Angola (Hansard, 7 December 1983)

§ 9. Mr. Proctor
asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the current state of relations with Angola.

§ Mr. Rifkind
We have friendly relations with Angola, though the problem of the British prisoners remains.

§ Mr. Proctor
When my hon. Friend visited Angola relatively recently, did he raise with the Angolan Government the case of my former constituent, now the constituent of my hon. Friend the Member for Basildon (Mr. Amess), Mr. Malcolm McIntyre, and other Britons? Did he gain any impression of the possibility of the early 310 release of those imprisoned mercenaries? Did he form a view about the recent successes of UNITA being a problem in the release of those mercenaries?

§ Mr. Rifkind
When I was in Luanda recently I raised the problem of the British mercenaries with both the Angolan Foreign Minister and other Angolan Ministers whom I met. I reminded the Angolan Foreign Minister of his statement earlier this year that he hoped there would be an opportune moment for the release of the British mercenaries during 1983. The answer to the second part of my hon. Friend's question is that there is no doubt that the Angolan Government are concerned about the implications of the release of mercenaries for their country's internal problems. We hope that what was said by the Angolan Foreign Minister will be fully honoured before the end of this year.

§ Mr. Flannery
Is it not true that the South African illegal occupation of Namibia and its attacks on southern Angola, with the support of UNITA, exacerbate relations between almost any country and Angola, and that Angola, left to itself, would be far more humane, even to mercenaries, if the hon. Member for Billericay (Mr. Proctor) did something to attack South Africa for illegally occupying Namibia and for its attacks on Angola?

§ Mr. Rifkind
While we have made clear our disapproval of the South African occupation of part of Angola, the main problem facing the Angolan Government is the internal war between the Angolan Government and the UNITA movement. In our view, that problem should be resolved by the people of Angola themselves. We hope that there will be no foreign intervention from any source.

§ Mr. Wilkinson
When my hon. Friend was in Luanda, did he express to the Angolan authorities the view that the presence of Cuban troops in Angola was a negative factor in trying to achieve a peaceful solution of the Namibian independence problem?

§ Mr. Rifkind
On a number of occasions we have made it clear to the Angolan Government that if it became possible for the Cubans to leave Angola that would not only contribute to solving the problem of Namibian independence but would help to relieve the tension in South Africa as a whole.

Mr. John David Taylor
What efforts have the Government made to bring about the release of British missionaries from Northern Ireland who are at present imprisoned in Angola by UNITA?

§ Mr. Rifkind
I share the hon. Gentleman's concern about a number of missionaries, of whom I think two are of British origin. We are anxiously exploring ways, both direct with the Angolan Government and through the International Red Cross, to try to resolve the problem.

§ Mr. Anderson
On the question of linkage, why was the Government's position not made clear to Mr. Botha? He was reported last Friday, after his meeting with the Foreign Secretary, as saying that while he now understood British motives, he was still confused about Britain's real position towards South Africa's demand on linkage. Why was there this confusion? Was it because the Government were speaking with different voices to Mr. Botha and to the Commonwealth Heads of Government in Delhi?

§ Mr. Rifkind
I cannot comment on Mr. Botha's confusion, but the British Government have always made it clear that while we do not recognise any legal or legitimate connection between Cuban troops in Angola and the independence of Namibia, progress towards the departure of Cubans from Angola would improve the atmosphere in the region as a whole and make an important contribution towards resolving the Namibian problem.