§ 3.38 p.m.
§ THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS (LORD CHALFONT)My Lords, with your Lordships' permission, I should like to repeat a Statement which is being made in another place by my right honourable friend the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs. The Statement is as follows:
"A three day general strike in Aden was called by the Front for the Liberation of the Occupied South Yemen (FLOSY) and the National Liberation Front (N.L.F.) beginning on April 2, to disrupt the work of the United Nations Mission on its arrival on that day. Sunday, April 2, passed off fairly quietly but yesterday there were attempts at violent demonstrations. British security forces in support of the local police acted swiftly to maintain law and order. There were some incidents involving grenade-throwing and shooting. As a result of these I regret to say that reports so far show that three Arabs were killed; and 11 of our troops, two Arab policemen and 10 Arab civilians were wounded."
That is the end of the Statement.
§ LORD BYERSMy Lords, may I thank the noble Lord for repeating that Statement. The whole House will deplore these outrageous and senseless attacks on troops, policemen and civilians. Having said that, may I ask Her Majesty's Govment whether they feel that the terms of reference of the United Nations Commission, and indeed the Commission itself, are strong enough to make any real contribution to the situation in Aden and its future? Would they consider setting up a body like the Monckton Commission to take a fresh look at the 867 whole future of Aden, because many of us doubt whether it can survive in its present form?
§ LORD CHALFONTMy Lords, I think that the noble Lord's comments are slightly outside the frame of reference of the original Statement, but of course Her Majesty's Government will take note of what he has said.
§ LORD CARRINGTONMy Lords, may I ask the noble Lord whether he can say how long the United Nations Mission are likely to be in Aden? If they are likely to be there for any length of time, can he say whether the Government are satisfied that there are sufficient troops to keep order?
§ LORD CHALFONTMy Lords, I cannot say at the moment exactly how long the Mission will be there. They will be there, presumably, until they have satisfied themselves that they have enough information to report back to the United Nations. But Her Majesty's Government are satisfied that they have the resources in Aden at the moment to deal with any situation that might arise as a result of the presence in Aden of the United Nations Mission.
§ LORD ROWLEYMy Lords, would not the noble Lord agree that this is another case where a United Nations peace-keeping force might have played a most effective role? Is any consideration being given by the Secretary-General and the Security Council to organising a peace-keeping force, in order to avoid the necessity for our own troops standing in the breach on this occasion?
§ LORD CHALFONTMy Lords, until British troops are withdrawn from Aden, under the terms of the present policy of Her Majesty's Government, it is the responsibility of Her Majesty's Government and of British troops to aid the civil Power in Aden to maintain law and order. This they are doing, and I think the House would wish to note and pay tribute to the restraint they have shown in dealing with the crisis so far.