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Ministerial Meetings with KLA
Lord Kennet asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether it is the case, as alleged on Albanian TV, that the leadership of the KLA has been received by the Foreign Secretary, by Secretary of State Albright and many officials of foreign ministries in different European countries; if so, what have been the results of these meetings; and whether, in these meetings, either the disarming of the KLA, as required at Rambouillet, or its incorporation in Kosovo military forces was discussed.[HL2811]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean): Ministers, including the Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary, have recently met senior KLA representatives, in line with effort of Her Majesty's Government to maintain contacts with the spectrum of Kosovo Albanian opinion. In these contacts Ministers set out the objectives of NATO's military action against the FRY. They also stressed the need for Kosovo Albanian political unity; recalled Her Majesty's Government's support for the Rambouillet Accords; and reminded the KLA representatives of the undertakings they gave in signing those Accords, including to demilitarise.
The US Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright, met representatives of the Kosovo Albanian leadership during her visit to Germany for the G8 Foreign Ministers' meeting on 9-10 June.
Ascension Island
Lord Kennet asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether the terms under which land on Ascension Island is provided free from rent and charges to the United States Military Space Command preclude them from authorising uses of that land in the national interest such as the use by civil charter flights to the Falkland Islands of Wideawake airfield.[HL2905]
Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean: All land on Ascension Island that is provided free of rent and charges to the United States Space Command is subject
to the terms of the Agreement between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of the United States of America Concerning the Extension of the Bahamas Long Range Proving Ground by the Establishment of Additional Sites in Ascension Island signed in 1956, as amended.The terms of this agreement currently preclude the use of Wideawake airfield by civil flights. We are discussing an amendment to the Agreement with the US Government which would allow the use of Wideawake by civil charter flights.
Turkey: Embassy Staff Visits to Mayorsand Officials
Lord Hylton asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether they will instruct members of the staff of Her Majesty's Embassy in Ankara to visit the mayors and municipal authorities in Diyarbakir, Batman, Bingol Hakkari, Siirt, and Sirnak.[HL2940]
Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean: Since the April elections, staff of the British Embassy in Ankara have called on the mayors of Diyarbakir, Batman and Siirt and intend to call on the mayors of Bingol, Sirnak, and Hakkari as part of subsequent official visits to the region.
Turkey: British Council Work in Diyarbakir
Lord Hylton asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether the British Council will be able to establish a presence in Diyarbakir, the regional capital of south-east Turkey, within the next few years.[HL2941]
Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean: The British Council has no plans at present to establish an office in Diyarbakir, but intends to continue its work in Diyarbakir and, more widely, in south eastern Turkey. Recent British Council activities in the region have included a seminar on the prevention of domestic violence and work with the Diyarbakir Bar Association (including the provision of English Language training).
Turkey: Bar Human RightsCommittee Visits
Lord Hylton asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether they will discuss with the Government of Turkey the refusal in March 1999 of access to south-east Turkey for a delegation of the Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales.[HL2942]
Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean: Her Majesty's Government have not discussed with the Turkish authorities the issue of access of the Bar Human Rights Committee to south eastern Turkey in March 1999; but
they understand that this committee visited the region in December 1998, February and May 1999.Turkey: Human Rights Reports
Lord Hylton asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether they have studied (a) the Report to the Council of Europe about Turkey (by the Committee on the Honouring of Obligations by Member States) dated 15 January, and (b) the statement from the Lawyers' Committee for Human Rights, dated 18 March, submitted
- to the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe about Turkey; and, if so, what conclusions they draw.[HL2944]
Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean: We have read both reports, which raise a number of important issues. We continue both to raise our human rights concerns regularly with the Turkish authorities and to encourage them to undertake reforms in many of the areas covered by the reports; and in this context we welcome the steps taken by the Turkish authorities, including the recent legislative proposal to remove the military judge from the State Security Courts.
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