§ Mr. MuddTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) whether the United Nations has been directly involved in mediation between the MPLA-PT and UNITA;
(2) when the situation in Angola will next be discussed in the United Nations;
25W(3) when was the last occasion that the United Nations Security Council or other United Nations for a discussed the civil war in Angola; and what resolutions were passed;
(4) what contacts have been made in the last year between Her Majesty's Government and African countries concerning the civil war in Angola;
(5) whether he has made representations through the United Nations or other international organisations in order to facilitate national reconciliation in Angola and the holding of free and fair elections;
(6) what is Her Majesty's Government's policy towards UNITA, its leader Dr. Jonas Savimbi, and its stated objectives of national reconciliation and the holding of free and fair elections in Angola;
(7) when he last met representatives of the Angolan Government; and what was discussed;
(8) what contacts have been made by him with other governments concerning the holding of free and fair elections in Angola;
(9) what representations he has made to the MPLA-PT Government of Angola concerning the holding of free and fair elections in Angola.
§ Mrs. ChalkerWe meet regularly with representatives of the Angolan Government in the normal course of diplomatic relations. The Angolan Ministers of the productive sector, foreign affairs and justice have all visited the United Kingdom since the beginning of 1988. In February this year my hon. Friend the Minister of State for Overseas Development visited Luanda for the annual SADCC meeting and called on President dos Santos. A wide range of international, regional and bilateral matters was discussed.
We are in regular touch with African leaders in the region, who are best placed to mediate, about moves towards internal peace in Angola. We would welcome any move to establish internal peace which had the support of both sides, but it is not for us to prescribe how elections should be conducted in another sovereign state. We have made no representations through international bodies on this subject.
We maintain contact with UNITA at official level. Mr. Savimbi is free to visit Britain as a private individual but is not received officially.
The mandate of the United Nations Angola verification mission (UNAVEM) is to verify the redeployment northwards and the phased and total withdrawal of Cuban troops from Angola according to the agreed timetable which is due to start on 1 April. The internal political situation in Angola is not the subject of discussion at the United Nations.