§ Mr. Cabornasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment has been made by the Foreign Ministers of the EEC to the effect of the policies of the Government of Nicaragua on the establishment of democratic conditions and the strict observance of human rights in E1 Salvador.
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§ Mr. WhitneyThe Foreign Ministers of the Ten have not discussed in detail the efects of Nicaraguan policy on the establishment of democratic conditions or human rights observance in E1 Salvador.
§ Mr. Cabornasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs in view of the references to developments in Central America in the communiqué following the meeting of heads of State and Government at Stuttgart, what is the policy of Her Majesty's Government towards the intention of the United States Government to maintain or increase funding of insurgents in Nicaragua, and government forces in E1 Salvador and in certain other Central American states; and whether there is any evidence to suggest that the Government of Nicaragua is forwarding arms from the Soviet bloc to forces elsewhere in Central America.
§ Mr. WhitneyAs my right hon. Friend the member for Cambridgeshire South-East (Mr. Pym) told the House on 11 May, we support the United States Government's delared objectives in Central America. This is not inconsistent with the statement in the communiqué following the meetings of Heads of State and Government at Stuttgart on 19 June. Whilst we had no evidence that Nicaragua is directly exporting Soviet arms we have noted a disturbing increase in military supplies to Nicaragua from the Soviet Union and its allies in recent months.
§ Mr. Corbynasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what was the value of trade in armaments in the past three years between (a) Honduras, (b) E1 Salvador and (c) Costa Rica and the United Kingdom; and what is the policy of Her Majesty's Government in respect of trade in arms with Central America.
§ Mr. WhitneyIt is not the policy of this or of previous Governments to disclose details of arms sales to other countries. Applications for permission to sell arms to any country abroad are considered in each case in accordance with normal export licensing procedures as outlined by my predecessor in Cmnd. 8819. We do not permit the sale of arms to E1 Salvador or Guatemala.
§ Mr. Corbynasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether Her Majesty's Government have made any representations to the Government of Honduras concerning the inclusions into Nicaragua from that country and the threat to security in that area.
§ Mr. WhitneyNo.