| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
Rev. Martin Smyth (Belfast, South): We understand the concerns expressed in the House, and I believe that I speak for many people, if not all, in Northern Ireland when I say that we are in sympathy with what has happened. Our prayers are with the naval and air forces that are in action. We trust that there will be no need to engage the Army in any action in future, but when the Secretary of State is giving warnings to Milosevic, will he bear in mind what might happen if Milosevic does not listen? Perhaps, the President is saying the same things in Serbia tonight to rally his people. From our experience during the second world war and recently in Northern Ireland, we all know that bombing does not detract from the courage of the people, but strengthens their endeavour.
The Deputy Prime Minister: I welcome the expression of support given by the hon. Gentleman, as I welcome it from all quarters of the House. Whatever concerns there might be that bombing adds to people's resolve, we shall continue to try to achieve agreement and dialogue between disagreeing parties--as we have done for a long time. Indeed, one party had signed up to the agreement in France, but the other decided not to do so. Whenever there is disagreement, one seeks agreement, and in this case we are not prepared to stand aside and observe the tragic consequences that are unfolding in Kosovo. I think that our action is right and, in the main, that is shown by the consensus among the 19 NATO countries.
Mr. Alan Williams (Swansea, West): Does my right hon. Friend agree that, desirable as the suggested United Nations peace conference might be, it would offer nothing to those helpless people who at this very moment are running ahead of the Serbian tank tracks and trying to hide from their death squads? Although we acknowledge and respect the consciences of our hon. Friends who feel that they cannot support what NATO is doing today, most Members of this House could not live with our consciences if we did not support it.
The Deputy Prime Minister: Again, my right hon. Friend is referring to the point I made earlier about diversity of opinion in the House. All of us who have watched these tragic circumstances evolve--especially when we see those events on television--are often asked to find a balance between practical realities and conscience. The Government have decided to join the other 18 NATO nations to prevent such events from taking place. That is a proper balance and we are right to support it.
Mr. John Wilkinson (Ruislip-Northwood): Do not our service men over and around Yugoslavia tonight deserve
our confidence and our faith rather than our speculations? Will Her Majesty's Government assure the House that they will have the courage to see this matter through until the mission is fully accomplished, namely, that the poor, suffering, oppressed people of Kosovo are granted the opportunity to decide their own political destiny in freedom and in peace?
The Deputy Prime Minister: I agree very much with the political objective expressed by the hon. Gentleman, as will most Members of the House. However, we are discussing the military objectives that we have set. Those objectives are clear--they are to curb Milosevic's ability to attack the people of Kosovo, and to disrupt the armed forces of Yugoslavia and their violence in Kosovo. That is a proper military objective which it is to be hoped may lead to the political results described by the hon. Gentleman.
Mr. Derek Twigg (Halton): Does my right hon. Friend agree that, although it is important for hon. Members to express their opinions freely, what is important tonight is that a message expressing the full support of this House goes to the service men and women in our armed forces? Is it not a consequence of doing nothing that the slaughter will continue and the pictures on television to which my right hon. Friend refers will get worse and will be shown more frequently? Will there not be dire consequences for the whole region if we do nothing? I assure my right hon. Friend of my full support, and that of most Members of this House, for the actions that have been taken by the Government.
The Deputy Prime Minister: What has been notable and unsurprising is that the fullest support has been expressed on both sides of the House. There is solidarity for our purpose and unity in support of service people. As my hon. Friend says, watching pictures of slaughter on television leads us to think deeply about the actions that we must take. As he rightly points out, history teaches us that there are consequences for the whole region. Perhaps certain historical lessons are clearly in our minds. This action is right; the military objectives are clear and we shall seek to achieve them.
Mr. Crispin Blunt (Reigate): The Deputy Prime Minister will be aware that there are hon. Members on both sides of the House who have serious reservations about the current strategy's potential for success. However, it is undoubtedly true that the best outcome for all is that the current strategy is a success, so now that our armed forces are in action I hope that the right hon. Gentleman understands that he, as the representative of our Government, and our armed forces and those of our allies have our full support in making a success of the strategy on which the Government have embarked.
The Deputy Prime Minister: Once again, I am grateful for that expression of support. As the hon. Gentleman rightly points out, everyone, whatever view they hold on the matter, feels great concern at this time. We need to give our fullest support, and that support has been offered by hon. Members on both sides of the House. We shall work extremely hard and our armed forces will seek to achieve success in the targets and aims we have set for ourselves.
Mr. Robert N. Wareing (Liverpool, West Derby): Did my right hon. Friend hear the statement issued tonight by
Vuk Draskovic, who is a long-standing political opponent of President Milosevic, stating that the NATO aggression against Yugoslavia will unite all Serbs everywhere in opposing their enemies? Does my right hon. Friend realise that it is now extremely likely that the war in Bosnia will be re-ignited and that Serbs in other parts of the former Yugoslavia will unite? While he is about it, can he explain why British foreign policy towards the Serbs in respect of Kosovo differs from our policy toward the Croats in respect of Krajina, where 280,000 Serbs were ethnically cleansed?
The Deputy Prime Minister: Many lessons of history have been referred to this evening, but we have to deal with what is happening now, which is that Mr. Milosevic is carrying out a policy that is killing thousands of people in a most horrific way. My hon. Friend suggests that Mr. Drosovic--
The Deputy Prime Minister: Whatever his name is, he is not the leader of the opposition, but is a Deputy Prime Minister in the Milosevic Government.
Mr. Wareing: He still opposes him.
The Deputy Prime Minister: If he is a Deputy Prime Minister, he does not oppose, but I shall not get into that argument. Clearly, whatever the history and whatever references to that history my hon. Friend wants to make, an overwhelming catastrophe is taking place in Kosovo and we have decided that we cannot simply sit by and watch. We know who is committing those acts and we have decided to attack military targets in order to curb those people's ability to attack the people of Kosovo. That action is right and that is what we are doing.
Mr. Shaun Woodward (Witney): I, too, join hon. Members in expressing support for the service men and for the action that is taking place tonight. We clearly had no choice, and it is clearly the right thing to do.
However, there is a grave danger ahead that the conflict will not be contained. The Deputy Prime Minister has given an account of the Russian response during the past few days, but will he tell the House what has been the Russian Government's response to the attack this evening? Given the historical allying of Russia to Serbia, will the right hon. Gentleman also tell us what the Government's response would be if the Russian Parliament were to sanction volunteers going to Serbia to aid the Serbs? Is it true or not true that aeroplanes found today were bound for Serbia and came from Russia? Finally, will he tell the House whether or not the Security Council is in session, or plans to be in session?
The Deputy Prime Minister:
The hon. Gentleman must recognise that Russia has made it clear that it disagrees with the action; that is well known and it is an honourable disagreement. However, the Russians did agree with the UN resolution that made it clear that the Serb actions taking place should not take place, which the Yugoslav authorities have totally ignored. The dialogue will continue and we want it to do so. If the Russians have a decision to make on what further actions they should take, we want to discuss that with them, but it is
| Next Section
| Index | Home Page |