Croatia (Hansard, 20 November 1991)

§ 13. Mr. Butler
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will take measures to assist in the preservation of the integrity of Croatia.

§ Mr. Hurd
We and our EC partners have repeatedly made it clear that we will not recognise changes in Yugoslavia's internal borders unless they are brought about by peaceful negotiation. They cannot be brought about by force.

§ Mr. Butler
Why has the United Nations been so slow to act effectively to stop the Serb-led aggression reminiscent of the worst of communist thuggery?

§ Mr. Hurd
As I have said before, the focus is now on United Nations intervention. I do not think that any member of the United Nations, any more than Her 263 Majesty's Government, would want to send their forces to fight their way into the situation. But the new factor is that both the Serbian and the Croatian leadership have said that they are willing in principle to accept a United Nations peacekeeping force. I accept that that puts the responsibility on the United Nations secretariat and on the Security Council.

§ Mr. Tony Banks
Will the Foreign Secretary go a bit further and say what the attitude is of the British Government? If the matter is being considered by the United Nations and a peacekeeping force is mounted, surely British and French troops, Western European Union troops, will be in the front line. What plans are being made to dispatch British troops to Yugoslavia?

§ Mr. Hurd
No such plans are being made.

§ Mr. Fry
Does my right hon. Friend agree that the best way to preserve the integrity of Croatia is to work for a permanent settlement after a lasting ceasefire, and that recognition is just one of the issues that has to be sorted out before there can be a successful conclusion? Others include dealing with the disputed areas, the resettlement of the dispossessed and, and a very important point, adequate rights for the minorities in Yugoslavia.

§ Mr. Hurd
My hon. Friend is right. Those are all matters that we are trying to persuade the different leaders in Yugoslavia to discuss. That is the purpose of the peace conference in The Hague, which they frequently attend and where they issue declarations and undertakings which they do not always respect when they get home. But we have to continue with that. My hon. Friend is right: if one tries to pick out one element and not the others, the result may not be beneficial.