§ Motion made, and Question proposed, That this House do now adjourn.—[Mr. Robert G. Hughes.]
§ 10.1 pm
§ Mr. Jim Lester (Broxtowe)I welcome the presence of the Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, my right hon. Friend the Member for Eddisbury (Mr. Goodlad), because, unlike the Ministers who have responded when I have raised this issue on previous occasions, he has been to Cambodia and played an important part in the developments which have led to the election that we now anticipate.
My right hon. Friend will know that I was in Cambodia in early March. I was there with members of the Select Committee on Foreign Affairs, and we considered all factors which were emerging and which had emerged. However, my concern is what is happening now and how the election process is proceeding since 9 April when the campaigning began.
First, is Britain satisfied that, under present conditions, the elections will be free and fair, or as near as possible? We are all aware of the violations committed by the PDK, or the Khmer Rouge, which has increasingly been attacking personnel of the United Nations transitional authority in Cambodia and massacring the Vietnamese. They are called Vietnamese but, of course, we would regard them as Cambodians because they were born there and, in any other circumstances, would be regarded as citizens. However, they are being targeted specifically by the Khmer Rouge.
As I understand it, only yesterday 200 rounds were fired into a Chinese engineering unit. It appears that the intensity of the operation is increasing, and I wonder whether my right hon. Friend has any information as to whether the Khmer Rouge is determined to try to disrupt the election. Since 9 April, I have heard from a colleague working in Cambodia. He said:
The KR have increased their presence from 5 to 14 districts in this province … Their killing of the Japanese UN Volunteer and his interpreter (April 8th) is unnerving our staff. The elections depend on the work of these volunteers. If the KR decide to make them so afraid they cannot work, then there will be no election.I understand that more than 40 of the 400 volunteers have already said that they do not want to continue.Secondly, disruption is also being caused by other parties. When I was there, I was disappointed to learn that the State of Cambodia Government were doing their best to disrupt other parties, even though they had been able to open offices in many parts of the country. I had hoped that, since we left, under the influence of Hun Sen, who had been travelling round the region trying to calm his party officials, that had died down.
I should be grateful if my right hon. Friend could tell us whether that is true, or whether the fear expressed by Professor Reginald Austin, the director of the electoral component of UNTAC, was well founded. Professor Austin feared that the Khmer Rouge were aiming at UNTAC and killing its personnel, and that the State of Cambodia Government were aiming at the Opposition and making it difficult both for them and for UNTAC to ensure an open election. That would motivate the Khmer Rouge to conclude that the electoral process was designed to allow a State of Cambodia victory.
385 I should like an update on how the Government, and our excellent ambassador in Phnom Penh, can report on the current situation as we approach the final lap of the election. I am especially concerned that we should know about the preparations for polling day and for the run-up to polling day, so as to ensure that there is no intimidation on the day. We need to know whether, when the election has been held, Her Majesty's Government and the whole UN operation will declare it to have been fair before the results are announced. There is considerable concern during these last few weeks before the election takes place on 24 May.
Secondly, I am concerned about aid. I know that my right hon. Friend went to the aid conference in Tokyo, at which a generous amount of money was pledged by many nations. Nevertheless, there have been concerns about the actual flows of aid in advance of the elections, and about whether the aid programmes, especially those targeted at health and education in rural areas, are getting through.
As my right hon. Friend will know, there is considerable concern, as there always has been, about the wide gap between Phnom Penh, which has benefited enormously from the United Nations presence, and the rural areas. There is concern, too, about the difficulties caused in the past by that gap. It is essential that the agreed aid programme is seen to benefit the widest possible range of the population, and especially that those who live far away from Phnom Penh are seen to receive a fair share.
Will my right hon. Friend tell the House whether we are satisfied that Britain's contribution is speedy enough? We saw much of the work that was being done, and especially welcomed the presence of the sister of one of our hon. Friends, who was seconded to one of the departments in Cambodia, and was dealing with health, education and the English language. I should be grateful to be given some idea of what the British aid programme is doing, especially in terms of preparations for the immediate post-electoral period in June, July and August. If all goes well, a newly elected Government will then be sitting down to work out a constitution, and it will be important that all the necessary help for them to achieve that end is already geared up and available.
