HC Deb 01 April 1965 vol 709 cc1836-7
27. Mr. Fisher

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether, in view of the further recent grenade and bazooka incidents in Aden and the surrender of Egyptian mercenaries and their arms in Dhala, he will make a further statement about the security situation in South Arabia.

Mr. Greenwood

Since my reply to a similar Question by the hon. Member for Haltemprice (Mr. Wall) on 23rd March, there have been 12 further attacks in Aden which have resulted in the death of an Arab and injuries to 10 other people. Thanks to vigorous action by the military forces, the situation elsewhere in South Arabia has shown some improvement of late, but the rebels are trained and equipped with modern weapons and there are no grounds for complacency. I have taken advantage of the High Commissioner's recent visit to London to review with him what is being done to meet this campaign of violence which, as the House knows, is directed and controlled from outside South Arabia.

Mr. Fisher

Would the right hon. Gentleman agree that the casualty toll, both dead and wounded and both British and Arab, is growing alarmingly high? I think that there have been 50 incidents now. It seems rather extraordinary that we cannot give adequate protection to the citizens of a British Colony which is also a British military base. What action does the right hon. Gentleman now propose to take against these Egyptian-financed, Egyptian-organised, and Egyptian-armed terrorist activities?

Mr. Greenwood

The damage done and the loss of life are indeed tragic, but the fact that they are not higher is a tribute to the action which British Forces, Federal Regular Forces and also the Arab police are taking in this situation. A number of steps are being taken at present. We are stepping up patrols by the security force, and the House will have noticed that a curfew was imposed for the two nights of 31st March and 1st April only. We have the situation constantly under review. I took the opportunity of the High Commissioner's visit last week to discuss it with him and I am satisfied that he and the other authorities there are doing everything possible in this very trying situation.

Mr. Hugh Fraser

What steps are being taken by the Foreign Secretary to make suitable protests to the Egyptian Government and to make it quite clear that this is becoming much more serious than a purely local, internal situation?

Mr. Greenwood

If the right hon. Gentleman had been in the House earlier he would have heard that that is a question for my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary.

Mr. J. Amery

In view of the right hon. Gentleman's statement that this terrorism is largely inspired from outside, will he make the text of his reply available to his right hon. Friend the Minister of Defence who seemed quite unaware the other day of the Egyptian origin of a great deal of this activity?

Mr. Greenwood

I do not think that my right hon. Friend gave that impression at all. What he was saying was that at that stage he had no evidence in his possession that the weapons had been supplied from outside, but from the evidence now before me there is no doubt that that was the case and that this group of dissidents, as in many other cases, had been organised outside, equipped outside, and infiltrated from outside.