Nicaragua

HC Deb 11 May 1983 vol 42 cc772-3

8. Mr. Tom Clarke

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement about current British relations with Nicaragua.

Mr. Pym

We have full diplomatic relations with Nicaragua and are keeping under review the possibility of reopening our permanent representation there. Meanwhile, frequent visits are made to Nicaragua by the ambassador and other members of our embassy in Costa Rica who are accredited to the Nicaraguan Government. The substance of our relations with Nicaragua would be improved by greater evidence from the Nicaraguan side of respect for democratic freedoms and the need to promote peace and stability in the region.

Mr. Clarke

Is the Secretary of State aware that British anxiety about American involvement in Nicaragua extends to worries about what is happening to British citizens in that country? Will he tell us how many British citizens are involved, what advice has been given to them and who our representatives on these matters are?

Mr. Pym

The visits to which I have referred provide a way in which we can keep in touch with the Nicaraguan Government on these matters. I cannot give the hon. Gentleman specific figures today, but we constantly represent our anxieties about the mistreatment of minorities and religious groups in that country. We strongly hope for a move towards greater democracy.

Mr. Whitney

Does my right hon. Friend agree that the attention that Opposition parties direct towards other Central American states with regard to democratic freedoms and human rights could equally well be directed towards Nicaragua? Does he agree that no elections have been held there, that no promise of elections is being fulfilled, that the rights of the press are being extinguished, that the rights of the Meskito Indians are being suppressed and that human rights in Nicaragua leave a great deal to be desired, whereas the elections in El Salvador have been completely ignored by the Opposition?

Mr. Canavan

And hundreds of people are being killed every week.

Mr. Pym

I agree with my hon. Friend's assessment. We support the objectives that President Reagan is pursuing. They are in support of democracy, reform, human freedom, attention to human rights, continued help for economic development and other matters.

Mr. Clinton Davis

Would it not be helpful if the Foreign Secretary were to go to Nicaragua, as I have done, to see what is happening for himself rather than rely on tittle tattle from his hon. Friend the Member for Wycombe (Mr. Whitney) and the American Government? If the Foreign Secretary shares President Reagan's objectives, does he also share his view that the counter-revolutionaries who are operating from Honduras against Nicaragua, who are armed and financed by the United States, trained in the United States and consist essentially of ex-Somosan guardsmen, are to be considered as freedom fighters?

Mr. Pym

The activities on the borders of Honduras with Nicaragua and El Salvador are ones that the Central American region would be far better without. That is clear. We know that there is a struggle in Nicaragua and that that country is governed by a regime which leaves a great deal to be desired.