§ 88. Mr. MullinTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent changes he has made in United Kingdom aid to Kampuchean refugees on the Thai-Cambodia border.
§ Mr. Chris PattenNo recent changes have been made. We continue to provide substantial aid to Cambodians seeking refuge in the border camps, in cash through international relief agencies, and in kind through our embassy in Bangkok. In 1987 such assistance totalled £1.37 million.
§ Mr. MullinIs the Minister aware of a report that was published recently by Tony Jackson, of Oxfam, suggesting that some of our food aid is finding its way into the hands of the Khmer Rouge? In the light of that, does he not think that a new look should he taken into where aid is going? As he knows, every year at the United Nations we vote for the Khmer Rouge, but I am sure he will agree that it is shameful for his Department to provide it with food as well.
§ Mr. PattenWe do not vote every year in the United Nations in favour of Khmer Rouge. With 116 other countries we vote in favour of the withdrawal of foreign forces from Cambodia and in favour of free elections under United Nations supervision. I am surprised to hear Opposition Members attacking that United Nations resolution in such robust terms. Our aid does not go to the Khmer Rouge, and we have received assurances from the relevant United Nations agencies that that is the case.
§ Dame Elaine Kellett-BowmanDoes the Minister accept that the Thai Government attach considerable importance to aid being given in cash terms—so that they can pay farmers to grow crops—rather than their being sent food of any sort? Regrettably, if they cannot pay farmers to grow legitimate crops, they will grow poppies.
§ Mr. PattenMy hon. Friend is right to draw attention to the relationship between the support given to farmers in the region and the importance of preventing an increase in the cultivation of poppies. We have one or two programmes which are attempting to eradicate drugs, and they depend very much on giving the right incentives to farmers.
Mr. RobertsonThe hon. Gentleman is a reasonable man—something that distinguishes him from many of his own party. Therefore, knowing what we all know now about the unspeakable horrors of year zero under the Khmer Rouge in Kampuchea, why do the Minister and the Government continue to hide behind this 116-nation resolution and vote in the Credentials Committee of the United Nations to recognise the coalition that includes the perpetrators of the barbarism that occurred so many years ago and as a consequence deny, out of expediency, the valuable aid that the people of that country so desperately need today?
§ Mr. PattenI shall not damage the hon. Gentleman's career by paying him a similar compliment in return. I 549 would point out, once again, that what we are voting for in the United Nations is free elections under United Nations supervision and for the withdrawal of foreign forces from Cambodia. Those are entirely legitimate objectives. At the same time, we provide humanitarian assistance for refugees on the borders of Cambodia, and will continue to do so.