§ 8. Mr. Flanneryasked the Lord Privy Seal if he will review the policy of Her Majesty's Government with regard to the sale of military equipment to Chile.
§ Mr. LuceNo, Sir. Each application for the sale of military equipment to Chile is considered on its merits. As with other countries with an unsatisfactory human rights record, we withhold permission for the sale of items likely in our judgment to be used for internal repression.
§ Mr. FlanneryDoes the Minister agree that the laughter from the Opposition Benches shows that the Government in their answers on human liberty throughout the world have put themselves in an awful mess as it is clear that they speak with forked tongues, because they support liberty in one area but not in another? Does the hon. Gentleman accept that in Chile a brutal monetarist Government are suppressing the people, as are the Government of El Salvador? Does he agree that, although the British Government have raised their voice, for whatever reason, in so-called defence of the people of Poland, they have utterly failed to say one word about the misery of people in the Latin American orbit and have supported every brutal and terrible dictatorship all over the world, unless it happened to be in the Communist orbit?
§ Mr. LuceIf the hon. Gentleman is prepared to look at these matters objectively—I am not sure that he is—he will know that I have already made it plain, with regard to the sale of arms, that we do not sell arms that are likely to be used for internal repression.
On 3 December last year, at the United Nations Assembly, we strongly supported a resolution which condemned the abuse of human rights in Chile, and we 295 fully supported the resolution which enabled the special rapporteur on human rights in Chile to continue his work. That is something that we shall continue to support. We shall also continue to condemn any abuse of human rights in Chile.
§ Mr. FlanneryThat is not true.
§ Mr. FarrIs not my hon. Friend correct in this policy, especially as Her Majesty's Government confine sales in these delicate areas to military equipment alone? Will he bear in mind, in these considerations, the flagrant attitude of some arms exporting nations, such as the French, who have not our scruples and who will export any arms, military equipment or crowd control equipment to anywhere in the world?
§ Mr. LuceI shall bear my hon. Friend's points in mind. There is to be a general discussion at the United Nations about the use of conventional arms in the world. Britain fully supports the view that there should be a debate on this matter.
§ Mr. HealeyDoes the Minister accept that there is a contradiction between the view expressed a moment ago by his right hon. Friend about the Government's detestation of violations of human rights wherever they may occur and their justification for the interruption of normal commercial and financial relations with Poland being the violation of human rights there? At the same time, we are selling weapons of war to a country in which violations of human rights are at least as great and have been going on for much longer. How on earth can the Minister justify that contrast?
§ Mr. LuceWe should look at each country on its merits. It is important to stress again that we do not sell equipment that is likely to be used for internal repression.
It is singularly important for us to be as objective as possible. The position concerning human rights in Chile, bad though it is, is no worse than that in a great number of other countries. If the right hon. Gentleman is suggesting that we should cut off trade or other activities of one kind or another with Chile, he must accept that we should have to take similar action with other countries.