TNAG-0925-FCO40-1143-Commonwealth-Parliamentary-Association-(CPA)-annual-conferen-1980 — Page 46

20

Twenty-fifth Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference

The problem came back to that of some Governments accepting certain standards while others did not accept them.

Greater hazards arose also because of technological advances, through which wh communities could possibly be held to ransom. The real mischief, it was suggested, lay in t ability of the terrorist to get and to use arms. There was no strict international control on the manufacture of arms or their distribution.

The three international conventions on terrorism covered only one aspect-air piracy. Hijacking and related acts of terrorism could be solved only when all countries acted together. One view was that there should be a conference of all the powers to stop hijacking and terrorism.

If the United Nations had failed, why should the Commonwealth not use its immense influence to show a united approach to honour the extradite-or-prosecute principle without political exception? There was support for the view that the Commonwealth should continue to press for a general agreement to extradite or prosecute.

The fact that terrorism had been successful in some instances gave rise to consideration of differences between types of violent action, such as differences between the legitimate liberation movement and the terrorist movement, or an act that some might regard as terrorism and others would see as having another motive. Would, for instance, the Vietnamese who hijacked a plane in Singapore be regarded as refugees or terrorists?

It would be difficult to get agreement on establishing the element of terrorism in such cases, because one country's traitor was another country's patriot.

The psychological basis of terrorism-of men dealing in death so as to make themselves feel alive-was also discussed and the situation in Northern Ireland was referred to. The best that could be achieved there was containment, but the root must be removed the social dimension of the cause-and that was often the family conditions in which the terrorist was brought up.

Irrespective of whatever legitimacy might be claimed by some who acted as terrorists, there was a general belief that there were particular actions on which there could be total consensus that they should be completely outlawed, said the chairman in summing up.

All had at least agreed that in their respective capacities they should support any international action that would make subject to international penalties any behaviour that demonstrated that individuals were lapsing into total barbarism.

PANEL F

THE MP-HIS FUNCTIONS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Panel members: Sen. the Hon. Sir Arnott Cato, MB, CH.B, LL.B, LL.D President of the

Senate, Barbados (Chairman)

Mr James Fleming, MP, Canada

Hon. Dr Tile Imi Tofaeono, MP, Western Samoa

A message of sympathy from the Secretary-General to the New Zealand Government and people concerning the previous night's air disaster in Antarctica was read by the chairman to delegates, who stood in silence as a mark of sympathy.

The diversity and sometimes the complexity of the different systems of government among member countries were reflected in the great divergence of opinions on what their primary functions as MPs were, and where their responsibilities lay.

A dominant topic was the resolution of their sometimes conflicting loyalties, which they perceived to be their own conscience, party, national interest, and constituency. Conscience and constituency were put first by most who spoke on the topic, but the party was almost as strongly favoured and it was implicit in many contributions (explicit in two), that a rigid ruling was impossible—it was a dynamic, not static matter. However, it was felt strongly by most that when an MP's conscience led him to change parties his first duty was to ask his electorate whether it still wanted him as its representative.