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FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS
Burma
18. Mr. Miller:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has received on behalf of the Karen people. [112886]
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Mr. Battle:
I am grateful that my hon. Friend has persistently raised the case of the Karens. I continue to receive a number of letters reflecting the great deal of interest amongst Parliamentarians and members of the public about ethnic minorities in Burma. We also receive representations from Burmese exiles and non- governmental organisations.
We continue to monitor carefully the situation of ethnic minorities in Burma and along the Thai-Burma border; and to condemn violations of their human rights at every opportunity.
Mr. Savidge:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what support Her Majesty's Government are giving in James Mawdsley's case; and if he will make a statement on the political situation in Burma. [112905]
Mr. Battle:
We continue to do all we properly can to ensure that James's rights are respected but we cannot intervene in the Burmese judicial process just as we would not allow them to intervene in ours.
We remain appalled by the lack of democracy and human rights in Burma: we are at the forefront of international action to press the Burmese regime to improve the situation.
19. Dr. Cable:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on his role in advising on approval of ECGD cover for arms exports. [112887]
Mr. Hain:
The FCO carefully scrutinises all applications for arms sales abroad via the reformed and tightened export-licensing regime.
Once an export licence is approved it is up to ECGD to decide whether or not to provide export credit support.
However, stricter conditions apply in poor and heavily indebted developing countries to ensure ECGD only covers projects that clearly contribute to social and economic development. ECGD will always consult other Whitehall Departments, including FCO, to ensure these conditions are met.
20. Kali Mountford:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the scale of breaches of UN sanctions against UNITA, with particular reference to breaches by neighbouring countries. [112888]
Mr. Hain:
I am extremely concerned by any allegations of breaches of UN sanctions against UNITA, especially through South Africa, Zambia, Rwanda, Burkina Faso, Togo and Uganda.
21. Mr. Stephen Twigg:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to the Government of Iran on the funding of Hezbullah and Hamas. [112889]
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Mr. Hain:
This Government and our EU colleagues have frequently raised with the Iranians our concerns about their support for groups who use violent methods to oppose the Middle East Peace Process and will continue to do so.
Mrs. Ellman:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he last made representations to the Government of Iran on the situation of the 13 Jews arrested on charges of espionage. [112935]
Mr. Hain:
The continued detention on espionage charges of a number of Iranians including members of the Iranian Jewish community is a matter of great concern to us. We and our EU partners have repeatedly stressed to the Iranian authorities the importance we attach to this issue. We have also stressed our belief that those detained should either be released or be granted a speedy, fair and open trial.
The Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary both raised this issue with the Iranian Foreign Minister Dr. Kharrazi during his visit in January. They pressed for the release of all those detained or for their early trial. Since then three of the detainees have been released on bail and a trial date of 13 April announced. Dr. Kharrazi said that those detained would receive a fair trial with access to lawyers and their families.
I raised this issue with Deputy Foreign Minister Sarmadi when we met on 7 March.
22. Mr. Mackinlay:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the steps he is taking to control the hiring of mercenaries and marketing of small arms (a) within and (b) via the United Kingdom. [112890]
Mr. Hain:
The Government deplore the use, financing and recruitment of mercenaries. We are committed to publishing a Green Paper on mercenary activity by November 2000.
On small arms, the UK has some of the most stringent controls on firearms in the world. In order to sell, transfer or expose for sale any firearm by way of business or trade, a person must be registered with the police as a firearms dealer. All applications for licences to export small arms from the UK are rigorously assessed against our national export licensing criteria and those in the EU Code of Conduct on Arms Exports. We will not issue export licences where there is a clearly identifiable risk that the small arms might be used for internal repression or international aggression.
23. Mr. Bob Russell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has to commemorate the 500 anniversary of the discovery of the Island of St. Helena. [112891]
Mr. Battle:
A contribution of £160,000 has been agreed from the FCO towards a new much larger museum that will also house the national archives and so tell the story of St. Helena's 500 year history more professionally and comprehensively. Work will start this week and will be completed in time for the quincentenary celebrations in 2002.
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24. Mr. Malcolm Bruce:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs under what conditions the British Government will support Bosnia- Herzegovina's application for membership of the Council of Europe. [112892]
Mr. Vaz:
The British Government have supported in principle Bosnia and Herzegovina's membership of the Council of Europe since its application in December 1998. But we believe that Bosnia and Herzegovina must be able to meet the basic commitments and obligations arising from membership. The Council of Europe has set down 12 central preconditions for Bosnia and Herzegovina's membership. It is clear that further progress is still needed towards the requirements set down by the Council of Europe, particularly in areas such as the functioning of the state-level institutions and the passage of an Election Law. We are continuing to assist Bosnia and Herzegovina in its efforts to meet these requirements and have recently given £50,000 to the Council of Europe for additional assistance to Bosnia and Herzegovina specifically for this purpose.
25. Sir David Madel:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make an official visit to Cyprus. [112893]
Mr. Vaz:
I have no plans to visit Cyprus at present. But my Special Representative for Cyprus, Sir David Hannay, concludes a visit to the island today.
26. Mr. Gordon Prentice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to the Government of Pakistan concerning the restrictions on the reporting of the trial of the former Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif. [112894]
Mr. Hain:
From the outset, we have urged on the Pakistani authorities the need for a fair and transparent trial for Nawaz Sharif and his co-defendants. We have made clear that there should be no "show trials". Members of EU missions in Karachi attend each court hearing, as do representatives of the national and international media.
27. Mr. Clappison:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has received about the middle east peace process. [112895]
Mr. Hain:
My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary and I are in frequent contact with all the parties to the Middle East Peace Process. Most recently, for example, my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has had discussions with Nabil Shaath, Palestinian Minister for Planning and International Co-ordination, Yossi Beilin, Israeli Minister for Justice and Farouk a-Shara'a, Syrian Foreign Minister. In recent days, I myself have discussed the Middle East Peace Process with Shlomo Ben-Ami, Israeli Minister for Internal Security, and received a group of Arab Ambassadors in London.
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28. Mr. Wilkinson:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has received from the United States Secretary of State about the European Security and Defence Initiative. [112896]
Mr. Vaz:
The United States Secretary of State and my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary discuss European Defence on a regular basis, most recently during his visit to Washington on 8-10 February 2000. Mrs. Albright follows developments closely, and continues firmly to support our efforts to build a NATO-friendly crisis management capability in the EU.
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