§ Lord BROCKWAYMy Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.
§ The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their attitude towards the declaration of the Presidents of North Yemen, South Yemen, Sudan and Somalia, at their summit meeting at Taiz, that the Red Sea should be made a Zone of Peace.
§ The MINISTER of STATE, FOREIGN and COMMONWEALTH OFFICE (Lord Goronwy-Roberts)My Lords, Her Majesty's Government have noted the Statement issued on 22nd March at the end of the Taiz Summit that the,
Red Sea should remain a zone of peace and harmony".We share the wish that the area should be peaceful.
§ Lord BROCKWAYMy Lords, in view of the evidence that there are Soviet Union facilities in Somalia and Aden, would it not be a contribution towards the neutralisation of the Indian Ocean if that request were carried out? Would it not meet President Carter's point that if the Soviet bases were removed the Indian Ocean itself might be neutralised?
§ Lord GORONWY-ROBERTSMy Lords, we have indicated our general support for the American President's suggestions about the Indian Ocean, and certainly we shall watch very carefully to see whether there are any developments in regard to the idea relating to a proposed Red Sea Peace Zone which could he linked with a constructive policy in the Indian Ocean.
Lord PAGET of NORTHAMPTONMy Lords, would the noble Lord not agree that as a general proposition there is no sea that we would not prefer to see "peaceful"? So far as neutralisation is concerned, is he aware of the historical record of the neutralised zones that have contained more wars than any other areas or places in the world?
§ Lord GORONWY-ROBERTSMy Lords, as usual, my noble friend is extremely interesting but not consistently accurate. One could call to mind, if one were to tax the patience of the House somewhat unduly, one or two examples of where there have been effective peace zone arrangements. For example, I would refer him to the Treaty of Tlatelolco, which was ratified by this country among others and which has pretty effectively created in the vast continent of Latin America a nuclear free zone.
Lord JANNERMy Lords, will my noble friend ensure that there is freedom of navigation for all nations through the Red Sea and that any statement which has been made to the effect that it should become an "Arab Sea" is watched with very great care and opposed by the Government?
§ Lord GORONWY-ROBERTSMy Lords, the proposal to which my noble friend Lord Brockway referred was, of course, for a Red Sea Peace Zone, and a peace zone undoubtedly would include freedom of navigation.