§ 4. Mr. GrocottTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has to meet the Angolan Foreign Secretary to discuss the situation in that country.
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Mr. Tony Baldry)My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has no immediate plans to do so. However, my noble Friend the Lord Inglewood met President dos Santos in Lusaka on 20 November at the signing ceremony of the Lusaka protocol.
§ Mr. GrocottDoes the Minister agree that one of the principal reasons why the tragic war in Angola resumed after the United Nations-sponsored elections two years ago was the failure of the international community to give immediate and unequivocal support to the newly elected democratic Government? In the light of that, is there now a special responsibility on the UN and the international community not only to support the ceasefire but to do everything possible to see that UNITA hands in its weapons? Should they not also provide an aid programme that helps to rebuild that country which has suffered so tragically when, all too often, the world's media and Governments have focused their attention on situations elsewhere that are less tragic?
§ Mr. BaldryThe United Kingdom has allocated more than £24 million for emergency assistance since the United Nations appeal in June 1993 and we have established a new Angola development fund. Clearly, the rehabilitation of Angola will be a long and difficult process. As a member of the Security Council and of the European Union, Britain is willing to help with that rehabilitation. However, it cannot do so unless both parties commit themselves to lasting peace and reconciliation.