§ Lord Molloyasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will make a statement about the Government's policy towards Cambodia.
§ The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Brabazon of Tara)The British Government's objective is a sovereign and independent Cambodia whose people are free to decide their own future. We do not have diplomatic relations with the unelected regime put into power by the Vietnamese. We have consistently made plain our repugnance for the Khmer Rouge. We have never given, and will never give, support of any kind to the Khmer Rouge.
These objectives remain unchanged but we have reviewed their implementation in the light of recent events. Vietnam has withdrawn its combat units from Cambodia. The international conference at Paris failed to reach agreement on a political settlement. Fighting continues within Cambodia itself and the need for humanitarian aid has grown. In these circumstances we have decided:
(i) to build up our humanitarian aid programme. We shall continue to provide substantial help to the many thousands of Cambodians living in camps along the Thai/Cambodia border who have been made homeless by the years of fighting. We stipulate that none of our aid should reach the Khmer Rouge. We shall now increase the humanitarian aid which we give inside Cambodia itself while continuing to channel this aid through the NGOs and organisations such as UNICEF and not direct to the Phnom Penh regime. As part of this policy, we propose to offer now a further contribution of £250,000 to UNICEF for humanitarian projects inside Cambodia. Arrangements will be made for a member of the British Embassy in Bangkok to visit Phnom Penh soon to report on the situation at first hand. My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs is asking the heads of the NGOs to meet with him to discuss details;
(ii) to adapt our stance at the UN. The report of the UN Credentials Committee again recommended acceptance of credentials of Democratic Kampuchea for the Cambodian seat and was approved without a vote. That question has thus already been settled for the 932WA present session. Our long-standing position on this legal and technical matter in no way implies readiness to deal with the Coalition Government of Democratic Kampuchea as a government, much less support for the Khmer Rouge. We have decided with our friends and partners to modify the draft Resolution which we, with 74 other UN Member States, are co-sponsoring at the United Nations General Assembly in the debate on 15th November. These changes are intended to make clear that the situation in Cambodia has changed and that we do not support the Khmer Rouge in any way.
We wish to see peace and stability restored to Cambodia through a comprehensive political settlement which will create the conditions in which the Cambodian people can elect a government of their choice, free from the fear of Khmer Rouge atrocities, foreign occupation or civil war. In consultation with our friends and allies, notable the ASEAN group of countries, we shall continue to work to this end.