HC Deb 13 November 1989 vol 160 cc8-11W
Mr. Wigley

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many representations he has received from(a) hon. and and right hon. Members and (b) others during the past three months concerning the policy of Her Majesty's Government relating to Cambodia; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Maude

We have received more than 600 representations from hon. and right hon. Members, and more than 4,000 from other sources in the last three months.

Mrs. Clwyd

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many letters and telephone inquiries his Department has received from the public on Cambodia since 31 October.

Mr. Maude

The Department has received over 3,500 letters and approximately 40 telephone inquiries on Cambodia since 31 October.

Mrs. Clwyd

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if Her Majesty's Government will propose or sponsor the establishment of an international mission to verify that Vietnamese forces have fully withdrawn from Cambodia.

Mr. Maude

I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs to my hon. Friend the Member for Taunton (Mr. Nicholson) on 30 October.

Mrs. Clwyd

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) if he will now make it his policy to support any challenge to the seating at the United Nations of the Coalition Government of Democratic Kampuchea when the situation in Cambodia is debated at the United Nations General Assembly on 15 and 16 November;

(2) what information he has as to whether Vietnamese forces have now left Cambodia.

Mr. Maude

I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs to my hon. Friend the Member for Broxtowe (Mr. Lester) on 8 November.

Mrs. Clwyd

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what military training and support Her Majesty's Government have given to the forces of the Coalition Government of Democratic Kampuchea; what information he has as to co-ordinated attacks on Cambodia by the forces of the Coalition Government of Democratic Kampuchea; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Maude

I have nothing to add to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs to my hon. Friend the Member for Broxtowe (Mr. Lester) on 8 November.

Mrs. Clwyd

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if it is his policy to support pp4 of the ASEAN draft resolution on Cambodia, on foreign armed intervention and occupation in Kampuchea; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Maude

Yes. We have agreed to co-sponsor this resolution.

Mrs. Clwyd

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if the Government intend to co-sponsor the resolution on Cambodia put forward by ASEAN countries for debate at the United Nations General Assembly on 15 November.

Mr. Maude

Yes, along with, at the last count, 75 others.

Mrs. Clwyd

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on how many occasions the United Kingdom has voted to seat the Coalition Government of Democratic Kampuchea at the United Nations; and how many such votes have taken place.

Mr. Maude

In 1979 the United Kingdom voted in favour of a General Assembly resolution adopting the report of the credentials committee recommending, inter alia, acceptance of the credentials of Democratic Kampuchea. From 1980–82 the United Kingdom voted against challenges to the credentials of Democratic Kampuchea in the General Assembly. There has been no vote since 1982.

Mrs. Clwyd

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimate he has as to the number of Cambodian civilians who died in each year from 1976 to the present.

Mr. Maude

There are no reliable sources of information on which to base such estimates.

Mrs. Clwyd

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he has on the former relations between the ambassador extraordinary and plenipoteniary to the United Nations of the Coalition Government of Democratic Kampuchea and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs under Pol Pot.

Mr. Maude

The ambassador to the United Nations of the Coalition Government of Democratic Kampuchea is Thiounn Prasith. Between 1975 and 1979 he was employed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Democratic Kampuchea.

Mrs. Clwyd

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what sources of information Her Majesty's Government use to assess the political, social and economic situation in Cambodia.

Mr. Maude

We draw on all sources available to us. These include the reporting of Her Majesty's embassies in Bangkok and elsewhere, the views of non-governmental organisations working inside Cambodia, consultation with our friends and partners and reports in the media.

Mrs. Clwyd

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when there was last a visit by representatives of Her Majesty's Government to Cambodia.

Mr. Maude

No representative of ours has visited Cambodia since the Vietnamese invasion in 1979.

Mrs. Clwyd

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which is the dominant faction in the Coalition Government of Democratic Kampuchea.

Mr. Maude

The Coalition Government of Democratic Kampuchea (CGDK) comprises three factions: Prince Norodom Sihanouk's group (FUNCINPEC), the Kampuchea People's National Liberation Front (KPNLF), and the Khmer Rouge. It is our policy to support the non-Communist resistance (FUNCINPEC and KPNLF) and we are determined that they should not fall under the domination of the Khmer Rouge.

Mr. Adley

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what positive evidence he has that Pol Pot is still actively involved in the direction of the Khmer Rouge.

Mr. Maude

It is difficult to assess shifts of influence within the Khmer Rouge. We understand that Pol Pot resigned from his one remaining official position, that of Head of the Academy of National Defence, with effect from 3 June 1989. But he is still believed to wield influence behind the scenes.

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