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Pakistan and Kenya

My Lords, I am sure all noble Lords are grateful to the Minister for repeating this Statement from the Foreign and Commonwealth Secretary. We all react in horror to what we have seen and heard from both Kenya and Pakistan in recent weeks, particularly, as the Minister mentioned, the burning to death of 30 women and children in a church outside Eldoret in Kenya. That was perhaps the most sickening event in an appalling few days. Do not both situations that have developed over the Christmas period confirm the extreme instability and fragility of the international situation generally and the need more than ever to be clear about, hold on to and look after our own interests and national security in this country? Do these crises not also confirm that while we all want to see democratic development, crude democracy does not necessarily equate with good governance, and that without general restraint, proper monitoring and law abidance, election campaigns can spell more violence, as in the tragic killing of Benazir Bhutto, and more division and carnage, as in the tragic case of Kenya? I should like to deal first with Kenya, where the immediate humanitarian situation must be uppermost in our mind. It is good that quite a lot of UN and Red Cross food convoys are now getting through, but could we hear a little more about the situation at the port of Mombasa, which is the gateway of supply not merely to Kenya but to surrounding countries as well? Is not the blockage there and the reluctance of truckers to operate affecting not just supplies in central Kenya but vital food, equipment and supplies to the whole of central Africa? When will that be eased, because the situation in the past few days has been critical? Does this not underline the way in which civil disorder in the once orderly Kenya, for which many of us had such high hopes, spreads its negative effects like ripples through the whole region? Will we not have to pay a heavy price for that? With regard to our own immediate interests, can the Minister confirm that all British nationals, both resident—he mentioned the number—and visiting, who make up a considerable number, are safe, well informed and in touch with our High Commission in Nairobi? Can he say anything more about the UK’s considerable commercial and investment interests in Kenya? I do not think that he mentioned any discussions with the DBERR—I have difficulty in remembering the name; it used to be the DTI. Is it correct that we have well over £1.5 billion worth of investment in Kenya alone and a number of major companies operating there? Have there been any reports of closures, withdrawals, sabotage or any difficulties? There seemed to be a bit missing from the Statement. I turn to the lessons to be drawn and the actions now to be taken. Does the Minister agree that the Kenya tragedy underlines more than ever the need to avoid supporting corrupt leaders and to direct aid and support to the grass roots and to enterprise itself, rather than through corrupt bureaucracies and corrupt systems? Does he agree that the eruption of armed mobs and killing in Kenya, which is so untypical of Kenya’s recent past, comes less from old tribal rivalries— which have always been there and are still, to some extent, present—than from the rage that seems to be felt at the huge gap in wealth distribution between the rich and prosperous part of Kenya, which we tend to see in the newspapers and so on, and the slum-based majority in what is still a very poor country? Regarding the politics of it all, we agree that we should now do everything possible from outside—although, frankly, that may be quite limited—to encourage electoral and democratic probity. Among all the international institutions sending envoys and seeking to help, such as the Commonwealth, the UN, the African Union and the EU, may we be assured that Her Majesty’s Government are giving the maximum possible support to the first of those, since it is the Commonwealth that is the most trusted in Africa, rather more so than the EU and other organisations? Does he accept that, for those of us who dreamt of and worked for an East African federation four decades ago or more, this is a time of sadness but also maybe a time of opportunity, which, together with other Commonwealth and African leaders, we should build on? Does he accept, as he also mentioned it, that, based on my own experience in the past few days in dealing direct with individual cases of people in Kenya, the UK High Commission deserves nothing but the highest praise, with a highly efficient and accessible emergency service that has served all those involved very well? I turn to Pakistan and the murder of Mrs Bhutto, a woman of obvious courage and bravery—almost too much bravery, in the end. Our interest in restoring stability is even more direct. Events in Pakistan and the situation in Afghanistan are completely intertwined, with a permeable border between the two and large numbers of terrorists and fanatics feeding between them, particularly into Helmand province, as anyone operating there knows very well. Pakistan is the perhaps unwilling seedbed of terror—fed, it regrettably has to be said, by militancy often fostered here in Britain with our own ill judged and divisive multiculturalism that has done so much damage. In addition, Pakistan is at the centre of the nuclear debate, having already leaked secrets around the world. If control of Pakistan’s nuclear bomb fell into fanatical hands under a Government not of gentle, wise Islam, the kind we much admire, but of extreme ideological Islam, with its commitment to violence and its neglect of the Prophet, that would be a catastrophe for us all. Finally, as the Minister has reminded us, there are hundreds of thousands of British citizens of Pakistani origin in this country, all of whom must be deeply worried. What now exactly is HMG’s policy towards that country? It is said that the USA had decided a few weeks ago to ““back”” Benazir Bhutto—which, if true, was probably her doom. Can we ensure that the Pakistani intelligence service, and indeed the whole formidable Pakistani military machine, are really working for our common aims in ridding Afghanistan of its Taliban nightmare and its terrorist infections? Do we now welcome the postponed elections in any circumstances; which may or may not leave President Musharraf in complete control? What can we do, if anything, to see that the elections really are fair and open, in such a febrile and explosive atmosphere? Once again, the Commonwealth could be the best channel for our efforts. What use are we really making of it? There are many more questions to be asked about these unpleasant and tragic situations, and obviously not all are yet answerable. I should be grateful for as much guidance as the Minister can muster on those questions that I have put to him.