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St. Malo Agreement
31. Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with European partners about the St. Malo agreement on security and foreign policy. [69452]
Ms Quin: At St. Malo, we agreed with the French Government the principles which any new European defence arrangements should observe. Other European partners welcomed those ideas at the European Council in Vienna. Since then, there have been numerous contact at official level with both EU partners and NATO Allies to pursue detailed work.
Somaliland
32. Ms Oona King:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on relations with Somaliland. [69453]
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Mr. Tony Lloyd:
We do not recognise the region of Somalia known as "Somaliland" as an independent sovereign state.
Although we do recognise the Republic of Somalia, we do not maintain diplomatic relations there in the absence of a Government.
However, our Ambassador and his staff in Addis Ababa do maintain an unofficial dialogue with the self- proclaimed Government of Somaliland.
33. Mr. Pound:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has received about the proposals for EU enlargement under Agenda 2000; and if he will make a statement. [69454]
Mr. David Taylor:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement about progress on EU enlargement under Agenda 2000. [69579]
Ms Quin:
I refer my hon. Friends to the answer my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary gave in the House earlier today on this subject, in response to a question from my hon. Friend the Member for St. Helens, North (Mr. Watts), Official Report, column 715.
34. Mr. Tom Clarke:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what political support Her Majesty's Government are giving to the Kurds of northern Iraq; and if he will make a statement on his Department's contacts with the Kurdish political parties. [69455]
Mr. Fatchett:
As one of the co-sponsors of the Ankara Peace Process, we support the building of peace and stability for the Kurds in Iraq. RAF aircraft continue to participate in Operation Northern Watch, which plays a major role in protecting the people of northern Iraq from repression. Our bilateral aid programme for northern Iraq amounts to some £3 million a year.
We have kept in close contact with the Kurdish Diplomatic Party and Patriotic Union of Kurdistan as their leaders have worked towards reconciliation. We remain ready to assist that process in any way we can. We welcomed the agreement reached in Washington in September 1998 and have discussed with the parties' leaders here in London how we can help make the agreement work in practice. In addition to regular meetings with representatives of these and other Iraqi Kurdish groups in London, officials from our Embassy in Ankara also make periodic visits to northern Iraq to meet Kurdish leaders.
35. Mr. Healey:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has received about reform of the European institutions; and if he will make a statement. [69456]
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Ms Quin:
The Government have received representations on institutional reform both in contacts with partners and from non-governmental organisations. The Cologne European Council will take the next step by deciding how and when to tackle the institutional issues not resolved at Amsterdam.
37. Mr. Savidge:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps the Government are taking to promote global nuclear disarmament; and if he will make a statement. [69458]
Mr. Tony Lloyd:
The Government set out their approach to nuclear disarmament in the Strategic Defence Review in July 1998. We intend to be a constructive actor in the nuclear disarmament process, using our influence to move it forward where we can. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence set out in his Parliamentary answer of 2 November 1998, Official Report, columns 414-15, the steps this Government have already taken in this area.
The highest priorities now are promoting the ratification of START II by the Russian Duma; securing entry into force of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty; and the negotiation of a Fissile Material Cut-Off Treaty.
38. Mr. Paul Clark:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the steps taken by his Department to support international work on environmental issues. [69459]
Mr. Fatchett:
They are many and varied: we are working in international fora, including G8 and CHOGM, with colleagues from other Departments to achieve better protection of the international environment and sustainable use of natural resources. Under our Presidency of the EU, we achieved our objective at the European Council in June 1998 of agreement to integrate the environment into all areas of EU policy-making. We co-funded, with DfID, a successful Caribbean marine biodiversity workshop co-chaired with Jamaica in October 1998. We have contributed to the leading role the British Government have been able to take in international environmental negotiations, for example the climate change conference in Buenos Aires in November 1998. We are now building a closer relationship with business and NGO's on the environment, through our FCO/Business Energy Challenge, and our programme to support small environmental projects.
Mr. Maples:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what was the total cumulative cost incurred by his Department for ministerial use of RAF and chartered aircraft in the year to 1 May 1997. [69074]
Mr. Tony Lloyd
[holding answer 4 February 1999]: The total cumulative cost of ministerial use of RAF and chartered aircraft in the year to 1 May 1997 was just over £1.006 million.
16 Feb 1999 : Column: 741
Mr. Dalyell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will give the name of the 16 year-old Iraqi youth, imprisoned since the age of five years for throwing a stone at a picture of Saddam Hussein, to whom he has referred in public statements. [69786]
Mr. Fatchett
[holding answer 8 February 1999]: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary never purported to know the boy by name. He received an account, in good faith, of this episode. On the basis of what he already knew of Saddam Hussein's regime he found it convincing and in character. I refer my hon. Friend to the report of September 1998 of the UN Special Rapporteur on Iraq, Mr. Max Van Der Stoel, a copy of which has been placed in the Library of the House.
Ann Clwyd:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what reports he has received of an incident on 3 February in Idi Cut, East Aceh in which Indonesian soldiers opened fire on civilians; and what representations he has made to the Indonesian Government on this incident; [70600]
Mr. Fatchett:
We have received reports of a serious incident on 3 February in the village of Idi Cut, East Aceh, in which soldiers opened fire on a crowd. A number of deaths have been confirmed. Where there is evidence of serious human rights violations in Indonesia, we continue to raise our concerns in robust terms with the Indonesian Government.
Mr. Leigh:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the extent of persecution of minority (a) political parties and (b) religions in Pakistan. [70376]
Mr. Fatchett:
We are monitoring the situation closely. I made clear during my visit last week our concern at reports of abuses against minorities.
Mr. Leigh:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if Her Majesty's Government will raise in bilateral talks with the Government of Pakistan the extent to which the fundamental rights guaranteed by the country's constitution are being honoured; and what steps he is taking to seek to ensure these rights are honoured. [70375]
Mr. Fatchett:
I raised this issue with Pakistan's Minister of Law on 8 February. He told me that he was concerned that all Pakistanis received the rights granted to them under the constitution. We will continue to follow this issue closely.
Mr. Leigh:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received from officials in Pakistan about the growth of Muslim extremism in Pakistan; and what assessment he has made of its possible effects on Anglo-Pakistan relations. [70371]
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Mr. Fatchett:
Our Missions report on all aspects of Pakistan. Our relations with Pakistan are deep-rooted and friendly. An objective of our regular bilateral dialogue is to ensure this remains the case.
Mr. Dismore:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations his Department made to the Pakistan Government during the visit to Pakistan by the Minister of State between 8 and 10 February, concerning the suppression of the Daily Jang newspaper; and if he will make a statement. [71184]
Mr. Fatchett:
On 8 February I expressed concern to the Minister of Law that the Pakistan Government's dispute with the Jang Group threatened to undermine press freedom and democracy. The Minister replied that freedom of speech and an independent press were separately guaranteed under Pakistan's Constitution. We will continue to monitor the situation closely.
(2) if he will express to the Indonesian Government the British Government's concern about armed violence in Aceh; and if he will request the Indonesian authorities to reduce the number of military personnel in Aceh. [70599]
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