Lord Avebury askedHer Majesty's Government:
Whether they have any information to substantiate claims by Mr. Yan Mingfu, a member of the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee, concerning the alleged smuggling of weapons into Tibet by followers of the Dalai Lama, and the alleged despatch of Japanese trained terrorists into Tibet, and whether they will propose to the People's Republic that the exclusion of foreigners from Tibet be lifted, so that an impartial assessment can be made of the causes on continuing unrest in Tibet.
§ The Minister of State for Defence Procurement (Lord Trefgarne)We have no independent information about the claims attributed to Mr. Yan Mingfu. Foreigners are excluded from Lhasa under the terms of the martial law declared on 7th March. We have discussed this with the Chinese, who are aware of our concern about the situation in Tibet and our hope that martial law will be lifted soon.