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Yemen

Mr. Alan Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received of terrorist organisations based in Yemen. [19131]

Mr. Bradshaw: I cannot comment on intelligence material. The Yemeni Government have acknowledged that the Islamic Army of Aden (IAA) is based in Yemen. The IAA is a proscribed organisation under the Terrorism Act 2000.

Mr. Alan Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the Government of Yemen concerning the (a) international coalition against terrorism and (b) policy of the Government of Yemen towards terrorist organisations. [19128]

Mr. Bradshaw: I met the President's envoy, Dr. Iriyani, when he visited London in October. We discussed the international coalition against terrorism and the Yemeni Government's view towards terrorism. I welcomed the Yemeni Government's swift and strong condemnation of the attacks in the USA. Dr. Iriyani said that Yemen would do all it could in the fight against terrorism.

Mr. Alan Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on how many occasions since 1 May 1997 a Minister in his Department visited Yemen; when these visits took place; where was visited; and what discussions took place during these visits. [19129]

Mr. Bradshaw: The then Minister of State, my hon. Friend the Member for Leicester, East (Mr. Vaz), visited Sana'a in October 2000 and met President Saleh and Prime Minister Iriyani. They discussed bilateral issues, including counter-terrorism co-operation, consular matters, trade and developmental assistance and also regional issues.

Mr. Alan Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many British citizens are held in prisons in Yemen; on what date they were imprisoned; and, in each case, what the duration of the sentence handed down to them was. [19130]

Mr. Bradshaw: There are currently five Britons imprisoned in Yemen. They were imprisoned between 28 December 1998 and 27 January 1999. One is serving three years, two are serving five years, and two are serving seven years.

Indonesia (West Papua)

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what representations he has made to the Indonesian Government to seek a halt to military operations in the Papua province of the country; [19334]

(2) what representations he has made to the Indonesian Government to (a) set up an independent commission to investigate recent atrocities in West Papua and (b) encourage the army and police security forces to collaborate fully with it; [19333]

(3) what assessment he has made of the involvement of special forces within the Indonesian police and army in the assassinations and murders reported in West Papua in recent weeks; [19332]

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(4) what representations he has made to the Indonesian Government following reports of anti-civilian attacks by the Brimob force of the Indonesian police; [19336]

(5) what assessment his Department has made of the activities of the Brimob force within the Indonesian Police in West Papua; and if he will make a statement. [19335]

Mr. Bradshaw: There are frequent allegations of human rights abuses by the Indonesian security forces. HMG monitors events closely and raises concerns with the Indonesian authorities whenever necessary. We have repeatedly stressed to the Government that security forces should operate within the law and with strict regard to human rights. Through the Global Conflict Prevention Pool, HMG are pursuing a security sector reform strategy, working with the Indonesian authorities and civil society to nurture debate about democratic control, transparency and accountability of the security forces, and to encourage greater respect for human rights.

HMG respect Indonesia's territorial integrity and believe that long-term solutions to its regional problems will be achieved only through political negotiation, not violence.

The circumstances surrounding the recent death of Theys Eluay, the pro-independence leader, are not clear. HMG have expressed concern and urged the Indonesian authorities to conduct a full and thorough investigation. The Indonesian Government has stated that they are committed to this. The National Commission for Human Rights (Komnas HAM) has also announced that it will carry out an independent investigation once the results of the police investigation have been made public.

Nepal

Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on Nepal; what assistance he has given to Nepal in the last 12 months; and what advice is being given to tourists visiting Nepal. [18903]

Mr. Bradshaw: We strongly condemn the return to violence by the Maoists in Nepal, and urge them to cease violence and return to dialogue. We understand the reasons behind the declaration of a state of emergency in Nepal, and hope that the Nepalese Government will quickly be able to bring peace to the country.

We have strongly supported the peace process in Nepal, including mobilising local and international opinion in favour of the peace effort. DFID development assistance to Nepal is currently in the region of £20 million a year and is likely to increase. The MOD has supplied training and other support to the Royal Nepalese Army as well as significant infrastructure assistance to Nepal's UN peacekeeping training centre.

We are advising British tourists to exercise extreme caution when travelling in Nepal. We are also advising those who are planning a trip to Nepal to monitor events carefully, and to consult the FCO travel advice for Nepal (available on the FCO website: www.fco.gov.uk) regularly.

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Laeken European Council

Mr. Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement about the main objectives of the European Council's summit at Laeken. [18896]

Peter Hain: The agenda for the European Council has not yet been finalised. But we expect it to discuss the situation in Afghanistan, and the EU follow up to the events of 11 September; review the situation in the western Balkans; debate the future of Europe and establish a convention to examine the options for the IGC in 2004; welcome progress on EU enlargement; adopt a presidency report on European defence; review progress on the Tampere justice and home affairs agenda; and note preparations for the launch of Euro notes and coins.

Mr. Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement (a) on the membership of the convention due to be established at Laeken and (b) what the Government hope to achieve at the Laeken summit. [18895]

Peter Hain: Final decisions on the composition of the convention will be taken at the Laeken European Council. The convention will include representatives from national Governments, national Parliaments, the European Parliament and the Commission. The candidate states will be fully represented.

The Government expect that Laeken will thus launch the European level debate about the Future of Europe. It was agreed at Nice that this debate should consider how to improve and monitor the democratic legitimacy and transparency of the EU and its institutions, in order to bring them closer to the citizens of the members states. The Government welcome this.

Mr. Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the European Commission on the Laeken European Council. [19091]

Peter Hain: The Government meet members of the Commission on a regular basis to discuss these and other issues.

My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister also discussed issues to be addressed by the Laeken European Council with the President of the Commission on 15 November.

European Houses

Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the (a) purpose, (b) funding and (c) activities of European Houses in the UK. [19584]

Peter Hain: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the then Minister of State to the Member for Buckingham (Mr. Bercow) on 24 January 2000, Official Report, column 34W.

European Bodies

Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the activities in the United Kingdom of (a) Sources d' Europe, (b) the Jacques Delors Information Centre and (c) CIDE: Information and

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Documentation Centre, as identified in Com (2001) 354; and what recent representations he has received from these bodies. [19590]

Peter Hain: The FCO has not received any recent representations from these bodies. Any activities that they undertake are a matter for the bodies themselves.

"Your Britain, Your Europe"

Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the planned activities of the "Your Britain, Your Europe" roadshow. [19593]

Peter Hain: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office regularly reviews and updates its information activities and has now discontinued the use of the "Your Britain, Your Europe" label. Activities to increase support for and a better understanding of the European Union will of course continue, in line with the FCO's Public Service Agreement (as set out at www.fco.gov.uk).

Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on his policy towards maintaining political impartiality in the "Your Britain, Your Europe" programme. [19578]

Peter Hain: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office's Public Service Agreement, available at www.fco.gov.uk commits the Government to promote increased support for and better understanding of the merits of European Union membership. I recently launched a new programme of visits to regions of the United Kingdom to discuss Europe. So far I have visited Cardiff and Edinburgh. I invited members of all the main political parties to participate in events during the course of these visits.

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