NIGERIA (Hansard, 18 July 1968)

§ Q5. Mr. Winnick
asked the Prime Minister what consultation he is continuing to have with other Common- 1666 wealth Prime Ministers to help bring the Nigerian civil war to an end.

§ The Prime Minister
There is a continuing exchange between myself and other Commonwealth Prime Ministers on matters of mutual interest, and our efforts to help towards a negotiated settlement in Nigeria are well known. I have been in touch several times with the Head of the Federal Government, General Gowon, the latest occasion being when Lord Shepherd delivered a personal message on my behalf at the end of last month. We have also kept in close touch with a number of other Commonwealth Governments who share our particular concern about events in Nigeria.

§ Mr. Winnick
One hopes that the O.A.U. meeting will be of some help. Is my right hon. Friend aware that there is mounting anxiety in this country about the number of civilians dying of starvation? Can he report any progress on the air-lift being organised by the International Red Cross to the most stricken areas of Biafra? Will he also look again at the whole position of our continued supply of arms to the Federal Government?

§ The Prime Minister
We have kept in close touch with the work done by Lord Hunt and his colleagues, representing Her Majesty's Government, in these last two weeks in Nigeria. I understand that Lord Hunt is returning to report in the next day or two. I hope to have then a full report on the situation in relation to both surface and air routes. Lord Hunt has been concerned not with the politics of the various parties involved but only with the organisation of mercy routes and the supply of food and medicine and he has been dealing with both sides. On the question of arms supplies, I have nothing to add to what my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Commonwealth Affairs has said. I understand that there is the possibility that the House will debate these matters in the near future.

§ Mr. Heath
No doubt the Prime Minister is as disturbed as many hon. Members are by the reports of confusion arising among the arrangements made by voluntary organisations for getting supplies to Biafra. Could not the Secretary of State for Commonwealth Affairs 1667 or other members of the Government set up an organisation at once at any rate to try and co-ordinate the arrangements which so many voluntary bodies are making to help the starving in Biafra?

§ The Prime Minister
That is what Lord Hunt is trying to do on the spot and he is raising these matters with both sides. I agree with the right hon. Gentleman's assessment of the confusion. I understand, however, that a ship chartered by the International Red Cross will sail from Lagos as soon as possible to Calabar carrying 300 to 400 tons of supplies, including the rest of the British consignment from the "Hercules", which has been the source of some confusion. The problem is that this has to be organised by voluntary bodies, and not only Lord Hunt but the distinguished representative of the International Red Cross and the representative of the Save-the-Children Fund has been trying to get order out of the chaos which inevitably follows from the attitude adopted by both sides.

§ Mr. Raphael Tuck
Why will the Government not demonstrate their sincerity in wanting to end the hostilities by immediately stopping the export of all arms to the Nigerian Government?

§ The Prime Minister
We are demonstrating our sincerity by trying to get food to those who are starving, and we have done exerything possible—everything a Government can do—towards that end. I only tell my hon. Friend— he may not accept our sincerity—that if we took his advice we should have much less hope even than we have now of getting the food through.

§ Mr. Thorpe
Leaving aside for a moment the continued supply of arms, which many deplore, and the merits between the two sides of accepting that the supply of food and drugs is of the utmost importance, would the Prime Minister consider the possibilities of Fernando Po being used as a supply depot, with both sides asked to supply observers to see that only non-combatent supplies get through in Red Cross planes taking supplies from that source?

§ The Prime Minister
These and a hundred other ways of getting around these difficulties have been and are being explored by Lord Hunt. We must wait 1668 until he comes back and reports. I believe that the right hon. Gentleman understands the deep suspicion which each side has of the other and which is leading to phrases being used which all of us regard as quite indefensible and to the deaths of many thousands of people. It is not a question of ingenuity being required but a question of will on the part of the two sides to allow one of the many schemes which have been worked out by the Red Cross and other voluntary bodies, and by Lord Hunt and his team, to be put into effect, as they ought to be put into effect immediately.

§ Mrs. Anne Kerr
Does not my right hon. Friend recognise that it is felt not only in Britain but also throughout Africa, Asia and many other parts of the world that it is hypocritical to continue sending arms, on the one hand, and dishing out milk and other foodstuffs on the other hand? Has he noticed that the Belgians have decided to discontinue sending arms to the Federal Government?

§ The Prime Minister
My hon. Friend is more concerned with dishing out propaganda. We are concerned with trying to get food through. I certainly do not accept, nor, I hope, does my hon. Friend the Member for South Ayrshire (Mr. Emrys Hughes), what my hon. Friend said about the attitude in many other countries, many of whom have been sending arms. We have debated this matter many times.
The important thing is to try to get these supplies through. We cannot help to get a single ounce of food into the bellies of the starving Nigerian children by the kind of remark which my hon Friend made.

§ Dame Joan Vickers
Will the Prime Minister confirm or deny that a shipload of tanks is being taken from Holland today and that these come from British sources?

§ The Prime Minister
I think that the hon. Lady is talking about personnel carriers which it is certainly true are part of the normal supplies which have gone there. But that does not in the slightest degree affect our ability to supply food to the people who need the food. As the House knows, had we cut off the arms supply, our ability to influence the Federal Government would have been lost.