House of Commons Hansard Written Answers for 21 Feb 2000 (pt 39)

Advertising Budget

Mr. Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what was the average cost of issuing a media release from his Department in 1999. [110276]

Mr. Robin Cook [holding answer 16 February 2000]: £76.52 for press releases distributed through the Central Office of Information. This figure includes a proportion of standing charges as well as per release delivery. In addition, a number of press releases are issued each month direct from FCO out of hours for which cost and other figures are not available.

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Yugoslavia

Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what factors underlay his proposal for a temporary suspension of the ban on flights by European carriers into the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. [110491]

Mr. Vaz: The General Affairs Council of 14 February agreed to suspend the EU ban on flights between EU and Serbian destinations for a period of six months (Montenegro and Kosovo are already exempt from the ban). The UK supported this decision as a positive response to the requests of the democratic Serb opposition, and as part of the package which included the significant tightening of sanctions targeted on the Milosevic regime such as the visa ban list and financial sanctions.

Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is his assessment of the impact that the Energy for Democracy scheme has had upon the Belgrade regime; and what plans he has to broaden the initiative to other Serbian towns. [110492]

Mr. Vaz: The initial response of the Serbian government to the Energy for Democracy scheme was to block the first consignment of heating oil at the FRY/ Macedonian border. They were forced to let the consignment through after public protests in the towns of Nis and Pirot. The scheme has helped to refute one of Milosevic's main propaganda lies, that the West is anti-Serb. The EU has now agreed to consider the expansion of the scheme to a further five towns: Novi Sad, Subotica, Sombor, Kraljevo and Kragujevac.

Kosovo

Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the Government's policy is on the Kosovo Serbs' proposal regarding establishment of (a) Serb enclaves within Kosovo, (b) Serb defence forces and (c) a Serb police force. [110493]

Mr. Vaz: (a) We do not support ethnically pure enclaves. We want to preserve a multi-ethnic Kosovo. The protection of minorities in Kosovo is a major priority for the Kosovo force (KFOR). 50 per cent. of KFOR manpower is involved in the protection of minorities.

(b) We are opposed to the creation of any defence forces in Kosovo. KFOR has sole responsibility for security in Kosovo.

(c) The Kosovo Police Service is a multi-ethnic force. Kosovo Serbs were among the first graduates of the force.

Mr. Lilley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimate he has made of the number of people killed in Yugoslavia as a result of the conflict over Kosovo (a) by NATO forces and the KLA and (b) by Yugoslav forces, since the NATO action began on 22 March 1999. [109409]

Mr. Vaz: NATO has no reliable figures for the number of casualties arising from the campaign in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. We would be wary of relying on figures whose source was the authorities in Belgrade.

We estimate that around 10,000 Kosovo Albanians, many of them civilians, were killed by Yugoslav forces between June 1998 and June 1999. Most of these deaths

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occurred in the period between March and June 1999. The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) continues to work, with our support, to calculate the full scale of the death toll arising from Serb repression and violence in Kosovo.

Zimbabwe

Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if the Government have an arms embargo on Zimbabwe. [110577]

Mr. Hain [holding answer 17 February 2000]: No. Our export licensing policy towards Zimbabwe and other countries intervening in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is set out in the reply my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister gave to the hon. Member for Richmond Park (Dr. Tonge) on 9 February 2000, Official Report, column 184W.

Colonel Gaddafi

Sir Teddy Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) if he will make a statement on the Internet report on the assassination attempt on Colonel Gaddafi in Libya in 1996; [110429]

Mr. Robin Cook [holding answer 17 February 2000]: Nothing in the Internet report sustains the allegation that either the previous Administration or the Intelligence Agencies proposed the assassination of Colonel Gaddafi.

Mr. Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) if he will set up an inquiry into allegations that the British security services knew of plans to assassinate Colonel Gaddafi; [110517]

(3) when he was first informed of plans to assassinate Colonel Gaddafi; what he knew about such plans; and if he will make a statement. [110518]

Mr. Robin Cook: I was informed of the background to Mr. Shayler's allegations in August 1998. Nothing in the Internet report sustains the allegation that either the previous Administration or the Intelligence Agencies proposed the assassination of Colonel Gaddafi. If the right hon. Member has evidence that the previous Administration authorised an assassination, I would be glad to receive it.

War Criminals

Mr. Beard: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps are being taken to arrest indicted war criminals in (a) Bosnia-Herzegovina and (b) Kosovo. [109408]

Mr. Vaz: The mandates of the NATO-led Stabilisation Force in Bosnia and Herzegovina (SFOR) and the Kosovo Force (KFOR) authorise troops to detain indicted persons with whom they come into contact in the course of their

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duties, provided the tactical situation permits. Within Bosnia, SFOR has detained 17 suspects. Two further indictees were shot dead by SFOR personnel acting in self defence during a detention operation. UNMIK (UN police force) in Kosovo have detained war crimes suspects there, but the five persons indicted for war crimes by ICTY for atrocities committed in Kosovo are still are large in Serbia.

Mr. Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many suspected war criminals have been arrested by UK forces in Bosnia. [109401]

Mr. Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many suspected war criminals have been apprehended by British forces in Bosnia [109417]

Mr. Vaz: British SFOR troops have successfully detained eight war crimes suspects indicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. They have also been involved in the arrest of a further two suspects with other SFOR forces. A further indictee was shot dead by British SFOR personnel acting in self defence during a detention operation.

Intergovernmental Conference

Mr. Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his oral statement of 15 February 2000, Official Report, column 782, if he will make it his policy to veto the forthcoming EU treaty if it does not include provision for a blocking minority in the Council for the United Kingdom, France and Germany. [110848]

Mr. Vaz: The Government's policy on vote reweighting is set in the IGC White Paper.

Mr. Howard: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his policy is on the exercise by Her Majesty's Government of its veto during the negotiations on the forthcoming EU Intergovernmental Conference. [111080]

Mr. Vaz: The Government's approach to the various issues is clearly set out in the White Paper which was laid before the House on 15 February.

East Timor

Mr. Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representatives the UK has in East Timor; what is their status; and if he will make a statement on their role and functions. [110488]

Mr. Battle: We have already opened a temporary British Office in Dili staffed, at First Secretary level, by a member of HM Diplomatic Service. The officer's role is to cultivate Britain's relationship with the East Timorese and the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) during the first months of the territory's transition to independence.

Our diplomatic presence is in addition to the 14 British police officers and four military observers assigned to UNTAET.

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