House of Commons Hansard Written Answers for 21 Jun 2002 (pt 17)

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

East Timor

Mr. Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) pursuant to his answer of 9 May 2002, Official Report, column 310W, on East Timor, why no information about the deaths of British citizens Malcolm Rennie and Brian Peters killed in East Timor in 1975 was passed by the British Government to their families between 1975 and 1994; [57023]

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Mr. Mike O'Brien: In 1975–76 the British Government were in contact with the relatives of Brian Peters and Malcolm Rennie to pass on information about their deaths.

I am informed that from our archived files it does not appear that any new information came to light between 1977 and 1994 that would require passing on to the families. In 1994 the relatives resumed contact with the FCO.

We have begun to prepare these documents for release to the families. This process is likely to take around a couple of weeks. We will then need to clear the documents with the Australian Government, which will take another month. We expect to release the documents as soon as possible after that.

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions his Department has had with the Australian Government concerning the UN investigation into the deaths at Balibo, East Timor in 1975. [59898]

Mr. Mike O'Brien [holding reply of 10 June 2002]: Our diplomatic staff in Dili have maintained regular contact with their Australian colleagues on this issue.

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when Her Majesty's Government were informed of Indonesia's plans for a full scale invasion of East Timor in 1975. [59900]

Mr. Mike O'Brien [holding answer of 10 June 2002]: The British Government were of course aware of reports of Indonesian involvement in East Timor ahead of the invasion in 1975, but the situation was far from clear and reports were difficult to verify. In the absence of any British representation in the area, HMG had no independent means of doing so. The UK deplored the Indonesian invasion and never recognised the incorporation of East Timor into Indonesia.

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he next plans to meet representatives of the Indonesian Government; and if he will raise the case of the deaths of Malcolm Rennie and Brian Peters in East Timor in 1975 at that meeting. [59897]

Mr. Mike O'Brien [holding answer 10 June 2002]: The Government continue to take an active interest in this case and have raised and will continue to raise our concerns with the Indonesian authorities at every appropriate opportunity.

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what role his Department has played in the UN investigation into the deaths at Balibo, East Timor in 1975. [59895]

Mr. Mike O'Brien [holding answer 10 June 2002]: British diplomatic staff in Dili have remained in close contact with UN investigation team in East Timor.

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Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make his Department's non-intelligence papers on the Balibo case available for study by the UN, the relatives and independent experts. [59896]

Mr. Mike O'Brien [holding answer 10 June 2002]: We have begun to prepare these documents for release to the families. This process is likely to take around a couple of weeks. We will then need to clear the documents with the Australian Government, which will take another month. We expect to release the documents as soon as possible after that.

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the status is of the UN investigation announced in September 2000 into the Balibo case, including the deaths of Malcolm Rennie and Brian Peters in East Timor in 1975; and if he will make a statement. [59894]

Mr. Mike O'Brien [holding answer 10 June 2002]: Denis McNamara, the Deputy SRSG in East Timor, has confirmed that the UN investigation remains open. Our Ambassador in Dili will continue to monitor developments closely.

Mr. Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 9 May 2002, Official Report, column 310W, on East Timor, what further information regarding the deaths of Malcolm Rennie and Brian Peters he has received from the new investigation. [62592]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: Denis McNamara, the Deputy SRSG in East Timor, has confirmed that the UN investigation into the death of the five journalists in 1975 remains open. The UN investigation team has submitted a request to the Office of the Attorney General of Indonesia to be allowed to interview possible witnesses in Indonesia. We will continue to maintain regular contact with the UN pending the outcome of the enquiry.

Kashmir

Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his European counterparts on the situation in Kashmir. [63084]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary discussed the current situation in Kashmir with his European Counterparts at the EU General Affairs Council in Luxembourg on 17 June. The topic was also on the agenda of the previous week's General Affairs Council, at which my right hon. Friend the Member for Neath (Peter Hain) represented the UK.

Government Information

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 9 May 2002, Official Report, column 306W, on Government information, how many internal reviews under the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information have been conducted by his

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Department since 1 January 2000; and how many have been completed within the target time of 20 working days. [63045]

Mr. Macshane: Four and one.

Belarus

Mr. Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of developments in the human rights situation in Belarus since September last year; and if he will make a statement. [63323]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: Since the flawed Presidential elections in September last year, we have registered no improvement in the human rights situation in Belarus. Despite the release from prison of one prominent figure in March, political opponents of the regime, the independent media and human rights NGOs continue to suffer harassment. With our EU partners and others, the Government will continue to convey our concerns about these abuses to the Belarusian authorities.

Mr. Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on relations with Belarus. [63322]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: Our relations with Belarus remain constrained by our concerns over human rights violations and lack of reform. We restrict senior-level contacts and confine our assistance to projects aimed at developing civil society and the NGO sector, as well as humanitarian aid for Chernobyl victims.

Lamassoure Report

Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what Her Majesty's Government's policy is towards the Lamassoure Report approved by the European Parliament on 16 May. [63364]

Peter Hain: The Lamassoure Report is one of many contributions to the on-going debate about the future of Europe and, more specifically, the division of competences between the EU and Member States. My intervention to the European Convention on 15 April set out the Government's thinking on competences. A full transcript is available on http://european-convention.eu.int or www.fco.gov.uk.

EU Applicant Countries

Mr. Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assistance the UK has given to each EU applicant country since 7 June 2001. [63443]

Peter Hain: The UK pays 19.6 per cent. of EU pre-accession assistance (the total figure for such assistance was Euro 3,240 million in 2001 and Euro 3,328 million in 2002).

Last financial year, the Department for International Development provided further assistance for the Candidate Countries through its bilateral programme of assistance. The amounts spent per country was; Baltic States (Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia) #1,595,765, Poland #2,526,998, Hungary #1,264,405, Slovakia #2,180,647, Czech Republic #725,416, Slovenia #82,800, Romania

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#5,430,728, Bulgaria #,760,117, Turkey #2,485,074. DFID did not provide any specific assistance for Cyprus and Malta.

The Department for International Development also provided #2,254,120 for Central and Eastern European Regional Projects.

The UK was the second largest contributor to the EU's TAIEX programme, which delivers technical assistance to Applicant Countries, including transposition of legislation in 2001 and is the leading Member State so far in 2002. Over 20 UK civil servants have been selected in the last year to work on new twinning projects in applicant country Ministries, making over 50 either in the countries or preparing to arrive. The UK won the second highest number of new twinning projects in 2001 (25) and has won involvement in eight more so far in 2002. The UK has now won its one hundredth such project and was the first Member State to become involved in projects in all 12 eligible countries.

Through bilateral Action Plans, the Foreign Office spent #1.8 million in the EU applicant countries during the last financial year. An additional #608,541 was spent from Command Programme Budget allowances devolved to the Embassies in the Candidate Countries. Further assistance has been provided through functional departments' budgets (e.g. Global Conflict Prevention Fund) but to provide the information requested would incur disproportionate costs.

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