Middle East and North Africa

Debate between Jim Sheridan and Ian C. Lucas

Thursday 17th July 2014 Westminster Hall

[Ian Lucas (Wrexham) (Lab)]

It is a real pleasure to see you in the Chair, Mr Sheridan, and to listen to the right hon. Member for North East Bedfordshire (Alistair Burt), who gave a powerful and, of course, knowledgeable introduction to the topic.

I want to range more widely than simply focusing on the Israel-Gaza issue, because there are so many hugely important issues in the middle east and north Africa. I am conscious that that we have said very little at all about North Africa, but of course in the circumstances it was inevitable that we would talk a great deal about Israel and Gaza. The violence and deaths in Gaza, and the firing of rockets into Israel and the casualties arising therefrom continue, regrettably, today. It is imperative that the immediate conflict stops, that we secure a ceasefire, and that we begin a political process that will secure enduring peace. As we all know, that demands leadership and compromise by all parties. However, there is no alternative if this cycle of violence is not to intensify, with more people dead, maimed and traumatised. That is in no one’s interest. There is no purpose in the violence continuing. It achieves nothing; there is no point.

We have had conversations like this before. The Minister is new to his post; he is the third middle east Minister that I have dealt with since I have had this brief. I sense an atmosphere at present of profound change in the attitude towards this intractable issue. I hope that the ceasefire will come, and that we will see that as an opportunity for intense political activity to try to address the problems and issues that we have been discussing.

Of course, we need to extend the ceasefire for as long as possible, but we must take immediate action to offer support on the humanitarian issues in Gaza. We need to work hard to secure a resolution to this conflict, because the other important thing about Israel-Palestine in the middle east is that it is an issue right across the Arab world. It is important to the Arab world’s view of countries such as the United Kingdom, and of Europe and the United States, and it is at the heart of the views of some Arab people that major powers in the region have double standards. Until we take action and secure real progress on this issue, that will undermine our relationships with many of the emerging Governments in the region. That issue demands our attention.

We are, of course, seeing profound change in Iraq. The recent announcement of a proposed referendum by the Kurdish Regional Government casts doubt on the future of Iraq. This, coupled with the horrific violence meted out by ISIS and other terrorist groups, both in Iraq and Syria, has created a febrile environment across the middle east in which established states no longer appear to be in control of their borders. Will the Minister please update the House on what recent discussions the Government have had concerning a referendum in Iraq? What discussions have they had with Iran—I know that there are efforts to have discussions with the chargé d’affaires from Iran—and Turkey about their view of developments in northern Iraq?

In the context of what is happening in the middle east, the four largest powers in the region, Egypt, Turkey, Iran and Saudi Arabia, can play an even more important role than previously. It is striking to me that countries such as Turkey and Iran, with what appear to be fundamentally different foreign policy perspectives in the region, still maintain a working bilateral relationship, despite areas of profound disagreement, for example, on Syria. That means that they can still have a relationship that works. This is a time when the ending of violence and re-establishment of order across the region requires those regional powers to talk and agree to influence those people they communicate with to secure peace and more stability.

The middle east’s current state of ferment is not in the interest of its peoples. legitimate Governments in the region need to find a way of securing stability together, so that economic development can take place. We have not spoken a great deal about that since the right hon. Member for North East Bedfordshire mentioned prosperity in the region, although that is important. He knows that I have travelled a great deal in the region, although not quite as much as he has. It is a region with a huge number of ambitious young people, who have great expectations and want to make progress in their lives, but all the political difficulty is preventing economic stability from being secured. Unless we can get a stable political situation, to enable economic progress to occur, those disappointed expectations will result in a much more dangerous situation. This is something that the Governments of the middle east must ultimately secure for themselves.

There are shafts of light. I am pleased that the right hon. Gentleman mentioned Tunisia. We both mention it because it is an example of a difficult political situation that was addressed by politicians from different parties and traditions with different views, who went through difficult times—individuals, including politicians, were killed because of their views—but they reached an agreed constitution with so-called Islamist parties and parties from a secular tradition and are moving forward. The constitutional committee in Tunisia chaired by Mustapha Ben Jaafar has achieved a great deal and shows that progress can be made. I commend the work of the British Government, through the Arab Partnership, in supporting that. It is important that we use that as an example and give the Tunisian people all the support we can, so that we have an example of progress being made. Tunisia is where the Arab spring started. If there is to be real progress in the region, we need to hold on to that example.

Morocco has also taken positive steps, through initiatives for reform of its constitutional monarchy. It is to be hoped that Algeria—another hugely important country that we have not touched on today—following recent presidential elections, can find a way forward with Morocco to address their historical differences, so that both countries can progress economically. Two countries with a closed border between them cannot achieve progress in trade worldwide when they will not even trade with each other.

We need to try to build on areas of stability, because there are further threats within the region: in the Sahel, extending south into sub-Saharan Africa, where conditions in South Sudan, Sudan, Nigeria, Kenya—

[Jim Sheridan (in the Chair)]

Order. I am sorry to stop the hon. Gentleman, but the Minister needs time to respond.