HL Deb 10 March 1994 vol 552 cc1533-42

3.34 p.m.

Viscount Cranborne

My Lords, with the leave of the House I shall now repeat a Statement being made in another place by my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Defence. The Statement is as follows: Since the first deployment of UNPROFOR troops to former Yugoslavia, the United Kingdom has contributed to the growing international military effort to contain the conflict and alleviate suffering. In the spring of 1992 we sent an Army field ambulance to Croatia. In the autumn of that year we sent an armoured infantry battalion group to Bosnia to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid to the victims of the conflict. This deployment has undoubtedly helped to save many thousands of lives. The Royal. Navy and the Royal Air Force are also making a very important contribution. There are now some 2,450 British soldiers serving in UNPROFOR's Bosnia-Herzegovina command— a contribution second only to the French. Since the beginning of the year we have also provided the commander for UN forces in Bosnia, Lieutenant General Sir Michael Rose, who is carrying out hi; responsibilities in a most impressive manner. Our military effort in former Yugoslavia is outstanding in scale, range and quality, and we need fear no comparison with the contribution of any other nation in the world. Until recently the diplomatic and military efforts of the international community achieved limited success. Spillover of the conflict was prevented and relief was successfully brought to its victims, but the warring factions in Bosnia seemed determined to carry on fighting. The prospect, however, has been transformed by the NATO ultimatum which followed the mortar attack on the Sarajevo market place on 5th February, the ceasefire agreement in Sarajevo which was negotiated by General Rose on 9th February, and the removal or corralling of the heavy weapons attacking the city. These dramatic events not only brought a fragile calm to Sarajevo itself but have acted as a catalyst elsewhere in Bosnia. On 23rd February a ceasefire was signed between the Bosnian Government and Bosnian Croat commanders which provided for withdrawal of troops from a buffer zone, withdrawal, or UN control, of heavy weapons and the opening of routes. On Tuesday of this week, UN troops took control of Tuzla airport. There have of course been many disappointments in Bosnia before, and there may be others to come. But if the ceasefires in Sarajevo and central Bosnia hold, they could be the first steps towards the ending of the conflict. I pay tribute to those in UNPROFOR who negotiated the ceasefires, and in particular General Rose, General Cot and Mr. Akashi. The ceasefires have brought not only new opportunities for UNPROFOR but also new responsibilities. To police a buffer zone and monitor heavy weapons, large numbers of men are needed on the ground. In central Bosnia the front line between Moslems and Croats is 125 miles long. Quite suddenly, UNPROFOR has found its task greatly expanded and its resources greatly overstretched, both in Sarajevo and central Bosnia. The United Nations has therefore appealed for additional troops. The Coldstream Guards, whose mission hitherto had been to support humanitarian aid convoys, have found themselves with a major peacekeeping task on their doorstep. Their enthusiasm is great; they are determined to do their utmost to make the ceasefire a success. But it has become clear that the effort involved, while tolerable for a time, is unsustainable beyond the short term with their current manpower. The question of reinforcement has thus become an immediate issue, not just for the British contingent but for UNPROFOR as a whole. The United Kingdom has a national interest in securing a peaceful outcome to the Bosnian conflict, but this interest is equally shared by other European nations, some of which have closer links with the Balkans, and is also shared by the world community at large. Although the United Kingdom contribution to the region is already a large one, a further UK contribution at this stage as part of a co-ordinated international effort would help to make the difference between success and failure for the ceasefires. This in turn should contribute to shortening the conflict and reduce the burden on British troops currently in Bosnia. It was for these reasons that we took the initiative in convening a meeting of troop contributors, actual and potential, in New York, under the chairmanship of Sir David Hannay, our ambassador to the United Nations, to see whether or not the international community was prepared to provide more troops for UNPROFOR to take advantage of the window of opportunity which has suddenly opened there. The results of this meeting were very encouraging. Leaving aside any offer by the United Kingdom there have been offers amounting to some 3,850 new troops, plus further offers to redeploy some 2,450 troops from elsewhere in the former Yugoslavia. This gives a total of 6,300 extra troops for Bosnia, in addition to any UK contribution. Finally, up to a further 4,000 troops are expected to deploy by the summer. As part of this response Her Majesty's Government have decided to reinforce the British UNPROFOR contingent by sending a second battalion group, some 900 strong, to central Bosnia, initially for four months. Its nucleus will be the 1st Duke of Wellington's Regiment, who are equipped with the Saxon wheeled armoured personnel carrier. Advance elements of the battalion will be in Split by tonight. The battalion group will include engineers, signallers and support troops and a medium reconnaissance squadron of the Light Dragoons. We will always be cautious when sending British troops to serve in a foreign country. We have had to strike a balance among a number of factors: the manpower demands of UNPROFOR's expanding role, the prospects of peace taking hold, our own national interest, the willingness of the rest of the world to recognise theirs, and, above all, the need to ensure that British troops are not asked to do the impossible. Our judgment is that reinforcement is the right course at the present time. I am sure that the House will join me in wishing the battalion group Godspeed. My Lords, that concludes the Statement.

