HC Deb 20 November 1967 vol 754 cc918-9
27. Mr. Wall

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he will make a statement on Aden.

29. Mr. Sandys

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he will make a statement about South Arabia.

Mr. George Brown

I am glad to be able to tell the House that the situation in Aden and South Arabia remains quiet. Talks between Her Majesty's Government and the National Liberation Front are to begin in Geneva tomorrow. I cannot of course yet estimate how long they will continue.

Mr. Wall

Will the Secretary of State bear in mind that we have not only close personal relations but treaty relations with the Federal Government, and that we have some moral responsibility for their safety? Will he also bear in mind the fact that other rulers are not likely to have much faith in Britain if we allow these men to suffer because of their friendship with us?

Mr. Brown

The question of members of the previous Federal Council is a very difficult and complicated one. I have the hon. Member's point in mind and we will do what we can for people who may otherwise suffer, but I am bound to say that the Federal Government gave up and we have to deal with the authorities there, and that we are now doing.

Mr. Sandys

Having withdrawn my Question No. 80, may I ask the right hon. Gentleman whether he can assure us that he will not promise arms or military aid of any other kind to the N.L.F. régime?

Mr. Brown

That is a totally different question, but I cannot give any such assurance. We are going into negotiations with the authorities whom I hope will be the successor Government in South Arabia. It would be very wrong of me to limit what we were going to negotiate with them about before negotiations started.

Sir Alec Douglas-Home

Are not we in danger of falling into a trap here? If we supply military aid following what is bound to be a hastily-negotiated independence, we may easily find ourselves supporting one side or another in a civil war, and that we must not do.

Mr. Brown

I do not see any circumstances in which the supply of military aid as such will be required, either by them or in our interests but, with great respect to the House, negotiations are about to begin. We are within less than a fortnight of the final date of our troops' coming out, and the establishment of the successor authority is very important. I suggest that I would do no good if I were to start laying down the areas within which negotiations should take place.