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Guantanamo Bay (Feroz Abbasi)

Geraint Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment has been made of the mental health of Feroz Abbasi in Guantanamo Bay; and if it is intended that he will be repatriated to the UK if he is deemed unfit to face trial. [133396]

Mr. Mullin: Any health concerns there may be about the British nationals at Guantanamo Bay are being addressed and we are in contact with the families of those concerned. The issue of the mental health of a British national is information of a private and confidential nature.

Although Mr Abbasi has been designated as eligible to face prosecution before a Military Commission, he has not been charged. Furthermore, all legal proceedings against the British nationals detained at Guantanamo Bay are currently suspended. The question of fitness to face trial is therefore hypothetical at this stage. We are pressing the US authorities to move forward with the process of determining the future of all the British detainees at Guantanamo Bay. We have discussed, and are discussing, a range of options with the US, including the possibility of repatriation.

Indonesia

Mr. Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on co-operation by Indonesia with the UN Serious Crimes Unit. [132998]

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Mr. Mike O'Brien: I am advised that Indonesia has not co-operated with the Serious Crimes Unit's investigations. There was a request to do so from the late Sergio Vieira de Mello when he was the Special Representative of the Secretary General to East Timor, and there was lobbying from the EU in support of this request.

Mr. Dhanda: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Government of Indonesia regarding the activities of Laskar Jihad members. [133538]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: We have discussed counter-terrorism issues a number of times with the Government of Indonesia over the past year, although we have not specifically raised the activities of Laskar Jihad members.

Our bilateral counter-terrorism assistance involves capacity-building assistance, including training in counter-terrorism crisis management skills. We are encouraging moderate Islam in Indonesia to be more vocal. We are also offering specialist help and training in capacity building for provincial officials, focusing our help in provinces where improved governance will benefit the poor. Indonesia is a priority country for the Global Conflict Prevention Pool, and we are working to identify programmes to reduce sectarian violence and relieve humanitarian crises.

Middle East

Mr. Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will press the United Nations to take steps to secure the presence of international observers in the Occupied Territories. [133513]

Mr. Rammell: The Quartet, of which the UN is a member, has provided for third party monitoring of its roadmap. On 26 September 2003, the Quartet reaffirmed its commitment to follow closely the implementation by the parties of their obligations. This is done using the resources Quartet Members already have in the region, including the US team led by John Wolf and UN representatives.

We have no plans to press the UN for more international observers in the Occupied Territories at this time.

Mr. Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the United Kingdom's (a) diplomatic and (b) trade relations with Israel will change as a result of the construction of the security wall. [133150]

Mr. Rammell: No.

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The Government continue to use diplomatic channels to Israel to press for the route of the wall to be reconsidered. My right hon. Friends the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary made clear our concerns over its route and likely impact to the Israeli Prime Minister during his visit to London on 14 July 2003. My noble Friend the Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean also raised the matter with the Israeli Foreign Minster during her visit to Israel on 30 September 2003.

The wall should not be built within occupied territory. As the 17 October 2003 European Council statement made clear, we and our EU Partners are particularly concerned that the route marked out for the fence in the West Bank will cause further humanitarian and economic hardship to the Palestinians and could prejudge final status negotiations. We deplore this seizure of Palestinian land, the isolation of Palestinian villages and the creation of a further physical obstacle to the two-state solution.

Military Equipment

Mr. Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the military equipment purchased under the Global Conflict Prevention Pool, stating in each case (a) the recipient, (b) the amount spent and (c) the end use; and if he will make a statement. [133026]

Mr. Straw [holding answer 22 October 2003]: The following table indicates the purchase of military equipment under the Global Conflict Prevention Pool (GCPP) since it was set up in 2000, and updates the information given in the response from the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, the hon. Member for Harlow in his reply to my hon. Friend the member for Richmond Park (Dr. Tonge) on 5 December 2002.

Pool funding is used to supply military equipment where this forms part of an integrated conflict prevention strategy, and is crucial to ensuring the stability of a conflict area and to the success of the strategy. The GCPP takes into account the risk of any equipment supplied being misused by the recipient or falling into other hands, and the likely political consequences. Ministers will always take the final decision on any supply of weapons and ammunition.

More general information on the details of the GCPP is available in the recent publication "The Global Conflict Prevention Pool—A joint UK Government approach to reducing conflict", which is available in the Library of the House. A copy of the booklet has been placed on the FCO website (www.fco.gov.uk) accessible under Global Issues—International Organisations—UN—Conflict Preventions.

RecipientFinancial yearCost (£)Description (end use)
Afghanistan
Afghan National Army and ISAF/Afghan police and military controls at Kabul entry points2002–031.44 millionHard and soft-top jeeps, trucks, communication equipment, security equipment including spotlights, radio, metal detectors
2003–04 (to date)1 millionFollow-on funding for further communications equipment to be provided in October 2003
Nepal
Royal Nepalese Army2001–02285,818Land Rovers spares and maintenance training, communications equipment
2002–033,099,347Communications equipment, binoculars, compasses, Swiftscopes, Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) equipment, two transport helicopters
Belize
Belize Defence Force2001–02169,555Aircraft parts and freight costs, Land Rovers and spares, radio equipment
2002–03127,259Uniforms, mess kits, tents, hammocks, radio equipment
2003–0484,434Uniforms, trucks, outboard motors, mess kits
Macedonia
Macedonian authorities2001–02282,500EOD equipment, body armour, global positioning system, mine detector sets, flares
75,000Four fort-lift trucks
Sri Lanka
Sri Lankan Army2002–0392,000EOD equipment
2003–0412,000EOD training, MOD short-term training team
Uruguay
Uruguay Peacekeeping2001–0227,014Three NERA satellite phones and airtime
Capacity training2002–0330,000FATS firearms training simulator

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Mobile Telephone Costs

Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much his Department spent on calls from mobile telephones in (a) 2000, (b) 2001 and (c) 2002. [133531]

Mr. Rammell: This information is not held in the form requested and, particularly with regard to posts overseas, could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Responsibility for renting mobile phone services at over 200 diplomatic missions overseas is delegated to those missions.

Morocco

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the forthcoming visit of the King of Morocco, with specific reference to the Government's policy on the Western Sahara. [133614]

Mr. Rammell: The King of Morocco has been invited to visit the United Kingdom, but no date has been agreed. We regularly discuss the Western Sahara in our contacts with the Moroccan Government.

Mr. Kirtan Singh

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the appeal papers in respect of Mr..Kirtan Singh, date of birth 6 May 1973, were sent from New Delhi. [133480]

Mr. Mullin: The applicant has made two applications for Entry Clearance to the United Kingdom as the spouse of Lakhvir Kaur. The first application was made on 20 December 2001 and was refused on 26 June 2002. The appellant's solicitors informed us on 27 January 2003 that an appeal against this decision had been lodged on 5 July 2002. It later became apparent that the appeal had been lodged in error at the Deputy High

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Commission in Mumbai. In view of the circumstances the Visa Department in New Delhi suggested to the solicitors that a fresh application should be lodged.

The applicant reapplied on 23 July 2003 and was refused on 4 September 2003. Notice of Appeal against the Entry Clearance Officer's decision was received on 23 September. The explanatory statement will be prepared and despatched as soon as possible.


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