3.43 p.m.

Lord Williams of Elvel

My Lords, the House will be grateful to the noble Viscount for repeating the Statement made by the Secretary of State for Defence in another place. I say at the outset that we welcome the Statement. We join the Government in congratulating Mr. Akashi, General Cot and General Rose, all of whom have played their part in what appears to be— I use the word advisedly— a good march forward towards peace.

We pay tribute, with the Government, to the British troops for the job done both in UNPROFOR and generally. They are all UN troops, but they are British troops as well. We can hold our heads high when we consider the role that they have played. But they are overstretched and tired, as I believe the Government now recognise, and have been for some time. Given that there has been a new development in the role of UNPROFOR— the situation has changed— why did it take so long for the Government to make up their mind to send the new battalion group? Here was a chance for the Government to play a leading role, not just two weeks after the event but at the time of the event itself, to make sure that we were in the driving seat.

I note the expression in the Statement about peacekeeping. Are we assured that the role of UNPROFOR in Bosnia is now not only devoted to making sure that humanitarian aid gets through but also to local peacekeeping— although not peace making. I am sure the noble Viscount will appreciate the difference between peacekeeping and intervening to make peace. If there is local peace there, then it may be kept, but that does not mean moving in to make peace where no peace exists. Can the noble Viscount say what other countries make up the 3,850 new troops and in what proportion? The same question can be asked about the 4,000 troops that we are expecting later on.

I ask the noble Viscount those questions because they are the fundamental questions of the moment. There will no doubt be many more, and there will be many more Statements as we go on. I join the noble Viscount, however, in recognising that when we send troops on active service in a foreign country we are embarking on a dangerous venture; it is a matter of great risk. And with the noble Viscount, from these Benches, we wish them Godspeed and a safe return.

Lord Mayhew

My Lords, after hesitating for nearly three weeks the Government have now taken the right decision. The Cabinet might learn some courage and decisiveness from General Rose in Bosnia. His record since his appointment entitled him to a much prompter and more positive reply than he received.

The Government are right, and the noble Lord, Lord Williams, is right, to stress the risks involved. Things can go wrong. Our troops could be put in unacceptable danger and the Government may be faced with much more difficult decisions than those they have had to take so far. Nevertheless, hope is rising in Bosnia. The situation has improved, thanks largely to the skill and courage of the British forces there, including their leadership. The Government are undoubtedly right to take the steps they have.

The Government are also entitled to be commended for their recruiting efforts at the United Nations. Our ambassador showed considerable energy and skill in achieving even the comparatively small number of recruits now promised. But the exercise at the United Nations surely displays once again that the whole business of arranging the organisation and recruitment of peacekeeping troops at the United Nations is totally inadequate. What have the Government done to support the Secretary-General in his proposed reforms for the recruiting, earmarking and organisation of peacekeep-ing forces? It is not enough to go ad hoc as we have done, call a meeting together of likely nations, and then harangue them. It should be organised on a proper basis, perhaps under a revised military staffs committee which we had once after the war. These matters need to be looked at urgently. It may well be— I think it is— that our troops are the best peacekeepers in the world. They are the readiest and the most easily available. But we cannot just go on giving an open-ended commitment to United Nations peacekeeping. Other countries must play their part.

Viscount Cranborne

My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Lords, Lord Williams and Lord Mayhew, for their welcome in principle of the decision which the Government made this morning. I am sure also that the congratulations and appreciation which they express for the generals concerned and for the troops of the UN forces— in particular for British troops— will be greatly appreciated and noted in those quarters. I believe that both noble Lords asked the same fundamental question: why did it take so long?

