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Mr. Nicholas Soames (Mid-Sussex): First, will the right hon. Gentleman accept that, while the Russians have been handled without great difficulty, their behaviour has been reprehensible and they have taken up much of the time of General Sir Michael Jackson, who has better things to do than worry about them? When the right hon. Gentleman speaks to the Russians at the weekend, will he tell them not only that their behaviour has been reprehensible, but that he expects to see Russia immediately replace its troops from SFOR who have been sent to Kosovo?
Secondly, will the right hon. Gentleman comment on the use of the airport at Pristina? Despite the Russians' presence, can it be used for all forms of military transport and aircraft? If so, will the right hon. Gentleman consider moving one or two of the Harriers so that they might be used sooner? Thirdly, when will the right hon. Gentleman be able to comment more precisely on the disarming of the KLA?
Finally, has the right hon. Gentleman considered speaking to the building industry in this country to see whether it might lend the development service some of its experts on rebuilding? The chaos that will face the refugees upon their return to Kosovo will be terrible to behold and they simply will not know where to begin.
Mr. Cook:
I agree absolutely with the hon. Gentleman's last point. All European nations will have to contribute to ensure that we can rebuild Kosovo before winter, and I am sure that the British building and construction industry will be willing to play its part.
The hon. Gentleman expressed certain views about Russian behaviour, but he will understand that it might not necessarily be helpful for me to confirm whether I share that sentiment. We are concerned about the Russian situation, which has consumed a lot of time that we could have devoted to other parts of the Kosovo crisis. I thoroughly endorse his point that the Russians' unilateral arrival in Kosovo is as unfortunate and unhelpful as their unilateral departure from SFOR, where a gap has been left in the Bosnian forces.
We have no present requirement for the airport, nor do we plan to use it. However, it is important that, in the fullness of time, the airport be brought back into use for all members of KFOR and be operated on a multinational, not simply national, agency basis.
Ann Clwyd (Cynon Valley):
My right hon. Friend knows that I supported the aims of NATO throughout the
Mr. Cook:
I thank my hon. Friend for the consistent support that she has given to our campaign and to our objectives, which she has expressed at all times in the past 10 weeks. I am glad that my hon. Friend mentioned Montenegro because it gives me an opportunity to underline our commitment to that country. President Djukanovic and his Government demonstrated tremendous courage and steadfastness, despite pressure from Belgrade, in bravely standing out against Belgrade's policies and in opening their borders without restraint to refugees from Kosovo. Our agreement with the Serb forces makes it plain that they must withdraw to Serbia, not to Montenegro, and we shall continue robustly to support the democratic Government in Montenegro.
On support for Serbia, a distinction will have to be made. We want to help the people of Serbia. They, too, face the problem of the coming winter, and we must be prepared to provide humanitarian relief where it is necessary and appropriate. But the international community cannot become involved in major economic reconstruction of Serbia while the country is led by the present Government, if for no other reason than that their economic policies would make any such attempt futile and might well result, as in the past, in much of the money that should be spent on Serbia ending up in foreign bank accounts that do not belong to the people of Serbia.
Mr. Bowen Wells (Hertford and Stortford):
Which bank account has the £50 million for the relief of refugees, which I very much welcome, come from? Has it come from the Treasury contingency reserve or the reserves held by the Department for International Development? To whom will that money be given and for what purposes? Is it intended to provide prefabricated housing to enable returning refugees immediately to reoccupy their ruined villages and towns and begin reconstruction--and possibly to be part of the work force?
Mr. Cook:
The money has just been announced and we have not yet earmarked how all that £50 million will be spent, but we shall take that forward in consultation with agencies, particularly the UNHCR. I am advised that the money comes from DfID's reserves and will therefore be provided without any cost to DfID's programmes in Africa, Asia and poorer countries.
Mr. David Winnick (Walsall, North):
Will it be possible for a report on war crimes to be presented to the House and placed in the Library so that the crimes, rapes and atrocities that have taken place can be understood not only by us, but by generations of parliamentarians in the
I want to ask my right hon. Friend a question about a matter that he has touched on before. What reassurance can be given, as soon as possible, to Serbian civilians in Kosovo that NATO troops are there as an international force to protect all, and that we will not tolerate any pogroms or persecution of Serbians because we are there to protect all communities?
Mr. Cook:
I am happy to repeat my earlier assurances that our commitment is to protect all people in Kosovo, whatever their ethnic identity. Our objective is to create not a single ethnic state, but a multi-ethnic state under the democratic rules and values that we understand.
I shall consider my hon. Friend's request for a report on war crimes and find out whether we can respond to that in the fullness of time. It is important not only that we know what happened in Kosovo, but that the people of Serbia know what happened. Too many of them are still ignorant of what was done in their name in Kosovo, and I am sure that if they fully understood that they would share our repugnance and revulsion. That education is probably an important part of putting Serbia on the road to democracy and freedom.
Mr. Douglas Hogg (Sleaford and North Hykeham):
What proposals does the right hon. Gentleman have for the political reconstruction of Kosovo? I am sure that he agrees that there should be an elected Albanian-Kosovar authority in Kosovo as soon as possible. I recognise that it is difficult to have elections before the refugees return, but could he tell the House what proposals he has for the creation of a democratic body in Kosovo? In the meantime, whom does he regard as having authority to speak on behalf of the Albanian Kosovars? Is it Mr. Rugova, is it the head of the Kosovo Liberation Army, or is it someone else; and on what basis does that person have authority?
Mr. Cook:
The short answer to the right hon. and learned Gentleman's last question is that it is not for me to decide who speaks for the Kosovo Albanian community. It is for those in that community to decide. Our commitment is to provide a democratic process, with guaranteed free and fair elections, in which they can decide for themselves who they wish to speak on their behalf. In the meantime, until we can achieve that, it would be helpful if all those representatives of Kosovo Albanian opinion were to work together to help us to co-operate with them in the salvation of Kosovo.
On the political structure, the terms of the Security Council resolution are explicit: a political settlement should take account of the Rambouillet accords. They provide for an elected Parliament of Kosovo. To correct the right hon. and learned Gentleman, they provide not for an Albanian Parliament but for a Parliament representing all the ethnic groups in Kosovo. The OSCE will be charged with the duty of carrying out elections for the creation of that Parliament. We will seek to proceed with that as quickly as is reasonable, but it will not be done overnight. The simple task of creating an electoral register in Kosovo following the past two months will itself take some months.
Mr. Robert N. Wareing (Liverpool, West Derby):
Should we not be rejoicing at the presence of Russian
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