The third issue is de-mining. As my right hon. Friend will know, that problem causes widespread external concern. I believe that Cambodia is the most mined country in the world; I understand that one in every 236 people there is already a victim of mines of one sort or another. We saw some of the work of the HALO trust and of other de-mining groups from this country. But there still does not seem to be a sufficient sense of urgency about clearing the mines. Do we have any figures by now, perhaps from the Cambodia mines action centre, to tell us how many mines have been lifted, how many people have been trained and what sort of time scale we can imagine for the areas that need to be cleared?
Considering the number of mines that have been laid in Cambodia, and the difficulties caused by the paddy fields and by rain moving mines around, I realise that it will be almost impossible ever to say that the country has been de-mined. None the less, it would be of considerable interest, especially to people outside the country, to hear how high a priority the British Government give to that exercise. Of course, that problem does not apply to 386 Cambodia alone; it has a wider connotation, but Cambodia is the area about which people are most concerned at the moment.
The fourth area relates to the post-election period. I am not anticipating what the Foreign Affairs Select Committee will say, because we have not deliberated on the matter yet. However, from my long connection with the country, I believe that Britain should retain its influence and involvement in Phnom Penh after the election. Our contribution is widely regarded as very fair and balanced.
As my right hon. Friend the Minister will be aware, English is critical for the new Government and the new structures. We should seriously consider maintaining our presence there and we should argue for a continued United Nations presence after August, although obviously reduced from its present level.
The traumatic and terrible history of Cambodia, the degrees of antipathy and hatred and the genocide of the Khmer Rouge mean that the country needs stability and a period to rearrange and readjust the society. There is a desperate need to create structures at local and national levels.
When we were in the country, it was clear that, although the UN had introduced a policing component, there was no legal system for the UN police to use if they arrested someone for any form of crime. We have now had to bring in judges from outside under UN control and defence lawyers to try those who have already been arrested for committing offences both from the state of Cambodia side and from the Khmer Rouge. That is an example of how desperate is the need to create what we would regard as basic structures for a country if it is going to succeed. When we consider the troubled history of that country, neither the international community nor Britain should walk away.
From our experience of driving from Battambang to Poipet and then on to Bangkok, it seemed that the new Government of Thailand were taking their relationship with the rest of the world much more seriously than before. We were encouraged to see that, at that time, they had closed the border and had stopped timber imports across the border with Khmer Rouge-controlled areas. Although they could do nothing about gemstones because they are too small, the new Government of Thailand seemed to want to co-operate with the international community on the vital issue of closing the border which must be achieved if we are to impose sanctions that might influence the future activities of the Khmer Rouge.
It is possible that some people over-exaggerate the threat of the Khmer Rouge. The activities of the Khmer Rouge since we left that country have certainly not made anyone feel more comfortable. As I understood it, when we were there, the Khmer Rouge controlled only 15 per cent. of the land territory. I am not sure what proportion of the population it controlled, but as 4.6 million people are already registered for the election, I suspect that the Khmer Rouge controlled only a relatively small number.
My final point relates to the concern that many of us have about the tremendous international exercise in Cambodia—the biggest exercise in which the UN has ever been involved. The long-drawn-out process enabled us to obtain the Paris agreement. There was then the defection of the Khmer Rouge as it dishonoured its signature to that agreement.
387 When we discussed the future with the Prince Sihanouk, he was very much concerned that there should be no partition of his country even though the dimensions, as I have already described, are not that great. It was his overwhelming concern that there should be no partition of Cambodia in the sense of a retained Khmer Rouge region.
He seemed much more prepared to consider the future involvement of the PDK in a Government that he would seek to lead, should he be elected president, than have that party—after disowning and turning its back on the electoral process and undermining the Paris agreement—then be rewarded with the offer of being party to a future Government. All Committee members felt that that was completely out of court and that we should not give it any encouragement whatever.
If all goes well and there is an election that can be judged a fair indication of what the people want, there will still be immense difficulty with the rump of the Khmer Rouge. We do not know whether the new Government will have military supplies to enable them to put an end to this long-drawn-out struggle and bring peace to a country that has had infinitely more than its share of suffering by comparison with any other country in the world today.
§ The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Mr. Alastair Goodlad)I am grateful to my hon. Friend the Member for Broxtowe (Mr. Lester) for initiating this debate. In the House, he has an unequalled knowledge of Cambodia and an unsurpassed care for the future of its people. In his capacity as a member of the Select Committee on Foreign Affairs, he was there recently—indeed, since I was there. He has raised a number of important issues, which I should like to cover one by one.