I hope that both noble Lords will appreciate the importance of this, as a United Nations effort. It was important for Her Majesty's Government to make sure that the United Nations as a whole backed not only with words but with deeds the reinforcement that we were contemplating. In that context, therefore, I wish to emphasise to both noble Lords the remarkable work done by the Foreign Office's mission to the United Nations, led by our permanent representative, Sir David Hannay. He has worked astonishingly hard and— I say to the noble Lord, Lord Williams— very fast to secure backing for the initiative which he took when he summoned the number of meetings over the past few days in New York. The result of what I would call haste with due deliberation has been that the UN as a whole has provided the backing and a very large number of nations have pledged troops and/or expressed interest in pledging troops. It was worth adopting that approach rather than to deliver British reinforcements at once without doing so in the context of the United Nations.

I say to the noble Lord, Lord Mayhew, that all of us are aware of the alleged shortcomings of the United Nations organisation as regards military matters. I know that he will be pleased to learn that work has been continuing to see whether improvement can be made to the military planning cells in New York. There has been progress in that regard, but there is always room for more.

The noble Lord, Lord Williams, asked which countries were going to contribute. The list is a reasonably long one and some contributions are necessarily smaller than others. I draw the attention of the noble Lord to some in particular. The French announcement yesterday of a further contribution of a 800-strong battalion to Sarajevo is greatly welcomed. That has been the result of conversations between London and Paris in the context which I tried to explain to the noble Lord a few moments ago. The Russians have also undertaken to deploy a further 300 troops which should be of some value, particularly in view of their special relationship with the Serbs and the role which the Russians have already played in establishing a ceasefire in Sarajevo. The Ukrainians have also agreed to make a contribution. A number of other countries too have agreed to contribute.

3.53 p.m.

Lord Brarnall

My Lords, I greatly welcome the Minister's Statement that the splendid Duke of Wellington's Regiment is being sent, with necessary support, to Bosnia. I am greatly relieved that it will arrive there tomorrow. It has been patently obvious for some time that although the United Nations may well need 10,000 extra troops fully to exploit all the opportunities created by General Rose's remarkable success in the pursuit of peace, the urgent need of that British general was perhaps 1,000 or 2,000 men to safeguard and consolidate what he had already achieved and to relieve and sustain those desperately tired and overstretched soldiers operating in appalling conditions. Through our training, experience, professionalism and infrastructure, and for many other reasons, we are uniquely qualified to provide them.

So it is a cause for some regret that, instead of procrastinating and arguing who was to do what and when, we were not prepared, as a member of the Security Council, to take a more positive lead earlier and, using that famous phrase, which I am sure General Rose uses the whole time— that is to say,"Follow me" — to send these troops, as we could have done two to three weeks ago, when the strain on General Rose's troops was far less severe and the risks of losing some very real opportunities of extending United Nations control to other crucial areas on the road to a political settlement was less great.

Of General Rose I said recently in your Lordships' House that if mountains could be moved he would move them, and indeed he has. I hope that the Government will continue to listen to him, support his determination and strength, and continue to build on his success.

Viscount Cranborne

My Lords, nobody knows better than the noble and gallant Lord the qualities not only of General Rose, with whom I recognise he has had a long, professional association, but also of the British troops under his command and the conditions in which they have worked. I say to the noble and gallant Lord very much the same as I said to the noble Lord, Lord Williams. This is a United Nations operation. If it is to succeed it is clearly important that it should be well founded and well supported, not only by ourselves but by other members of the United Nations who will also have to contribute troops to this operation and support the demands of General Rose.

Therefore, it was well worth while making sure— if your Lordships will allow me to use the phrase— that our ducks were in a row in order that when we did deploy we deployed in a way which was sustainable not only militarily but diplomatically. I hope that the noble and gallant Lord will take that factor into consideration as well as the purely military ones.

Lord Callaghan of Cardiff

My Lords, it is the duty of all of us to support our troops when they are sent overseas, but it is also our duty to look ahead in order to safeguard their welfare. Perhaps I may ask a simple question. Obviously, the larger the force which we have overseas, the greater the number of replacements which will be required in due course in order that our men shall have proper rest, facilities for training and leave. Are the Government satisfied that with this larger force we shall be able to ensure that the men overseas can be replaced to the same extent? With the present reductions, is the Minister certain, and can he give us an assurance, that our forces are not overstretched in the task that they will be required to do? I refer not only to the force which is there but also to the replacements that will be needed. Does the Minister agree that it is time to look ahead in order to find some better and more secure way of getting the forces necessary when international engagements of this kind are undertaken? I have no doubt that there will be more to come in the future if there is to be any kind of international new world order.

