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Press Releases

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many press releases have been issued by his Department in each month of 2004; and if he will make a statement. [195460]

Mr. Straw: To date the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) have issued 314 press releases in 2004 on various subjects:

	Number
January	22
February	31
March	21
April	36
May	36
June	33
July	31
August	31
September	34
October	35
November	4

FCO missions overseas issue their own press releases directly to their host country's media. A record of these is not held centrally.

Sudan

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many prisoners of conscience in Sudan, detained for the non-violent expression of their opinions, have been released in the last six months. [194458]

Mr. Mullin: The Sudan Organisation Against Torture (SOAT) estimates that, during the last six months, 139 people have been arrested in Sudan for the non-violent expression of their opinions. Of these, 24 have so far been released.

SOAT is closely monitoring the cases of those who remain in custody. Our embassy in Khartoum makes regular representations to the Government of Sudan on the need for due process in its judicial system and maintains close contact with Sudanese human rights organisations.

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department has taken to provide the support necessary for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to strengthen its monitoring capacity in Darfur. [196205]

Mr. Mullin: We strongly welcomed the decision by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to expand its monitoring mission in Darfur. The UK provided £250,000 for the deployment of the original eight OHCHR monitors to Darfur, and have made clear our willingness to provide support to assist the expansion.

Trinidad and Tobago

Mr. Foulkes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the travel advice for Trinidad and Tobago was last updated. [195958]

Mr. Rammell: The date of the most recent review of all Foreign and Commonwealth Office Travel Advice notices is given at the top of the advice. The Travel Advice for Trinidad and Tobago was last updated on 19 October 2004.

Mr. Foulkes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when a Minister from his Department last visited Trinidad and Tobago; and what plans he has to visit Trinidad and Tobago. [195959]

 
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Mr. Rammell: I was the last Foreign and Commonwealth Office Minister to visit Trinidad and Tobago in March of this year. It is not our practice to announce visits until they are firm. Because of the unpredictable nature of world events, final decisions on overseas visits are often not possible until very shortly before the day of travel.

My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary met the Foreign Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, the hon. Knowlson Gift, at the UK-Caribbean Forum in London in May this year.

Turkey (Penal Code)

Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his policy is on section 306 of the new Turkish penal code and the new criminal offence of speaking against the national interest, with particular reference to comments in Turkey on (a) the Armenian genocide and (b) the withdrawal of troops from Cyprus, in the context of Turkey's application for accession to the EU; and if he will make a statement. [194850]

Mr. MacShane: Article 306 of the Turkish penal code is about the recruitment of militia against a foreign state. Article 305, however, concerns Turkish citizens acting against national interests in return for material benefits from a foreign individual or organisation. The wording of this article only refers to such national interests as independence, territorial integrity and national security. There is no mention of Cyprus or the Armenian genocide.

The commission, with our support, will monitor implementation of all laws closely to ensure Turkey meets its international legal obligations.

Uzbekistan

Sir Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the US State Department's conclusions in relation to Uzbekistan regarding (a) its absence of democracy and a free press and (b) its use of torture as a routine investigation technique; and if he will make a statement. [195509]

Mr. Straw [holding answer of 4 November 2004]: The US State Department conclusions to which the right hon. Gentleman refers represent the basis upon which the US Secretary of State took the decision in July to withdraw up to $18 million in aid programmes to Uzbekistan. The decision was taken because of Uzbekistan's lack of progress in meeting its commitments to improve its human rights record under the strategic partnership framework agreed in 2002 between Uzbekistan and the US.

The US position is consistent with messages conveyed to the Uzbek Government by the UK and EU partners.

Vietnam

Mr. Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the work of the British Council in Vietnam. [195550]

 
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Mr. Mullin: The British Council in Vietnam operates in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. It has about 100 staff. Its main activities are English language training, education development, governance, promotion of UK creativity, and of UK education and qualifications, and managing the Chevening Scholarships programme.

The Council has a Memorandum of Understanding with the Vietnamese Education and Training Ministry covering support in education development and advice on teaching English. Demand for its education services is growing rapidly, with Hanoi being one of its fastest-growing teaching centres world-wide. Its information centres provide information on all aspects of UK education, life and culture. It has showcased UK achievements in science and technology through a DNA50 exhibition and work on governance issues through programmes such as journalist training.

It is also engaged in a capacity-building programme for senior Vietnamese officials.

Visas

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many visitors' visas were granted by high commission offices in (a) India, (b) Pakistan and (c) Sri Lanka during the last 12 months. [194139]

Mr. Mullin: For the period from 1 October 2003 until 1 October 2004, the figures are as follows:

	Visit visas issued
India (to include Chennai, Calcutta, Mumbai and New Delhi)	122,732
Pakistan (to include Islamabad and Karachi)	61,128
Sri Lanka (Colombo only)	11,674

NORTHERN IRELAND

Free Transport Scheme

Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many journeys on (a) Ulsterbus, (b) Citybus and (c) Northern Ireland Railways were undertaken by senior citizens using the free transport scheme in the year ending 31 December 2003. [196511]

Mr. Spellar: Translink have advised that in the year ending 31 December 2003 the following free journeys were ticketed by senior citizens using the Northern Ireland Concessionary Fares Scheme:

(a) 3,659,599 on Ulsterbus,

(b) 3,596,629 on Citybus, and

(c) 153,859 on Northern Ireland Railways (MR).

The figures for NIR reflect the fact that new ticketing systems, which record free journeys taken, were progressively introduced on the railway network throughout 2003.

Magilligan-Greencastle Ferry

Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland pursuant to the answer of 20 October
 
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2004, Official Report, column 811W, on the Magilligan-Greencastle Ferry, what information he has collated on the sums provided by (a) Limavady borough council and (b) Donegal county council towards operating the Magilligan-Greencastle Ferry Service since its introduction. [196281]

Mr. Spellar: The Magilligan-Greencastle ferry is funded directly by Limavady borough council and Donegal county council. I have passed your query on to the Chief Executive of Limavady borough council.

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