The Paris agreements on a comprehensive political settlement of the Cambodian conflict were signed on 23 October 1991. Since then, we have done much to implement them—but there is a long way to go. The United Nations operation in Cambodia has had its successes and failures, but it is encouraging that the international community is still firmly committed to the future of Cambodia and the goals set out in the Paris agreements. As one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, we have played an active role in trying to bring an end to the 12-year civil war in Cambodia.
The Paris agreements were a major achievement, offering the Cambodian people a new future in which they can be free from tyranny and the threat of genocide and from foreign occupation and interference. The agreements mandated the United Nations transitional authority in Cambodia, under the leadership of the United Nations Secretary General's special representative, Mr. Akashi, to monitor the ceasefire; oversee the human rights situation; supervise the disarmament and demobilisation of the factions' armed forces; repatriate more than 350,000 refugees from camps on the Thai-Cambodian border; supervise the work of existing administrative structures to create a "neutral political environment"; and hold free and fair elections to take place from 23 to 27 May 1993. As my hon. Friend said, UNTAC is the largest and most ambitious operation ever mounted by the United Nations. It comprises some 16,000 military, 4,000 civilians and 3,000 police personnel as well as almost 60,000 locally engaged staff.
388 The United Nations has covered much ground towards filling its mandate. Almost all the refugees who were formerly in camps on the Thai-Cambodian border have returned of their own free will to Cambodia—largely to the towns and villages from which they came. It has been a huge operation. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and its organisation deserve the congratulations of everyone. According to the UNHCR's special representative for Cambodia, only one Cambodian died (luring the repatriation.
UNHCR recognises that there is still much work to be done to ensure the successful reintegration of those who have returned. As a consequence, in February, together with the World Food Programme and the United Nations Development Programme, it launched an appeal—to which we have contributed—for a further $53 million to cover reintegration assistance until early 1994.
At the ministerial meeting on the reconstruction and rehabilitation of Cambodia in Tokyo in June 1992, to which my hon. Friend referred, the international community pledged $880 million for the reconstruction of Cambodia. It was always envisaged that this would be disbursed over a number of years. Up to February this year, some $94.3 million had been provided for aid projects in Cambodia.
Many have criticised the pace of the disbursement of aid. Part of the problem stems from continuing disagreements among the Cambodian factions, leading to the Supreme National Council's failure to sign an agreement with the World bank. We have urged all the parties to settle their differences quickly. The flow of aid is likely to increase substantially once a new Government are in place in Phnom Penh.
The United Kingdom has pledged some $30 million of humanitarian and development assistance since the signing of the Paris agreements in October 1991. Of that sum, more than $23 million has been committed, principally on the UNHCR repatriation programme, funding the grass-roots projects of voluntary agencies, a major malaria control programme through the World Health Organisation, an English language teacher-training project and various water supply projects at Battambang and in rural areas. We are working on projects to spend the balance and shall continue to work for Cambodia's reconstruction both before and after a new Government are installed.
We are very conscious of the fact, which my hon. Friend drew to the attention of the House, that one of the most pressing problems facing Cambodia is the presence of large numbers of mines. Since April 1992, UNTAC, with a British training team in the lead, has been training Cambodians to clear mines. As on 17 April 1993, three international training teams and 20 supervisory teams were operating in Cambodia; 2,184 Cambodian de-miners, 51 Cambodian supervisors and 21 Cambodian instructors had been trained. We have also provided money to the HALO Trust, a British non-governmental organisation, which is also involved in de-mining in Cambodia.
According to UNTAC figures at mid-April, Cambodians trained by UNTAC had destroyed or recovered 14,343 mines and munitions in Cambodia, 9,474 anti-personnel mines, 20 anti-tank mines and 4,869 pieces of unexploded ordinance. By comparison, nongovernmental organisations had cleared 2,171 mines and munitions. If there are any more up-to-date figures. I will give them to my hon. Friend.
389 The task ahead is immense. It was never envisaged that UNTAC itself would clear the mines. UNTAC's job was to train Cambodians to ensure that they had the skills and knowledge to continue the task of determining long after UNTAC had left. The Cambodia mine action centre, established in November, is currently drawing up a programme of mine clearance lasting until 1997. The first stage of this programme, lasting until July 1993, is being implemented fully with funds supplied largely by UNTAC.
