§ Mr. Eldon Griffithsasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he has yet received the report of the Libyan Committee of Assessors appointed to inspect the damage done to British Embassy property in Tripoli following last year's coup; and what progress he has made in obtaining compensation.
§ Mr. LuardThe Libyan Committee of Assessors was set up by the Libyan authorities for their own purposes and I would not expect its report to be submitted to us. Our claim for compensation will of course be based on our own 25W assessment of the damage. A provisional assessment was given to the Libyan Government at the time of the incident. Preparation of the detailed and definitive assessment is almost complete and will shortly be submitted to the Libyan authorities, with a renewed claim for compensation.
§ Mr. Eldon Griffithsasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs why, in view of the fact that there are 97 rooms having an area of 34,110 square feet in the British Embassy in Tripoli, temporary shelter was provided for none of the British residents whose lives and persons were in danger following last year's coup in Libya.
§ Mr. LuardAll the British community in Libya, numbering some 5,000 people, were equally at risk. Since the Embassy in Benghazi was entered by armed soldiers and an unsuccessful attempt was made to enter the Embassy in Tripoli, they would have been at greater rather than less risk if accommodated in the Embassy. Some British subjects were given temporary accommodation in the private residences of Embassy staff but experience has shown that, in circumstances such as existed in Libya following the coup, it is often safer for people to remain in their homes.
§ Mr. Eldon Griffithsasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how far the 24-hour curfew imposed in Tripoli and Benghazi following last year's coup prevented British personnel and vehicles from taking messages to those British women whom the Embassy had not contacted by telephone or other means; and what steps were taken by the Ambassador to ensure that diplomatic immunity and rights of free movement as required by the diplomatic and consular conventions are respected by the Libyan authorities in the case of British Embassy personnel.
§ Mr. LuardThe curfew in Tripoli lasted one day only and two curfew passes were issued to the Embassy just before the end of the day. In Benghazi a curfew was in operation on the first and third days following the coup; curfew passes were not issued to the Embassy there until the third day. For several days following the coup there26W was no authority to whom the Embassy could make representations of the kind envisaged. There is no consular convention existing between Libya and the United Kingdom, and Libya is not a party to the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
§ Mr. Eldon Griffithsasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) how many members of the British diplomatic staff in Libya, including local employees, were physically prevented by Libyan authorities from making contact with British women whose persons may have been endangered by last year's coup;
(2) if he will identify the times, places and circumstances in Tripoli and Benghazi when, after last year's coup, members of the British diplomatic mission to Libya were physically prevented by Libyan authorities from proceeding to make contact with British women living within 25 miles of the respective posts.
§ Mr. LuardI will, with permission, answer this Question and No. 27W together.
During the first few days following the Revolution all members of the diplomatic staff of the Embassy in Libya (who do not include any locally engaged staff) were constantly stopped, often at gunpoint, at frequent road blocks when trying to make contact with the British community. It is impracticable to give the detailed information requested in Question No. 27W. I am satisfied that, despite these formidable difficulties, every possible effort was made by our diplomatic and consular staff in Libya, at some personal risk, to contact members of the British community there.