§ Q2. Mr. Frank Allaunasked the Prime Minister approximately how many petition's, resolutions, letters and other communications he has received about Her Majesty's Government's policy in relation to Biafra.
§ The Prime MinisterI have received over 2,000 communications of all types about the situation in Nigeria. Some two-thirds of these were received during the months of June to August last year.
§ Mr. AllaunWould my right hon. Friend agree that there is deep and widespread concern over this matter? Will he discuss with President Nixon, who is not too far away, the proposals made by Senator Kennedy and many other senators for United Nations intervention, since there is a danger of this becoming a big-Power conflict? Will he also urge on the O.A.U. the proposal for a peace formula——
§ Mr. SpeakerOrder. The hon. Gentleman must be brief. We have many Questions to get through.
§ Mr. Allaun—made by Lord Brockway?
§ The Prime MinisterIf this were to become the cause of a big-Power conflict, it would not be the responsibility of Her Majesty's Government. We have our responsibilities and our long-standing traditional relationships. My hon. Friend, who is usually fairly sensitive to the feelings of indigenous African peoples, will be aware that 33 out of the 37 members of the O.A.U. have supported the Federal Government in Nigeria.
§ Mr. Hugh FraserDoes the Prime Minister agree that only a few days ago the whole of the W.E.U. condemned our supply of arms to Nigeria? If it comes to statistics, will he give some statistics of the people who are being killed in Biafra today?
§ The Prime MinisterI am sure that all the member countries of W.E.U. would feel that this is predominantly an African question and would wish to be guided by the views of Africans on this matter. The right hon. Gentleman, whose partisanship in this matter is well known and respected, is totally wrong in the deduction he draws from our supply of arms. I have already told him—this was the view following the Commonwealth Conference—that if I thought that our cutting off arms unilaterally would help to bring peace to Nigeria certainly we would be very ready to consider a 1277 change of policy. I believe that it would have precisely the opposite effect.
§ Mr. HeathAs the Prime Minister must know, there have in the course of the last few days been renewed reports of attacks by air on the civilian population in towns in Biafra, in particular by a British observer who saw them himself in Umuahi. What action has the Prime Minister taken with the Federal Nigerian Government to bring British influence to bear to prevent these apparently deliberate attacks on the civilian population?
§ The Prime MinisterI understand the right hon. Gentleman's concern. We have not had, as far as I am aware, a report from international observers on this matter, including our own observer. I prefer to wait for that. We have at all times made clear our horror of even accidental bombing of civilian targets; and if there were any suggestion of their being deliberate our views would be made very clear. The right hon. Gentleman will agree that we would not be in a position to state any views if we accepted the advice of some of his and my hon. Friends.