HC Deb 31 July 1961 vol 645 cc116-8W
86. Mr. E. Johnson

asked the Lord Privy Seal whether he will instruct Her Majesty's Government's representative at the United Nations to request an explanation of the harmful treatment of Mr. Thyssens, one of the Belgian advisers to the Katanga Government, at Elizabethville by a Swedish patrol of the United Nations Organisation military police.

Mr. Heath

Monsieur Thyssen is a Belgian citizen and any representations are a matter for the Belgian Government.

89. Mr. Biggs-Davison

asked the Lord Privy Seal which United Kingdom and colonial subjects were recently deprived of their liberty in the Orientate Province of the former Belgian Congo; what representations have been made; and what satisfaction has been obtained.

Mr. Heath

There are eight British subjects amongst the party of missionaries whose movements have been restricted at Banjwade in the Orientale Province of the Congo. They are, Dr. and Mrs. Jenkinson and Dr. and Mrs. Sharpe and their three children. There is also one Canadian citizen. They have not been arrested, as was earlier reported, but the men have been confined to their houses whilst the local authorities conduct an inquiry which they wish to make. United Nations troops have joined Congolese military units in guarding the mission station until this inquiry has been completed. None of the missionaries has been ill-treated or molested and they are all reported to be in good health. Her Majesty's Ambassador in Leopoldville is in touch with the United Nations authorities there, who are following the situation closely.

90. Mr. Biggs-Davison

asked the Lord Privy Seal what are the duties of, and what policy is laid down for, the United Nations forces at Kamina and elsewhere in Katanga; and, in view of the cost of these forces to the United Nations, when he expects them to complete their mission.

Mr. Heath

United Nations forces are stationed in the Katanga in pursuance of the Security Council's resolution of 21st February. The completion of the United Nations mission in the Congo depends of course upon the emergence of a stable and united Congo.