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19 Jan 2005 : Column 1021W—continued
Mr. Gökce
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with his Turkish counterpart on the case of Turkish Cypriot civil servant Mr. Gökce, who has been dismissed from his post for private comments he made sympathising with the Kurds and the suffering of the Armenians in the 1915 genocide, and criticising the treatment of Greek Cypriots during the invasion of 1974; and if he will make a statement. [209504]
Mr. MacShane: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is not aware of the details of the case to which you refer, and has therefore not held any discussions on this matter. If additional information can be provided we would be willing to investigate further.
Parking Spaces
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many car parking spaces are provided for those (a) working in and (b) visiting his Department. [208974]
Mr. Rammell: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has 88 car parking spaces in London, 36 in Croydon, and 907 in Hanslope Park.
The number of car parking spaces provided overseas is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
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Secondments
Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the people working within his Department on secondment from the private sector, the organisation or industry they came from and the policy responsibilities they have been given. [208626]
Mr. Alexander: A list of secondees from the private sector working in my Department, the name of the seconding organisation and their responsibilities, is contained in the table. Those who have policy responsibilities are marked by an asterix.
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Sri Lanka
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what access (a) representatives of his Department and (b) non-governmental organisations have to the northern parts of Sri Lanka under the control of the Tamil region, following the tsunami. [209172]
Mr. Alexander:
Staff of the British High Commission in Colombo continue to have access to these areas, and one visited Kilinochchi on 30 December. Many non-governmental organisations (NGOs) operate in the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam controlled areas of North and North East Sri Lanka including key UN agencies such as UNICEF, the UN Development
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Programme, the UN High Commission for Refugees and the World Food Programme, international NGOs such as Oxfam and Care, and a number of national NGOs including Sewa Lanka, Sarvodaya and the Tamil Rehabilitation Organisation. Following the tsunami, all these organisations took on an emergency focus, providing key support for the emergency, recovery and relief efforts.
Student Visas
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which UK embassies use procedures for granting student visas which deviate from the usual procedures; and what the reasons are for these exceptions. [208637]
Mr. Mullin: All Entry Clearance Officers at the UK's visa-issuing posts assess each visa application on its own merits in accordance with the relevant paragraphs of the Immigration Act 1971. When assessing student visa applications, Entry Clearance Officers use the guidance in the Diplomatic Service Procedures volume 1 chapter 12, available on the UKvisas website at www.ukvisas.gov.uk. This ensures that all UK posts use the same procedure for issuing visas. While some large posts have special sections dedicated to dealing with student applications, they still follow the same procedures when assessing visa applications.
Sudan
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many representatives of the UK Government were present at the signing of the peace deal between Northern and Southern Sudan in Nairobi. [208307]
Mr. Mullin: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Development attended the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement for Sudan in Nairobi on 9 January. He was accompanied by the UK Special Representative for Sudan, the ambassador to Sudan and our high commissioner to Kenya.
Zimbabwe
Ross Cranston: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has assessed on the operation of the justice system in Zimbabwe. [207780]
Mr. Mullin:
We receive regular reports from our embassy in Harare on the operation of the justice system in Zimbabwe. We have also received the useful reports published by the Bar Council of England and Wales and the International Council of Barristers and Advocates and the Law Society of Zimbabwe. My right hon. Friend the Attorney-General met with a leading Zimbabwe human rights lawyer in November and discussed the justice system in Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe's legal system is increasingly compromised by the government through delays in the operation of the justice system, partisan appointments to the higher judiciary, and the intimidation of judges, magistrates and lawyers.
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Ross Cranston: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action he is taking to encourage steps to improve the justice system in Zimbabwe. [207781]
Mr. Mullin: We and our EU partners regularly make clear to the Zimbabwean Government and its neighbours our concerns about the abuse of justice in Zimbabwe. We continue to press Zimbabwe to return to democracy, respect for human rights and the rule of law, and to repeal legislation on media freedom, NGOs and security that is in contradiction with international norms and Zimbabwe's treaty obligations.
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