HC Deb 06 August 1975 vol 897 cc473-6
1. Mr. Peter Morrison

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he will seek to pay an official visit to Portugal.

24. Mr. Teddy Taylor

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will now pay an official visit to Portugal.

The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Mr. James Callaghan)

I have no plans to do so at present. I paid an official visit to Portugal on 6th and 7th February and the Portuguese Foreign Minister was in London on 27th June for talks with my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister and me.

Mr. Morrison

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that so long as the present Government continue in power in Portugal his decision not to pay an official visit will be welcomed? Are the NATO official documents still being supplied to Portugal? If so, at what stage will the right hon. Gentleman consider it right to advise his NATO colleagues not to supply Portugal with those documents?

Mr. Callaghan

The Portuguese régime—I do not think that there is a Government at present; the Portuguese have not yet been able to form one—has indicated that it retains its loyalty to NATO, and therefore it is being treated as a full member of NATO. We should not give up the battle for democracy there before we need to do so.

Mr. Newens

Does my right hon. Friend agree that in the present situation there is also a serious danger from the Right in Portugal, and that it ill becomes Opposition Members, who never uttered one word of protest about Caetano, and who wined and dined him, to protest about the absence of democracy in Portugal now? Will my right hon. Friend make it clear that we shall be utterly opposed to threats to democracy from the Right? Will he mention this to people who may have some influence on the activities of the CIA, bearing in mind what it has done in Chile and various other countries?

Mr. Callaghan

Although I agree with what my hon. Friend said about the attitude to Caetano, I do not agree with much of the rest of his supplementary question. The principal danger to Portugal at present comes from the attempt by certain elements in the armed forces movement, combined with the Communist Party, to set aside the expressed will of the Portuguese people. Let us direct our attention to the real threat, rather than conjure up other threats which do not at present exist.

Mr. Biggs-Davison

As one who was reported by the PIDE for making adverse comments on aspects of the earlier régime, with the result that information was ordered to be withheld from me, may I ask the Foreign and Commonwealth Secretary whether he is aware that there are now many more political prisoners in Portugal—not accused of any offence, much less tried—and will he do his best to interest Amnesty International or some other suitable body in their cases?

Mr. Callaghan

Yes, Sir. What the hon. Gentleman says is correct, and it is a cause of considerable disquiet. Representations on the matter have been made by our ambassador, and we shall continue to make them when we think that it will be helpful.

Mr. Litterick

If my right hon. Friend makes an official visit to Portugal, how will he explain to the Portuguese authorities the meaning of recent statements that all aid grants, and so on, to be made to Portugal, or contemplated, would be conditional on the establishment of democracy? How will he explain the apparent inconsistency that we already grant economic aid to nations which do not have democratic Governments or régimes?

Mr. Callaghan

The European Council considered this matter, and the decision was taken by all the Heads of Government. We were considering our attitude to aid to Portugal in the European context. I know of no dictatorship in Europe to which financial aid of this sort is given. The statement that was made, which I wholeheartedly endorse, and which I hope my hon. Friend whole-heartedly endorses, was that in accordance with our European policy and history to date we could support only a pluralistic democracy.

Mr. Eldon Griffiths

Yesterday in the House the Prime Minister acknowledged that funds were going to the Portuguese Communist Party from the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. He drew a distinction between those funds coming from the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and the Communist Government of the Soviet Union. Will the Secretary of State define that distinction a little more closely?

Mr. Callaghan

No, Sir. I do not think that I can elaborate on a reply to a supplementary question which was asked yesterday.