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Middle East

Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what modifications to the route of the separation barrier between Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory have been made following his representations to the Israeli Government. [210506]

Mr. Rammell: The Israeli government has said it will revise the route of the barrier. This follows a decision by the Israeli High Court on 30 June 2004 and considerable international concern about the impact of the barrier on the Palestinians in the Occupied Territories. The new route has yet to be published. In the meantime, we continue to express our view that the barrier construction in the Occupied Territories is illegal and damages the prospects of a peaceful settlement based on a two-state solution.

Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the effect of the election of a new Palestinian leader on his Department's policy on Israel and Palestine. [210587]

 
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Mr. Rammell: We welcome the success of the recent Palestinian presidential elections, and congratulate President Abu Mazen. Our policy, as made clear during my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister's visit to Washington on 11–12 November 2004, has been: to support Palestinian presidential elections; to help the Palestinians improve their infrastructure; to support Prime Minister Sharon's disengagement plan and to help both parties implement the Roadmap, to achieve a two-state solution and a comprehensive and just settlement. We hope that President Abu Mazen's victory with a strong majority will provide an opportunity to move the Middle East Peace Process forward.

Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to the Israeli Government concerning the expansion of settlements in the Occupied Territories. [210507]

Mr. Rammell: We have had frequent discussions with Israel regarding the issue of settlement expansion. My right hon. Friends the Prime Minister, the Foreign Secretary and the Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean have made clear to the Israeli Government our view that settlements are illegal under international law. The Roadmap requires that Israel freeze settlement expansion and dismantle outposts erected since March 2001.

Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Israeli Government concerning new roads in the Occupied Territories which can only be used by Israeli settlers. [210508]

Mr. Rammell: We oppose the construction of new roads in the Occupied Territories which can only be used by Israeli settlers. Construction of such roads, and wider settlement expansion, is illegal. We continue to make representations to the Israeli Government to this effect.

Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Israeli Government concerning funding for the proposed cross border industrial zones. [210509]

Mr. Rammell: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary discussed cross border industrial zones with the Israeli Government during his visit to Israel in November 2004. We favour the development of industrial zones which could benefit the economies of both Israel and the Palestinians.

Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Israeli Government concerning a port and an airport for the Gaza Strip. [210510]

Mr. Rammell: During their recent visits to Israel, my right hon. Friends the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary set out the importance of successful disengagement. A port and airport in the Gaza strip will be a crucial element in the economic development of a viable Palestinian state. We continue, both bilaterally and with the international community, to engage with Israel to stress the importance of Israel enabling such facilities to be developed.
 
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Milliyetci Hareket Partisi

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the activities of the Milliyetci Hareket Partisi since 1997; and if he will make a statement. [211448]

Mr. MacShane: The Milliyetci Hareket Partisi (MHP) is a far-right nationalist party that currently holds no seats in the Turkish Parliament. An ANAR poll published on 18 January 2005 suggests that support for the MHP is still below the 10 per cent. threshold required for a party to enter parliament. Their attempts to block the passage of key EU harmonisation legislation on the death penalty and minority language rights when they were part of the previous coalition government was a matter of concern. The MHP has been particularly vehement in its rejection of any kind of cultural rights for the Kurds. The MHP was recently in the news when a crowd of its supporters disrupted a Greek Orthodox religious ceremony in Istanbul on 6 January 2005.

Moro Islamic Liberation Front

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the activities of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front since 1997; and if he will make a statement. [211444]

Mr. Alexander: We welcome the reduction in violence in Mindanao that has accompanied the ceasefire, adopted by the Philippine Government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in July 2003.

We are pleased at the resumption of the peace process. We have consistently urged both sides to work towards a lasting solution to the conflict and that this can only be achieved through peaceful negotiation.

Nicaragua

Mr. Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the UN-brokered Nicaraguan agreement regarding the position of President Enrique Bolanos and the Sandinista leader Daniel Ortega. [210790]

Mr. Rammell: We welcome the agreement signed on 12 January between the President and main Congressional parties, which has established a new forum for national dialogue in Nicaragua and permits President Bolanos to complete his term of office. We hope that a new spirit of cooperation will allow the Government to focus on the pressing needs of the Nicaraguan people. We will continue to monitor the situation closely together with our EU partners and the rest of the donor community.

Peru

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made of accusations of torture and killing levelled at the Administration of President Alberto Fujimori in Peru; and if he will make a statement. [210720]

 
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Mr. Rammell: We have not made an independent assessment of the accusations of crimes committed by the Peruvian Government during President Fujimori's period in office. Our information is based on the report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), published in August 2003. The TRC investigated the process of violence of political origin experienced in Peru between 1980 and 2000. According to the report

the TRC has reasonable grounds to affirm that President Alberto Fujimori, his adviser Vladimiro Montesinos, and high level officials of the National Intelligence Service are criminally responsible for the assassinations, forced disappearances and massacres perpetrated by the Colina" death squad".

Vladimiro Montesinos is currently incarcerated in Peru, awaiting a trial against him for the alleged crimes above. Alberto Fujimori is currently in Japan and has been since 2000. The Peruvian Government are seeking his extradition to face the charges detailed above.

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the number of people allegedly (a) detained, (b) tortured and (c) executed by (i) the Sendero Luminoso, (ii) Movimento Revolucionario Tupac Amaru and (iii) the security forces of Peru during the 1980s and 1990s; and if he will make a statement. [210724]

Mr. Rammell: We have not made an independent assessment of the number of people affected by the internal conflict in Peru during the 1980s and 1990s. Our information is based on the report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission published in August 2003. The TRC estimates (with a 5 per cent. margin of error) that the most probable number of victims who died in the violence is 69,280. Of these, Sendero Luminoso was responsible for 54 per cent. and the Movimento Revolucionario Tupac Amaru 1.5 per cent. and the remainder due to the Armed Forces, Police and Self-Defence Committees.

We have actively supported the efforts of the TRC. This support has helped develop institutional capacity within this Commission in the regions most affected by the violence. The Peruvian authorities are now in the process of implementing the TRC's recommendations. We are currently supporting the work of the Human Rights Ombudsman's Office and the National Co-ordinator for Human Rights in this aim.

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