Viscount Cranborne

My Lords, I am particularly grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Callaghan, for the first point. It is well worth saying that the logistical support in the broadest sense for the British contingent in the former Yugoslavia— I do not think I decry other nations' efforts in this regard— is the envy of our allies. The substantial reorganisation which has taken place in that respect within the British Army over the past few years is beginning to show the kind of benefit to which I have just referred.

In terms of overstretch, it is perfectly clear that this deployment will have an effect on the key measure for overstretch, which is the tour interval. There have been exchanges between your Lordships and myself over the past 18 months or so about whether our estimates of the interval are, in the phrase,"robust or not". It is clear that there will be some effect. However, we are confident in our belief— I can assure the noble Lord, Lord Callaghan, of this— that the mean objective of a 24-month interval for the tour plot is still readily achievable by 1995, as we have always predicted.

Lord Mackie of Benshie

My Lords, is the Minister aware that his excuse for the dither and delay is particularly weak? If you are going to take the lead, you do not say,"I will go if you go, Charlie." You say,"Follow me", as the noble and gallant Lord, Lord Bramall, said. That would have been a much better response instead of waiting for a fortnight for the urgent demand from General Rose. Will the Minister say how many British troops General Rose would really like because, as he said, the British and French are the troops who can really be relied on while the record of some (the Ukrainians, to take one example) is not particularly good?

Viscount Cranborne

My Lords, it is tempting to follow the noble Lord down the road of British soldiers leaping into the breach, waving swords and saying,"Follow me". However, I must advise the noble Lord that the initiative that was taken— the "Follow me" cry — came in the first instance in New York rather than in Bosnia. I submit to the noble Lord that this was right for the reasons that I have given a number of times."Follow me" was precisely what Sir David Hannay suggested to potential troop contributors. What is interesting is that so many of them said,"Yes, we will follow you".

Lord Hailsham of Saint Marylebone

My Lords, while I congratulate the Government and my noble friend on everything that they have done, should not a future target be to strengthen the United Nations' operation worldwide and not simply in Bosnia? Under chapter 7 of the Charter, the United Nations should have better apparatus for drawing a pool of troops from a wider range of countries and for designating troops to be available for such policing operations. If that had been done earlier— and if it is done sooner in the future— the situation in the former Yugoslavia may be easier for the UN to handle.

Viscount Cranborne

My Lords, with his usual eloquence, my noble and learned friend makes the same sort of point that was made by the noble Lords, Lord Mayhew and Lord Callaghan. There is, of course, room for improvement in the command and control structure and in the military structure of the United Nations. I believe that all of your Lordships would acknowledge that. We hope that bitter experience will teach all of us and the United Nations that we can improve on existing mechanisms. I say to my noble and learned friend simply this: the experience in Bosnia will add greatly to the impetus of the point of view that he has expressed.

Lord Annan

My Lords, if it is clear from the Statement that General Rose would have preferred larger reinforcements, is it not possible to use British troops in north west Europe, which is not a theatre immediately threatened with any crisis, as reinforcements and replacements, particularly in view of the fact that, by its constitution, Germany is not allowed to send troops overseas and can therefore cover for any British troops withdrawn from there?

Viscount Cranborne

My Lords, we shall, of course, continue to keep the situation under review. However, I must emphasise that the number of troops requested and the number being provided by the summer are pretty nearly in alignment. Therefore, as far as I am aware, for the moment UNPROFOR command is happy with the numbers being provided under the new initiative.

Lord Stoddart of Swindon

My Lords, even those of us who have grave reservations about British troops being in the former Yugoslavia, in Bosnia, understand that when a general— a British general in particular— asks for reinforcements, they have to be given, provided that that is in accordance with government policy. Can the Minister reply to the question asked by my noble friend Lord Williams of Elvel? Can he give the assurance that British troops, having developed from being a force to deliver humanitarian aid into a peacekeeping force, will not now develop into a peace-making force, which would put them on one side or the other in the conflict? Secondly, can he tell the House whether any Turkish troops will be added to the extra contingent which is being sent?

