El Salvador (Hansard, 30 November 1989)

§ Mr. Alton
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if Her Majesty's Government have received any requests for assistance from the Government of E1 Salvador in the matter of the recent murder of six Jesuit priests.

§ Mr. Sainsbury
Yes. We shall, of course, do all that we reasonably can to help the Government of El Salvador bring the perpetrators of this terrible crime to justice. We welcome President Cristiani's obvious determination to establish all the facts.

§ Mr. Alton
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he has as to the number of members of the El Salvadorean armed forces who have been prosecuted for involvement in death squads, torture and murder since the beginning of the present conflict.
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§ Mr. Sainsbury
The information requested is not readily available.

§ Mr. Alton
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations Her Majesty's ambassador to E1 Salvador has made to the E1 Salvadorean Government on the recent murder of six Jesuit priests.

§ Mr. Sainsbury
The following statement of our view on the killing of the six Jesuits has been passed to the Salvadorean authorities in London and San SalvadorWe utterly condemn the cowardly and appalling murders which occurred at the Catholic university in the early hours of 16 November. The rector and his colleagues were men whose reputation for honesty and integrity stood high in the world. Words cannot express our disgust at the simultaneous killing of their cook and one or more of her children. We hope that the perpetrators of this crime will be identified and brought to justice. In the present tense situation in San Salvador, we urge restraint on all parties. Acts of retribution will lead only to further tragedy and despair. This cannot be the way forward for El Salvador. We hope that everything will be done to facilitate the task of the Red Cross, in particular to bring the wounded to safety where they can receive treatment. We renew our call on the FMLN to bring to an end their offensive which has caused such suffering and to return to the negotiating table.