Cambodia's tragic history demands special measures to ensure that there can be no recurrence of the atrocities committed between 1975 and 1978. Strong provisions to safeguard human rights are a prominent feature of the Paris agreements. All the factions have now signed the major human rights instruments, and we intend to make sure that they live up to their undertakings. However, while we are committed to the principle of self-determination for the Cambodian people, we believe that it would be incomprehensible and unacceptable if those intimately associated with past atrocities, notably Pol Pot, Ieng Sari, Ta Mok and certain others, were to re-enter Cambodia's political life and attempt to return to power.
UNTAC has faced many problems since its deployment on 15 March 1992. It has not received the co-operation from the various Cambodian factions which it was entitled to expect. Ceasefire violations have continued. More seriously, the Khmer Rouge has denied UNTAC access to many areas of Cambodia under their control. As my hon. Friend said, it controls about 10 per cent. of the total, situated largely in the north and west of the country. The Khmer Rouge has refused to canton and demobilise its armed forces, as required under phase 2 of the ceasefire. It has withdrawn from the elections, and is believed to have been responsible for many of the attacks on ethnic Vietnamese in the past year, which have left more than 100 people dead.
We have repeatedly condemned both the actions and the attitude of the Khmer Rouge. We support fully UN Security Council resolution 792 which, inter alia, called for measures to be taken against those parties which failed to comply with the military provisions of the Paris agreements. We have also urged UNTAC to take measures to safeguard the lives of all Cambodian civilians, regardless of their ethnic origins.
There has been much criticism of the decision to include the Khmer Rouge in the peace process, but we must remember that the civil war in Cambodia could not have been brought to an end if the comprehensive political settlement had excluded any of the main parties to the dispute. To have done so would only have prolonged the war and condemned the Cambodian people to indefinite misery. All the other Cambodian parties accepted the necessity of including the Khmer Rouge in the settlement. Despite the Khmer Rouge's behaviour over the last few months, we continue to believe that this decision was right.
We, like the other Cambodian factions and all the signatories of the Paris agreement, continue to believe that the elections should go ahead as planned, even though the Khmer Rouge have excluded themselves. Although 390 UNTAC has been denied access to many areas under Khmer Rouge control, nearly 4.7 million Cambodians have registered to vote—an estimated 90 per cent. of those eligible, and a clear sign of the Cambodian people's desire to decide their future. The international community has called on all the parties to abide by their commitment under the Paris agreements to respect the results of the elections.
We are concerned, as is everybody, at the continuing attacks against UNTAC personnel in Cambodia. Over ten have now lost their lives, but not all the deaths can be attributed to the Khmer Rouge; and it is still unclear whether the Khmer Rouge have decided to attack UNTAC and the electoral process to attempt to disrupt and discredit the election. Unfortunately, there are likely to be further attacks and further deaths; but the international community will hold its nerve and complete the task it set itself more than 18 months ago.
We have also been concerned in recent months at the levels of intimidation of the other political parties by the State of Cambodia, and have encouraged UNTAC to take all necessary measures to guarantee a neutral political environment, including increased protection of party offices. That has had some effect, and the number of complaints about the state of Cambodia's behaviour by other political parties has dropped since the election campaign began on 6 April.
It is impossible at this stage to predict the outcome of the election. Provided UNTAC judges the result to be free and fair, we will recognise the result and encourage the new constituent assembly to agree a new constitution and to form a new Government within the three months laid down under the Paris agreements.
It is our firm belief that a new Government, representative of the wishes of the Cambodian people and with the recognition of the international community, offers the best hope for the future of Cambodia. We recognise, however, that the Khmer Rouge will continue to pose a threat to the stability of Cambodia. We have asked UNTAC to consider ways to ensure that the new Government can counter this, including assistance with the formation and training of a new Cambodian army.
Ultimately, it will be for the new Government to decide whether to seek international help. We believe that such assistance will best be handled on a bilateral basis after UNTAC's mandate expires. The United Nations will maintain a presence in Cambodia for the foreseeable future through its specialised agencies and programmes.
We recognised at the time of the signing of the Paris agreements that huge practical tasks awaited the United Nations in bringing lasting peace, stability and self-determination to the long-suffering people of Cambodia. The fact that today we are looking forward to the holding of free and fair elections in less than two weeks' time is testament to the ground that UNTAC has covered. The House and my hon. Friend, who has raised the matter, can rest assured that we and the international community remain committed to seeing that the Paris agreements are implemented as fully as possible.
§ Question put and agreed to.
§ Adjourned accordingly at twenty-nine minutes past Ten o'clock.