Chittagong Hill Tracts: Aid (Hansard, 17 March 1998)

§ Lord Whitty
My Lords, at the meeting on 23rd February British officials welcomed the Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace Accord, and confirmed that Her 573 Majesty's Government would be willing to consider proposals for development assistance in the region. It was agreed at this meeting that a core team of donors, led by the United Nations development programme, should work jointly with the government of Bangladesh to identify priority needs, develop plans for co-ordinating the overall donor effort and identify appropriate implementation arrangements. That would provide a framework for development assistance from donors, including the United Kingdom.

§ Lord McNally
My Lords, does the Minister agree that the Bangladesh Government and the JSS, representatives of the Chittagong Hill tribes which have been fighting the Bangladesh Government, deserve congratulations on reaching that agreement? Is not that a perfect example of where the international community needs to respond with speed and adaptability so that a fragile peace is underpinned by aid assistance? Does he further agree that the Bangladesh Government, in particular, have considerable difficulties not just in Chittagong but with the Bihari refugees, which needs that kind of specific support for resettlement and, as I said, the underpinning of peace accords when they are reached?

§ Lord Whitty
My Lords, I am pleased to agree that both sides in the conflict deserve congratulations on reaching the accord at the end of a long period of difficulty in the Chittagong Tract area. Those agreements will need support from the international community. As regards development aid, the DID will be working with the joint donor/government of Bangladesh working team to identify needs and priorities, and to identify appropriate implementation arrangements. As the noble Lord said, it is in everyone's interest that that happens rapidly. On the separate point of the Biharis, that is a different situation. It is not just a matter of Bangladesh and the internal dissidents; it is a matter between the governments of Bangladesh and Pakistan. That has also been running for some time. We were encouraged by the Pakistan Government's statement in January that they were willing to do all they could to bring the Biharis to Pakistan, subject to funding being found. We would be ready to help if there were a constructive framework in which to do so. Bilateral dialogue between Bangladesh and Pakistan is the immediate way forward.

§ Lord Shore of Stepney
My Lords, I am sure that the whole House will want to join the Minister in expressing its satisfaction at the end of this most difficult and damaging dispute between the government of Bangladesh and the hill tract people. It has not been easy to find a way to solve the dispute. I am sure that congratulations are due to the government of Bangladesh and, in particular, the Prime Minister, as well as the leaders of the rebels, as they were described, in the Chittagong Hill Tract. In considering the contribution that I am glad to hear Her Majesty's Government are willing to make, will the Minister bear in mind that something over 37,000 former refugees have already returned to what is quite a small 574 Chittagong Hill Tract area? Many more will follow. If that peace is now to be cemented permanently, they will need a considerable amount of economic aid to underpin the political solution.

§ Lord Whitty
My Lords, I accept the view that those who were parties to this difficult peace accord deserve all our congratulations and support. Some subsequent developments have already proved beneficial. As regards financial assistance, we shall need to go through the process of identifying specific projects which are agreed by the government of Bangladesh and the local people. That will take some time to achieve. It is also true that the security situation in the area has not been completely resolved, and that may have an effect on the way that the assistance is delivered.

§ Lord Avebury
My Lords, will the Minister ask the Bangladesh authorities whether they will permit access to the territory by journalists, human rights observers and the UNHCR so that the circumstances in which the refugees mentioned by the noble Lord, Lord Shore, are repatriated can be monitored properly? Is he aware that the total number of refugees in the Indian state of Tripura was at one time 68,000, and that it is a major task not just to resettle those people in a manner that will enable them to resume their lives and work, but to ensure that they get back the homes and lands that they once occupied? Is it not necessary that the international community should have an observer or observers on the spot to see that those agreements are honoured?

§ Lord Whitty
My Lords, the accords themselves provide for some access. As regards detailed access by specific officials from UN authorities, I should be grateful if the noble Lord would allow me to write to him on that matter. The UN aid organisations will be in there. When the normalisation of the situation has been achieved, there is no real reason why human rights observers should not be there. Owing to the difficult land-owning and other human rights circumstances, it will be useful to have such input. It must be borne in mind that some of the recent settlers, who may be seen as being put there by the Bangladesh Government, also have their rights in this situation.

§ Lord Davies of Oldham
My Lords, will my noble friend assure me that, given the fact that some of our poorest fellow citizens send as much as 10 per cent. of their income back to their home country of Bangladesh to help that desperately poor part of the world, the Government, too, will be generous in their support of the Bangladesh Government who are under considerable financial and economic pressures?

§ Lord Whitty
My Lords, we recognise that Bangladesh is one of the poorest countries in the world. A number of its citizens and people of that origin live in this country and keep alive our interest in Bangladesh. We have always regarded Bangladesh as a priority for aid and in terms of our new poverty strategy it will continue to be prioritised in any allocation of aid by this Government.

§ Lord Swinfen
My Lords, the Minister will recognise that there is a large number of hill tribesmen still to return to Bangladesh from across the border and that they have little ability to generate income. Will he ensure that in the aid which is given to Bangladesh, training for such people in some form of income generation is made a priority?

§ Lord Whitty
My Lords, I have no doubt that projects of that nature will be among those needed in the total package which we will be considering.

§ Lord Paul
My Lords, as this is a great achievement on the part of the Bangladesh Prime Minister, will the Minister convey to her the congratulations of the House? What further help can the Minister provide to encourage the process?

§ LordWhitty
My Lords, I am certainly willing to pass on those congratulations from my noble friend and the whole House. As regards additional assistance, I have outlined the form of package which will be required. Her Majesty's Government stand by to respond to requests to support the beneficial process which we hope will put an end to the long running conflict in the area.

§ Lord McNally
My Lords, does the Minister agree that the weakness in his reply is that everything seems post facto; the plans for aid come only after the agreement is in place? The Minister mentioned the Biharis, which pose a problem. Should not the Minister be making contingency plans to the effect that if an agreement between Bangladesh and Pakistan were reached, the British Government, the European Union, and the UN will immediately put into place these aid packages in order to facilitate the agreement? That would be a carrot and would show forward thinking, rather than waiting for the political accord and then considering how we underpin that with aid.

§ Lord Whitty
My Lords, the Biharis have always been able to integrate into Bangladesh society. However, in many senses they have felt that the politics and the existing situation make it sensible for them to seek access to what was West Pakistan. In such circumstances, one must have an agreement between Pakistan and Bangladesh before making serious and detailed plans about how to support the resettlement. While the Bihari population remains in Bangladesh we should be happy to consider assistance programmes which help them in particular.