§ Lord Chitnisasked Her Majesty's Government:
What representations they have received in particular from aid agencies, about their background brief, Crisis in Central America, issued in August 1983.
§ Baroness YoungIn addition to the noble Lord's correspondence with Foreign and Commonwealth Office Ministers, representations have been received only from the Director of Christian Aid, the General Secretary of the Catholic Institute for International Relations, and a member of the public.
§ Lord Chitnisasked Her Majesty's Government:
How many copies of their background brief, Crisis in Central America have been distributed; to whom they have been distributed; and how the list of recipients was compiled.
§ Baroness YoungAbout 1,600 copies of the background brief,Crisis in Central America have been distributed. It is not our practice to publish details of the distribution list. Of these, about 240 copies have been distributed in the United Kingdom to a wide range of individuals, who have expressed a particular interest in receiving background briefs on Latin America.
§ Lord Chitnisasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will provide a complete list of the source materials used in the preparation of their document, Crisis in Central America as there are no footnotes provided to the text.
§ Baroness YoungAs with all background briefs, material used for the preparation of,Crisis in Central America was taken predominantly from published sources, including contemporary reference publication, academic articles. BBC monitoring and other press reports. Official reports from our representatives in Latin America and elsewhere and other confidential material were used to cross check the accuracy of the published material.
§ Lord Chitnisask Her Majesty's Government:
Why their briefing paper, Crisis in Central America includes no reference to Guatemala.
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§ Baroness YoungThe background brief,Crisis in Central America did not attempt to cover all the countries in the region. It concentrated rather on developments in El Salvador and Nicaragua and their repercussions in the countries most directly affected at the time—Honduras and Costa Rica.
§ Lord Chitnisasked Her Majesty's Government:
What indisputable documentary evidence they have that Left-wing guerrillas in El Salvador are receiving aid from or by way of Nicaragua as stated in their background brief, Crisis in Central America.
§ Baroness YoungWe are satisfied from the information available to us from reliable confidential sources that reports that the Left-wing guerrillas in El Salvador have received considerable aid by way of Nicaragua are substantially true.
§ Lord Chitnisasked Her Majesty's Government:
What methods they used to measure the wishes of the majority of the people of Nicaragua as described in their background brief, Crisis in Central America.
§ Baroness YoungThe background brief,Crisis in Central America does not attempt to describe the wishes of the majority of the people of Nicaragua, but states that the regime in Nicaragua is pursuing its policies without reference to the majority's wishes. The press is undoubtedly censored and a firm date for elections has yet to be announced. By proscribing basic democratic freedoms, the Sandinista regime is denying the Nicaraguan people the opportunity to express their wishes freely.