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Indonesia
Mr. Pound:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the status of the EU arms embargo on Indonesia. [105843]
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Mr. Hain:
The EU Common Position of 16 September 1999 imposing restrictive measures, including an arms embargo, against Indonesia for a fixed period of four months, expired on 17 January 2000. Following the expiry of the embargo all applications for the export of equipment on the Military List to Indonesia will be considered on a case-by-case basis in accordance with the national criteria on arms exports and the EU Code of Conduct.
The UK, together with our EU partners, continues to monitor closely the performance of the new Indonesian administration and in particular the actions of the Indonesian military.
Mr. Maples:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when (a) he and (b) his office were first informed of the interception of Libyan scud missile parts at Gatwick Airport. [105013]
Mr. Robin Cook:
I am updated regularly on Libya's ambitions and efforts to acquire weapons technology. I am not briefed on the details of individual HMCE operations nor would I expect to be. I was given a full account of this specific operation following the disclosure on 9 January of some details of it to the media.
I took our concerns about Libyan weapons programmes into account when reviewing policy on Libya before my statement in the House on 7 July 1999.
In May 1999 HMCE initiated their inquiry with regard to this consignment. FCO officials were aware of the grounds for suspicion. HMCE sought the assistance of FCO officials on 16 June in pursuing their investigation with the Maltese authorities. MOD officials inspected the consignment on 13 July. FCO officials received confirmation on 29 July that the contents were consistent with Scud parts. Libya has possessed since the 1970s a number of Soviet-supplied Scud B missiles with a range limited to a maximum of 300km. The parts seized at Gatwick could be applicable to the Scud B or other Scud derivatives, but would not have enabled Libya to extend the range of its existing Scud missile arsenal.
I congratulate HMCE on their vigilance in successfully detaining this shipment.
Mr. Maples:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the status and future of diplomatic relations with North Korea. [105016]
Mr. Battle:
At present, the United Kingdom is not planning to establish diplomatic relations with North Korea. We actively seek continued dialogue with North Korea and continue to press North Korea for progress on issues of international concern, such as missile proliferation and human rights abuses. Our future stance will largely depend on North Korea's willingness to address these long-standing concerns.
Mr. Corbyn:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps have been taken
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by British diplomatic representatives at the United Nations towards developing a strategy for peace in Chechnya. [104909]
Mr. Vaz:
British diplomatic representatives at the UN have contributed to informal consultations of Security Council members on Chechnya, particularly the humanitarian aspects. Russia, a permanent member of the Security Council, has blocked any formal discussion or action on Chechnya.
Mr. Corbyn:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to the Russian Government concerning their bombing campaign in Chechnya. [104903]
Mr. Vaz:
We have repeatedly raised with the Russians our concerns about their bombing campaign in Chechnya. Most recently the Prime Minister raised this with Mr. Putin when they spoke on 20 December and my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary discussed it during telephone calls with Foreign Minister Ivanov on 31 December and 11 January.
Mr. Corbyn:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what sources of information he has on the effect of the Russian bombardment of Chechnya. [105025]
Mr. Vaz:
Independent reliable sources of information on the effect of Russian actions in Chechnya are scarce. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office uses a wide range of material to assess the situation. This comes from diplomatic, media, NGO and other sources.
Mr. Corbyn:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will publish recent representations he has received concerning Government policy toward Russian action in Chechnya; and if he will make a statement. [104907]
Mr. Vaz:
We have received representations on Russian actions in Chechnya from a wide number of sources including many letters from the public, from NGOs and from Members of both Houses.
It would be impractical to publish all of these, but the issues raised were well covered in the debates that have taken place in both Houses.
My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has made statements in the past on the Government's position on Chechnya, most recently on 7 December, and will continue to do so.
Mr. Corbyn:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what NATO observation has taken place of the hostilities in Chechnya. [104910]
Mr. Vaz:
There is no direct NATO involvement in Chechnya. But NATO regularly assesses the situation there and frequent discussions take place among member states in the North Atlantic Council.
Mr. Corbyn:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what meetings have been held by (a) Diplomatic Service officials and (b) Ministers with
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elected representatives of the Chechen people since the commencement of hostilities in Chechnya; and which Chechen representatives were involved. [104904]
Mr. Vaz:
I have not met Chechen representatives. FCO officials had a meeting with two Chechen parliamentarians, Mr. Idigov and Mr. Magomedov, on 15 December to hear their views on the situation in Chechnya.
Mr. Mackinlay:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what criteria he uses to judge whether an author should be permitted access to classified material. [104707]
Mr. Robin Cook:
The FCO follows Cabinet Office guidance on access to records. It does not give access to authors unless their intended publication is commissioned/sponsored or approved by Departments, and is seen to be research from which the FCO will benefit, and can be justified as being in the public interest and resources are available. Authors are normally cleared to the appropriate security level before any access is given.
Mr. Mackinlay:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs who authorised the disclosure of information, contained in the book by Alan Judd, entitled, The Quest for C: Mansfield Cumming and the Founding of the Secret Service; and if he will make a statement. [104708]
Mr. Robin Cook:
The disclosure of information in Mr. Judd's biography of Mansfield Cumming was made in accordance with an official authorisation given by SIS under section 7 (3) (b) of the Official Secrets Act 1989, and as defined in section 7 (5) of that Act.
Mr. Winnick:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the hon. Member for Walsall, North will receive a reply to his letter of 7 December regarding a constituent (ref. GV100/SG801). [104814]
Mr. Vaz:
The Visa Correspondence Unit replied to my hon. Friend, the member for Walsall, North, on my behalf on 12 January 2000.
Mr. Wyatt:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimate he has made of the value of business (a) directly and (b) indirectly won by the commercial departments of (i) UK embassies and consulates in EU member states and (ii) the UK embassy and consulates in the USA in each of the last five years. [105286]
Mr. Battle:
The most recent independent report on commercial services provided by British diplomatic posts overseas was produced by the National Audit Office (NAO) in 1996. This report, which covered four countries in south east Asia, noted that the seven services which the NAO examined helped generate an estimated £345 million of additional business for British companies in 1994, at a cost of £4.5 million.
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British Trade International was set up in 1999 to combine in one organisation the trade promotion work of the FCO and the DTI. British Trade International has identified 15 target markets, including Western Europe and the USA. Although we do not carry out quantitative assessments of the value of business won, we commission research from an independent research company, which shows an average 90 per cent. overall satisfaction rate in 1998 among customers of the commercial services provided by overseas posts worldwide.
Mr. Wyatt:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 11 January 2000, Official Report, column 132W, on embassy costs, for what reasons the embassies in Rome and Bonn spend 9 per cent. and 2 per cent. respectively, on commercial work. [105255]
Mr. Hain:
Commercial work in both Italy and Germany is concentrated in their commercial centres, such as Milan and Dusseldorf, rather than their capital cities.
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