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Foreign Affairs
22 MARCH 1984
Sir Anthony Kershaw (Stroud): I wish every possible success for the negotiations which my right hon. and learned Friend is conducting. Will he assure the House that his right hon. and learned Friend the Home Secretary is studying the implications, which may be important to our nationality and immigration legislation?
Sir Geoffrey Howe: I assure my hon. Friend that that question, among many others, is the subject of consideration among my colleagues, including the Home Secretary, and myself.
Mr. Tom Clarke (Monklands, West): Will the right hon. and learned Gentleman give way?
Sir Geoffrey Howe: I must not give way too often, but I shall give way to the hon. Gentleman.
Mr. Clarke: I am grateful to the right hon. and learned Gentleman for giving way. Just this morning, I and my hon. Friend the Member for Hamilton (Mr. Robertson) returned from Hong Kong. Will the Foreign Secretary confirm the point that was made so eloquently last week by my hon. Friend the Member for Hamilton, that the final decision on these matters will be taken by the British Parliament and not necessarily by the British Government? Is the right hon. and learned Gentleman therefore considering a timetable for this year?
Sir Geoffrey Howe: I am bearing the timetable in mind, and I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for raising the matter. I know that he has just returned from studying these issues in Hong Kong. As I have said, one of the important conditions is the acceptability of the outcome to Parliament. We must take that aspect fully into account.
The major development in the Falkland Islands has come with the election in Argentina of President Alfonsin. The Government have welcomed, as has the House, the restoration of democracy in Argentina. The return to legitimate government and to the rule of law provide an | important element of common ground between Britain and Argentina. I hope that the coming months will show that we share a real interst in re-establishing practical and sensible arrangements for relations between the two countries, and that we share a commitment to progress through peaceful means. We have made it clear to President Alfonsin that our wish is to normalise our relations with his Government. Better relations would be in our interests, the interests of the islanders and in the interests of Argentina.
Let there be no mistake. We stand firmly by our commitments. We shall do what is necessary to defend the islands and the rights of the islanders. We shall promote conditions in which the islanders can live peacefully under a government of their choosing. We shall continue to provide help for the development of the islands' economy.
As the House will remember we followed up the Prime Minister's message to President Alfonsin at his inauguration by putting a number of specific ideas to the Argentina Government on 26 January. We have since received a considered reply. We have been studying that carefully, and will be responding to it shortly. There are practical ways in which progress should be possible, but we will not as we have already made very clear- negotiate about the sovereignty of the islands.
Mr. Tam Dalyell (Linlithgow): On 5 March a remarkable book was published by Secker and Warburg Ltd. It was written by two extremely reputable
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heavyweight people Mr. Desmond Rice and Mr Arthur Gavshon. I do not expect the right hon. and learner Gentleman to go into detail, but is the Foreign Offic considering any reply to their charges?
Sir Geoffrey Howe: I hope that the hon. Gentleman will forgive me, but I do not intend to deal with that matte now. I wish to move on to other matters. A number o people will be studying that book.
The middle east is a subject of continuing concern t the international community as a whole. The problems o the middle east would be important enough if they wen simply regional, but there is a continuing risk of thei becoming more than that.
The Gulf war is an obvious example. We should like to see it ended for the sake of the people of Tran and Iraq who are the principal sufferers. However, beyond that, the war is a potential threat to the Gulf region as a whole. The interests of Britain and of the West more generally are thu also at risk. The risk of disruption to oil supplies should not be exaggerated, but it is there, and it would be foolish to ignore it.
Britain's interests in the Gulf are not confined to that Many of the countries in the region have links with thi country stretching back many years. We may no longe have direct responsibilities for their defence, but w continue to enjoy close and valuable political relations. It some cases these include treaties of friendship, with provision for consultation in time of need.
Some 90,000 British nationals live and work in th area. There is substantial British investment there, and the countries of the Gulf area are now among our mos important overseas markets. In 1982 the States of the Gul Co-operation Council accounted for almost £3 billion worth of British exports, so there are many reasons why the security of those states is of importance to us.
It is clear that any escalation of the fighting in thi region would carry major risks. Unfortunately, recen developments give fresh grounds for concern. There have been reports of attacks on civilian targets in both countries There have been a series of Iranian offensives in the centra and southern sectors of the front, including the curren fighting around the Majnoon Islands, and evidence ha been advanced that Iraq has used chemical weapon against Iran. This question is now being investigated of behalf of the United Nations. I do not want to prejudge th results of the inquiry, but we will condemn withou. qualification any violations of the 1925 Geneva protocol
On this same subject, let me very plainly repeat that there is absolutely no truth in the allegation that the United Kingdom has supplied chemical weapons to Iraq. The United Kingdom has supplied no lethal items to either side since fighting began. We have most certainly not supplied chemical weapons. The United Kingdom disposed of it- supply 25 years ago, and, as the House will be aware, this country has been in the forefront of international efforts to ban the use and production of chemical weapons.
The Government's policy on the Gulf war remains one of strict neutrality. Beyond that, we want the war ended. A negotiated peace is desperately needed, but the belligerents will need to co-operate with the UN and with the other countries and organisations that have offered their good offices.