Bosnia

HC Deb 08 March 1994 vol 239 cc133-5

3. Mr. Macdonald

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the current British deployment in Bosnia.

The Secretary of State for Defence (Mr. Malcolm Rifkind)

The current Army battalion group—1st Battalion, Coldstream Guards and its support units—will be relieved in April and May by the 2nd Battalion, Royal Anglian Regiment. At the request of the United Nations, we have also deployed a Cymbeline mortar-locating troop and a number of additional observers and monitors.

Mr. Macdonald

Is not it clear that General Rose has transformed the situation in Bosnia in the past month, building up for the first time a genuine momentum for a just peace in that country? Therefore, is not it shameful that the Government are still refusing, according to the answer that the Secretary of State has just given, to respond to General Rose's request for extra forces of a high calibre and instead have been handing out redundancy notices to troops already there? Should not the message from the Government to General Rose be, "You are doing a magnificent job. Keep it up. Regardless of what other countries do, we will not let you down"?

Mr. Rifkind

The hon. Gentleman should at least do the House the courtesy of checking his facts before he makes rather foolish and ill-informed accusations. An elementary perusal of this morning's newspapers would have informed him that, yesterday, a meeting was convened at the United Nations—it was a British initiative—to discuss additional troops being sent to Bosnia. The United Kingdom has already made it clear that it believes that there is such a case for sending additional troops and that we look to other countries to join us in carrying out that initiative.

Mr. Cormack

Is my right hon. and learned Friend aware that there will be a widespread welcome for what he has just said and, indeed, for anything that can be done to assist a brilliant British general in charge of United Nations forces?

Mr. Rifkind

I happily pay tribute to the remarkable work that General Sir Michael Rose is doing in Bosnia. A number of important initiatives have been making healthy progress in the past few weeks, including the success of the operation involving the removal of heavy artillery from Sarajevo and the Croat-Muslim ceasefire. I understand today that there may be substantial progress with regard to the handing over of Tuzla airport to the United Nations. Against that background, we are all anxious to do what we can to build on that important window of opportunity because, clearly, a gradual implementation of a ceasefire throughout Bosnia will not only be of enormous relief to the people of Bosnia but will provide the best opportunity of bringing back United Nations troops to their own countries at the earliest possible date.

Mr. Hardy

Earlier this afternoon, the Minister of State for the Armed Forces informed the House of the contribution made by the Royal Air Force in restraining Iraq. In addition to telling the House of the military contribution in Bosnia, will the Secretary of State tell us what contribution is currently made, or has recently been made, by the RAF and by naval aircraft?

Mr. Rifkind

The hon. Gentleman is correct to remind us that the contribution in the Adriatic is being provided by all three services. The RAF has Tornado and Jaguar aircraft while the Royal Navy has not only ships in the Adriatic but Sea Harriers based on the carrier. That is a formidable tri-service operation, which illustrates that, even for a United Nations operation, sophisticated modern equipment is needed to ensure that the United Nations tasks can be fully carried out with the high degree of professionalism that we rightly expect.

Mr. Cyril D. Townsend

Will my right hon. and learned Friend bear in mind the wisdom of the ages—that it is all too easy to commit troops to battle and all too hard to get them out again afterwards? Some of us remember that when British troops were first deployed in Northern Ireland, it was not expected that they would have to stay for more than a few years. Now we have over 17,000 there. Does not he feel that extra commitments bring into question the whole Government policy of cutting back on our armed forces?

Mr. Rifkind

I am very conscious of the points that my hon. Friend made in the earlier part of his question. Of course we are all anxious to ensure that the strategy pursued is that which has the best prospect not only of bringing peace to Bosnia but of allowing the early return home of British and other United Nations forces.

As for the second part of my hon. Friend's question, he should remember that although we have 2,500 troops in Bosnia, we are also in the process of reducing our presence in Germany by some 40,000 compared with what was required during the cold war. The comparison illustrates why it is reasonable to plan for a smaller Army than was necessary during that period.

Dr. David Clark

A battalion of the Duke of Wellington regiment, with its Saxon armed cars already painted white, has been on standby for nearly three weeks. Why have we had to wait to be able to respond to General Rose's request for an attempt to keep the peace? When will the Government stop vacillating, and when will we dispatch those extra troops?

Mr. Rifkind

I know that the hon. Gentleman is motivated more by a daily search for sound bites than by the need to develop a sound and coherent policy. I must remind him, however, that the operation in Bosnia is not a purely British operation; it is a United Nations operation. As the hon. Gentleman likes to pride himself on being a great admirer of the UN, he should welcome the lead that the United Kingdom is giving to try to ensure a co-ordinated and united UN resolve and response to the request for additional forces.