§ Mr. Alexander W. Lyonasked the Lord Privy Seal, pursuant to the reply of the Under-Secretary of State to the hon. Member for York on 21 January, if he will 428W explain the reasons why he considers that it would not be useful to provide full details of alleged breaches of the ceasefire in Rhodesia; and if he will explain how a high proportion of the incidents have been attributable to ZANLA.
§ Mr. LuceA large number of incidents are reported every day. Only those incidents which are relevant to the overall maintenance of the ceasefire are investigated by the Ceasefire Commission. It is therefore not possible to provide tabulated details of all the incidents reported.
The Ceasefire Commission has formally decided the attribution of breaches of the ceasefire in only 35 cases. Of these, 13 were attributed to ZANLA. Of the remainder, 14 were committed in former ZANLA operational areas.
§ Mr. Dobsonasked the Lord Privy Seal what is the tonnage of maize, wheat, rice and oil seeds stocks, respectively, presently held under the authority of the Governor; and what these represent in terms of weeks' supply.
§ Mr. Luce[pursuant to his reply, 16 January 1980, c. 783]: The figures for stock levels are not released. Stocks are lower than usual at present because of a poor harvest last year, but no difficulties are foreseen in providing adequate supplies to the market.
§ Mr. Dobsonasked the Lord Privy Seal what arrangements the Government are making to ensure an adequate supply of food and other basic necessities to inhabitants of rural areas, including protected villages, in a way which will prevent supplies being used as a political weapon in the election campaign.
§ Mr. Luce[pursuant to his reply, 16 January 1980, c. 783]: The Governor is keeping at watch on food distribution throughout Rhodesia. With the ceasefire, matters are improving: restrictions designed to deny food to guerrillas have been lifted, and many roads are being put back into use. Food is distributed to the needy by the Ministry of Home Affairs in rural areas. Various international agencies are also involved in food distribution.
The Governor is not aware of any incident in which food supplies have been 429W used as a political weapon in the present election campaign, but trusts that any evidence of such activities will be brought to his attention.
§ Mr. Dobsonasked the Lord Privy Seal what arrangements the Governor is making to ensure an adequate supply of food and other basic necessities to squatter camps in urban areas in a way which will prevent such supplies being used as a political weapon in the election campaign.
§ Mr. Luce[pursuant to his reply, 16 January 1980, c. 783]: The Governor is keeping a watch on food distribution throughout Rhodesia. With the ceasefire, matters are improving: restrictions designed to deny food to the guerrillas have been lifted and many roads are 430W being put back into use. Food is distributed to the needy by the Ministry of Social Affairs in towns. Various international agencies are also involved in food distribution.
No evidence of food supplies being used as a political weapon has been brought to the Governor's attention.