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Bangladesh
9. Mr. Bennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement about relations with Bangladesh. [30851]
Mr. Hanley: Our relations with Bangladesh are good. We look forward to maintaining and expanding our political, commercial and cultural links. Our strong hope is that today's elections will help rapidly to restore stability and economic progress.
Mr. Bennett: Will the Minister send his and the House's best wishes to the people of Bangladesh that today's elections are free, fair and successful? Will he also stress that it is important that whoever is elected makes the democratic process work, that the army is not tempted to interfere with the result and that countries such as the United Kingdom give the new Government every assistance to ensure that democracy can work in one of the poorest countries in the world?
Mr. Hanley: I agree with every word. The hon. Gentleman is right. I pay tribute to the right hon. Member for Bethnal Green and Stepney (Mr. Shore) and my hon. Friend the Member for Keighley (Mr. Waller) who are in Bangladesh as election observers, together with four members of the Electoral Reform Society. Let us hope that the elections lead to proper and sustainable democracy.
European Union
10. Ms Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the benefits to Britain of United Kingdom membership of the EU. [30852]
Mr. Rifkind: The United Kingdom benefits from the contribution that the European Union has made to peace and reconciliation in the states of western Europe, from our full participation in the world's largest single market and from our ability to make a full contribution to the reaching of decisions on a wide range of issues directly relevant to British interests.
Ms Eagle: Given the Foreign Secretary's sterling support for Britain's membership of the European Union, which he also expressed in answer to an earlier question and which I assume reflects the views of the whole Cabinet, can he explain why 78 of his Back Benchers, bankrolled and led by a member of a different political party, were allowed to make such a show of Euro-sceptic obsession in the House yesterday? What is he going to do about it?
Mr. Rifkind: I seem to recollect that quite a number of Labour Members also voted for that 10-minute Bill, so it is curious that the hon. Lady is so preoccupied with my hon. Friends rather than her own.
Sir Michael Marshall: Does my right hon. and learned Friend agree that one of the benefits of the United Kingdom's membership of the European Union is the opportunity that it provides for us to bring into a wider European Union some of the countries for whom we have long held a moral responsibility, such as Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary?
Mr. Rifkind: Yes, I strongly endorse what my hon. Friend has said. We often use the term "Europe" as if it means the same as the European Union. The reality is that it never has done, but it may progressively be able to. Twelve countries have applied to join the European Union. They are almost all new democracies of central and eastern Europe. We have a great historical obligation to facilitate their entry into the European Union, and that is the policy of Her Majesty's Government.
Ms Quin: Given that the hon. Member for Harrow, East (Mr. Dykes) claimed a few minutes ago that the Chancellor of the Exchequer was the only Cabinet member standing up for the European Union and Britain's membership, will the Foreign Secretary take this opportunity to endorse the Chancellor's comments that were reported in today's Newcastle Journal? The Chancellor said:
- "Continual criticism of Brussels by Tory Euro-sceptics could stem the flow of inward investors to the North-East"
Mr. Rifkind: I am always happy to endorse the remarks of my right hon. and learned Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer and all my ministerial colleagues.
Mr. Stephen: Will my right hon. and learned Friend tell his European colleagues that withdrawal from the
European Union is not the British people's preferred option? Will he further tell them that our vision of Europe is a union of sovereign states working closely together for mutual benefit, but that our people are gravely concerned at the federalist agenda that seems to be being pursued by some of the political leaders of Europe?
Mr. Rifkind: My hon. Friend is right. As I tried to indicate a few moments ago, the debate is about what kind of European Union we should be working towards. Many of the concerns that we have expressed are to be found in France, Germany and elsewhere. History has so determined matters that the United Kingdom has tended to take the lead in presenting the alternative kind of European Union that we believe is in the best interests of Europe as a whole.
Tibet
12. Mr. Mullin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to the Government of China regarding the situation in Tibet; and if he will make a statement. [30854]
Mr. Hanley: My right hon. and learned Friend the Foreign Secretary discussed Tibet during his talks with the Chinese Premier and Foreign Minister in Peking in January.
Mr. Mullin: As the Minister will be aware, in the past month or so there has been a quite serious crackdown in Tibet and some people have been injured and killed. What precisely did the Foreign Secretary say to the Chinese authorities? Although I appreciate that our influence is limited, there are things that we, with our EU colleagues, could do to impress on the Chinese authorities the seriousness with which we treat the way in which they behave in Tibet.
Mr. Hanley: My right hon. and learned Friend raised the general subject of human rights in China, including the situation in Tibet, which is a matter of deep concern for us all. He also raised the issue during his meetings with Chinese leaders, not only in Peking on 9 and 10 January, but with Foreign Minister Qian Qichen in The Hague on 20 April. He raised specifically the ill treatment of children in orphanages in China, the dissident Wei Jingsheng and, as I have said, the situation in Tibet. It is also important that we work with our European partners to form a dialogue on the issue because we believe that Tibetans should have a greater say in running their own affairs. The best way in which to achieve that is through dialogue between the Chinese Government and the Tibetans, including the Dalai Lama, without preconditions. We hope that both parties can start such a dialogue without delay.
Mr. Harry Greenway: Does my right hon. Friend accept that the Tibetan people will always look to the Dalai Lama as their spiritual leader--and their political leader to boot? Will the Government accord the Dalai Lama greater recognition in that respect, especially during his forthcoming visit to this country?
Mr. Hanley: The Dalai Lama will visit the United Kingdom next month as a guest of the British Buddhist
organisations. He is a distinguished religious leader and, in accordance with previous practice, my right hon. and learned Friend the Foreign Secretary has agreed to meet him in that capacity.Bhutan
13. Mr. Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on human rights in Bhutan. [30855]
Mr. Hanley: We understand that the human rights situation in southern Bhutan has improved significantly in the past three years and that the flow of refugees has almost ceased.
Mr. Winterton: As the position of the Bhutanese and Nepalese Governments is irreconcilable, with the Government of Bhutan insisting that 99 per cent. of the refugees in the camps are not Bhutanese and the Nepalese Government insisting that they are not Nepalese and that they came from Bhutan and must go back there, how can the British Government continue to argue that the best approach to solving the problem lies in bilateral talks between the Governments of Nepal and Bhutan? What assurances can my right hon. Friend give to those refugees that they will not become stateless, which many of them fear?
Mr. Hanley: My hon. Friend has rightly drawn attention to a serious dilemma. We believe that bilateral negotiations offer the best solution to the problem and we will continue to encourage the Governments of Bhutan and Nepal to conduct them. We take suitable opportunities to express firmly our concern to the Bhutanese about human rights. We provide humanitarian aid to support the refugees in Nepal because they are human beings, and irrespective of the status that people might give them. We have raised the issue with the Indian Government, too, on the basis of our humanitarian concern. We will continue to encourage Bhutan and Nepal in their dialogue.
Mr. Ronnie Campbell: Does the right hon. Gentleman agree that human rights in Bhutan and throughout the Indian sub-continent are of great concern to neighbouring countries, including those that share borders with Bhutan? One of my constituents who went to visit his family not long ago was murdered at the airport and did not even get into the country. I have already written to the Minister about that case and I hope that he will take up that abuse of the human rights of one of our passport holders.
Mr. Hanley: I would be grateful if the hon. Gentleman would send me the details of that case, which I do not have with me. I shall certainly look into the matter.
As for talks between Bhutan and Nepal, matters are not quite as bad as some might think. The seventh round of inter-ministerial talks took place in Kathmandu in April, and ended with an agreement to continue those talks at Thimphu, although no date was set. I hope that those next talks will help to make progress towards a lasting solution to the problem.
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