Viscount Cranborne

My Lords, it has been said many times in your Lordships' House from all sides, but in particular by my noble friend Lady Chalker, that it is impossible to make peace between two sides which do not wish to do so. It is important that we should continue to target very carefully the job that we are asking our troops to do. That is why the Statement detailed in the way that it did what those tasks are. They have been detailed very much more clearly than perhaps I felt that I had the time to do in answer to your Lordships this afternoon. However, I advise the noble Lord that the delivery of humanitarian aid and the other tasks the existing forces have been undertaking will continue, with the tasks detailed in the Statement being added in the light of the increased number of troops now joining UNPROFOR.

I can confirm that the Turkish Government have offered 1,000 troops for use in Bosnia. I understand that request is being sympathetically considered by the Secretary-General of the United Nations.

Lord Cockfield

My Lords, is it not a remarkable achievement that the first of the troops should actually be in Split tonight within a few hours of this Statement being made? Does not that suggest that the Government might have been further advanced in their preparations and more efficient than they themselves have been prepared to claim?

Viscount Cranborne

My Lords, I am extremely grateful to my noble friend. In answer to the question from the noble Lord, Lord Williams, I wanted to emphasise the reason for the approach that we have taken. I have endeavoured to be as clear as I can about the rationale behind our approach. I am particularly grateful to my noble friend for pointing out that unready troops are not ready to be deployed on the evening of the announcement. The Duke of Wellington's Regiment and the associated troops within the battalion group have been training for months for this eventuality and have been ready for very nearly as many weeks. Their vehicles have been ready; their weapons have been ready; and, above all, the men have been ready. I am grateful to my noble friend for pointing that out.

Baroness Williams of Crosby

My Lords, as I understand it, one of the purposes of the troops to be deployed in Bosnia, as of the troops currently deployed, is to protect humanitarian aid convoys. Can the Minister say whether the opening of Tuzla airport is now definitely secured by the presence, I understand, of United Nations' Scandinavian troops under UNPROFOR command and whether we are still subject to Bosnian-Serb agreement before flights can be made into Tuzla airport?

Viscount Cranborne

My Lords, my understanding is that, as the Statement said, this Tuesday United Nations troops— Scandinavian troops, as the noble Baroness pointed out— took possession of Tuzla airport but that the final arrangements are not yet in place for the complete opening of the airport to humanitarian aid. However, we are optimistic that that will shortly be so.

Lord Renfrew of Kaimsthorn

My Lords, the Government are to be congratulated for acting with purpose, clarity and resolution in this matter and enabling the United Nations troops to carry out their role. Does the Minister agree that the breakthrough that has been established in the former Yugoslavia is the consequence of a United Nations ultimatum to make air to ground strikes if the shelling of Sarajevo were to continue? Many Members on this side of the House see that as a crucial breakthrough and are satisfied that through its peacekeeping troops Britain is taking the lead in maintaining something in the nature of a peace-making endeavour. I congratulate the Government on taking a role in what many of us see as a necessary peace-making endeavour through ground troops who have a peacekeeping role. That is an admirable balance.

Viscount Cranborne

My Lords, I am grateful to my noble friend, and I agree with him. The moment that he described was crucial. It was fortunate that close air support proved to be unnecessary because it was then easy to continue and to resume humanitarian aid. We did so faster than would otherwise have been possible had we used close air support. I suspect that the fact that under Resolution No.816 the United Nations was prepared to allow the shooting down of aeroplanes proved that it meant business and that a form of words was not used merely to cover its inadequacies. It meant what it said.

Lord Jay

My Lords, although we understand that both the United States and Germany have constitutional difficulties in supplying ground troops, are they giving at least moral and logistic support and support in other ways?

Viscount Cranborne

My Lords, the United States has given considerable support to our team in New York in the construction of this package. We are considering ways in which the United States will be willing and able to give more practical support. I hope that those ways will become apparent in the forthcoming days.

Earl Attlee

My Lords, I understand that the 1st Battalion of the Coldstream Guards has made three emergency tours in three years. Will the Minister confirm that it will be relieved by the Royal Anglians on schedule? Secondly, is the medium recce squadron of the Light Dragoons an additional squadron and not the one already out there?

Viscount Cranborne

My Lords, the answer to the noble Earl is yes in both cases.