Asked by Lord Green of Deddington To ask Her Majesty’s
Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of
Wimbledon on 20 September (HL1251), how much of the nearly £200
million provided to moderate opposition groups in Syria was for
political support; and what was the nature of that assistance.
The Minister of State, Foreign and...Request free trial
Asked by
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To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written
Answer by on 20
September (HL1251), how much of the nearly £200 million
provided to moderate opposition groups in Syria was for
political support; and what was the nature of that
assistance.
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The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office
(Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon) (Con)
My Lords, of the £200 million spent in Syria since 2011,
£14 million has been used to fund political support to the
Syrian opposition. This funding has developed the
operational capacity of the Syrian national coalition and
the higher negotiations committee through diplomatic
technical assistance, communications and advisory support,
as well as media training.
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(CB)
My Lords, I thank the Minister for his Answer. This week
has seen the fall of Raqqa, a major development in Syria,
so will the Government now stop their ineffectual meddling
in the affairs of Syria, wasting £1 million a week of
taxpayers’ money, and focus on the defeat of ISIL, which is
our real enemy? When will they realise that although the
present regime is terrible, any likely alternative will be
even for worse for minorities, for Christians and for
women? In these new circumstances, will they now have a
proper, fundamental review of their policy towards Syria?
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My Lords, first, we all welcome the inroads that have been
made towards the defeat of Daesh. While there are reports
that that has happened completely in Raqqa, that is not
quite the case, but when it does happen, I assure the House
that we will make a statement to that effect. I think I
speak for everyone in this Chamber when I say that we
welcome the fact that Daesh has been heavily defeated not
just in Syria but in Iraq. On the noble Lord’s second point
on minorities—I believe he was referring to the Assad
regime and the Government’s stance—let us not forget that
it was the Assad regime that first attacked minorities,
particularly minorities in Aleppo. That fact should not be
lost on anyone.
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(LD)
My Lords, what conditions are we and the wider EU putting
on reconstruction aid to Syria so that we can strongly
encourage political reform and help ensure safety if
refugees wish to return home?
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The noble Baroness raises an important point. Half the
population of Syria has been displaced and 400,000 people
have lost their lives. We are committed to ensuring that
there is a political settlement to provide the framework
and the stability for long-term development in terms of
restructuring and aiding the country to stand on its feet
once again. Through CSSF funding within the Foreign Office,
we have been providing basic support in sanitation, water
supplies and the building of roads so that those first
steps can be taken in the areas of Syria that are no longer
under Daesh administration.
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(Lab)
My Lords, if the Government gave £200 million to opposition
groups and only £14 million or £40 million—I did not quite
catch which it was—was for political support, what on earth
was the rest for?
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I partly answered that question in my response to the noble
Baroness, Lady Northover. The £14 million was specifically
in terms of political support. I referred to the
negotiations committee, where the opposition are at the UN
and at the Geneva talks, and money has been spent on
ensuring that they have the skillsets to take part in those
negotiations. Other examples include £39 million having
been spent on roads, water supplies and sanitation. That is
where the overall £200 million pot is being spent. I will
write to the noble Lord with a specific breakdown, but it
is very much about assisting the coalition of the Syrian
opposition both to stand on its feet internationally and to
start rebuilding the country locally.
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(Lab)
My Lords, we should not forget that the situation in Syria
has seen terrible crimes against humanity on all sides,
including the government side. Will the Minister repeat Her
Majesty’s Government’s commitment to hold these people to
account and ensure that money is spent to ensure that there
is proper evidence so that these people can be brought to
justice?
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I totally concur with the noble Lord’s sentiments. I assure
him that he is right: this is not just about Daesh,
although I am pleased that at the UN recently we passed a
resolution in the Security Council that was all about
holding to account those who committed these heinous crimes
against humanity and wore the name of Daesh in committing
their actions, which bear no resemblance to any
humanitarian act. Regarding the Syrian regime, as the noble
Lord knows, we are supportive of all resolutions. That is
why we also take the strong stance that while the Assad
regime is in place there can be no long-term political
settlement of the situation. Let us not forget who created
the crisis in the first place.
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(Con)
My Lords, why do Her Majesty’s Government not recognise
that Assad is not going anywhere and that the Syria that he
holds is growing back almost to the boundaries it had
before? Against that background, does my noble friend
really think that British taxpayers want £14 million to be
spent on supporting the so-called opposition? Surely it
would have been better spent on fuel poverty.
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My noble friend perhaps mixes two issues. I think that all
these issues are of equal importance. We have just heard
from him about the importance of addressing fuel poverty.
Equally, I think I speak for many in this House when I say
it is right that we stand up for the oppressed of Syria and
support the opposition forces because it is they, not
Bashar al-Assad, who hold the key to the future development
of all communities in Syria, including all minority
communities.
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(CB)
My Lords, is the Minister aware that when I was in Syria I
met representatives of civil society, including the Syrian
doctors’ society in Aleppo, and there was great concern
over the disastrous impact of sanctions which prevent the
provision of essential medical supplies as well as food?
Will Her Majesty’s Government change their priorities from
providing massive financial support to opposition groups,
which are not moderate, to making every effort to achieve
the lifting of sanctions?
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The sanctions that the noble Baroness mentions apply
specifically to the regime. Equally, she will be aware, as I
am sure is the whole House, that we stand second in terms of
the humanitarian assistance that we are providing to all
groups: more than £700 million has been given to people in
Syria on the humanitarian front and £800 million has been
allocated elsewhere in neighbouring countries, while a
further £1 billion remains to be allocated. Our commitment to
assisting the humanitarian recovery in Syria is second only
to one.
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