§ 30. Mr. Dalyellasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth 25 Affairs if he will give the latest figures of Government aid to Bangladesh.
§ The Minister for Overseas Development (Mr. Richard Wood)I cannot at present add to the replies I gave to the hon. Member's similar Questions on 23rd October and 20th November.—[Vol. 843, c. 167; Vol. 846, c. 258–9.]
§ Mr. DalyellCould it be tactfully and privately conveyed to the Bangladesh authorities that some of us who have been arguing most strenuously for aid to Bangladesh are equally perturbed about the legal situation that has developed there?
§ Mr. WoodThere is a great deal of anxiety about the matter. I think that the authorities in Bangladesh are in no doubt what views are held in this country about what happens there.
§ Sir F. BennettIn particular, will my right hon. Friend take into account the fact that at present a large number not of soldiers but of civilians who served the Government of their day—Bangalee civilians—are on trial or have been convicted, and that we in this country find it very abhorrent that someone who claims our aid should at the same time be guilty of the most appalling atrocities to human beings?