§ Sir Russell JohnstonTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he has on the supply of arms or direct military support to the Serbian, Croat and Muslim forces in Bosnia in contravention of the arms embargo; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Douglas HoggThere are a number of unconfirmed reports of arms supplies to Bosnia. An Iranian aircraft carrying arms was seized at Zagreb airport recently. The Western European Union/North Atlantic Treaty Organisation surveillance operation in the Adriatic has reported a number of ships suspected of violating the United Nation's trade and arms embargoes. But it is not clear whether these vessels are carrying goods destined for Bosnia.
§ Sir Russell JohnstonTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he has on whether the Bosnian-Serbs are continuing to receive arms and military supplies from the rump Yugoslavia; and whether any form of monitoring is proposed of the border between Serbia and the Serbian-controlled area of Bosnia.
§ Mr. Douglas HoggWe have no firm evidence of whether Serbia is continuing to supply arms to the Bosnian Serbs. The Yugoslav authorities deny this. Moreover, the Bosnian Serbs are already well-equipped; further supplies from Serbia would be unlikely to have a significant effect on their military capability. The monitoring of Serbia's and Montenegro's borders with Bosnia-Herzegovina was agreed in principle at the London conference. But these borders run through mountainous terrain, and are highly permeable. Effective monitoring would absorb much personnel and equipment. The United Nations is thus according higher priority to using the resources available to ensure that the safe and rapid delivery of emergency relief supplies to Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Sir Russell JohnsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs prior to the full deployment of British forces to Bosnia-Herzegovina, what assessment he has made of the number of foreign mercenaries active in the field, their origin and the factions they are fighting with; how confident he is that British forces will be at no risk from attack by mercenaries; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Douglas HoggThere have been repeated reports of mercenaries fighting in Bosnia-Herzegovina, and some are clearly well-founded. No reliable estimate of the numbers involved has been made. Our assessment at present is that mercenaries do not as such increase the threat posed to British troops by the various armed groups in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
§ Sir Russell JohnstonTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he has now secured agreement from the Bosnian-Muslim, Bosnian-Serb and Bosnian-Croat communities to allow free passage for British forces deployed in Bosnia-Herzegovina and to guarantee their safety from attack.
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§ Mr. Douglas HoggAll parties to the conflict in Bosnia-Herzegovina have confirmed their willingness to co-operate with United Nations Protection Forces—UNPROFOR—personnel deployed to that region in accordance with Security Council resolution 776 of 14 September.
§ Sir Russell JohnstonTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if Her Majesty's Government will seek Security Council approval to identify and name forces who attack United Nations military and humanitarian personnel in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
§ Mr. Douglas HoggSecurity Council resolution 776 of 14 September reaffirms the determination of the Council to ensure the protection and security of UNPROFOR and United Nations personnel: there is no need to seek an explicit resolution on these lines. Furthermore, United Nations personnel deployed to Bosnia-Herzegovina to facilitate and escort convoys of humanitarian aid will proceed only on the basis of negotiated safe passage.