elections, I think I am right in saying that Dr. Jagan, certainly at the Conference— I do not know what he has said since, I have not noticed anything—did not say that he was prepared to hold elections before independence. That was one of the issues at stake. As for future action, I think that the next step is for the Governor to discuss the position arising out of the Conference as soon as the leaders of the three parties have returned to British Guiana. Then, in the light of the Governor's report, I will have to decide about the question of reconvening the Conference.