Guatemala

HC Deb 09 May 1990 vol 172 cc187-8

12. Mr. Tony Lloyd

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has received about human rights it Guatemala.

Mr. Sainsbury

We have received a number of representations in recent months expressing concern about human rights violations in Guatemala.

Mr. Lloyd

Is the Minister aware of the concern of various groups in Guatemala that there has been an increase in the activities of the death squads in that country? Many people expect that that increase in activity will increase further as Guatemala heads towards the elections. What steps will the Government take to monitor the situation there, and how will they put pressure on the Government of Guatemala to do what they can to stop the activities of these squads?

Mr. Sainsbury

I regret that there has been a marked deterioration over past months in the context of human rights, as the hon. Gentleman says. We do not think that the Government of Guatemala are themselves responsible for abuses, or that they encourage or condone violations. The problem is rather one of that Government's ineffectiveness in dealing with violations. We have made our views clear on the issue of human rights abuse and have expressed our concern about it on a number of occasions. In the past few months I have spoken about it to the Foreign Minister of Guatemala, to Vice-President Carpio and to the Interior Minister, Mr. Morales, when he was in London. On those three occasions, I emphasised the importance that we attach to an improvement in human rights.

Mr. Jacques Arnold

In considering these important matters, will my hon. Friend bear in mind the fact that President Cerezo is the first directly elected President after 29 years of military rule? He has to cope with the murderous activities of far left guerrillas as well as with the activities of frustrated military potentates.

Mr. Sainsbury

My hon. Friend is right to dray attention to the abuses of human rights by the Unidad Revolucionara Nacional Guatemalteca. We welcome the democratic elections of President Cerezo and hope that elections to be held later this year will also be free and fait and will continue the tradition of democracy recently established in Guatemala.