East Timor (Hansard, 12 June 1996)

§ 14. Mr. Gerrard
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has held recently with the Government of Indonesia on the future of East Timor; and if he will make a statement. [30857]

§ Mr. Hanley
Ministers most recently discussed the future of East Timor with the Indonesian Foreign Minister, Mr. Alatas, during his visit to the United Kingdom in January.

§ Mr. Gerrard
I am sure that the Minister is well aware of the views of many hon. Members that, instead of selling arms to Indonesia, the Government should tell the Indonesians to end their illegal occupation of East Timor, and condemn the genocide that has been committed there. Will he specifically press the Government of Indonesia to implement fully the recommendations of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights following his visit to East Timor? Will he also press the Indonesian Government to allow a UN presence in East Timor—not just in Jakarta—and access to East Timor by human rights organisations?

§ Mr. Hanley
The hon. Gentleman will be aware that the United Kingdom does not recognise Indonesian sovereignty over East Timor. We continue to believe that the dialogue between Portugal and Indonesia, under the auspices of the UN Secretary-General, offers the best chance of finding a just, comprehensive and internationally acceptable settlement to the question of East Timor. The next round of talks will be held this month.
I was extremely pleased to learn of the meeting between President Suharto of Indonesia and President Guterres of Portugal at the recent ASEAN—Association of South-East Asian Nations—summit in Bangkok. I hope that the Foreign Ministers of Portugal and Indonesia can take forward the issues discussed then, because that is the only way in which we can improve the situation.
We are concerned about the reports of continuing human rights abuses in Indonesia and East Timor, and we let the Indonesian Government know of our concerns. I have mentioned the meeting that I had with Foreign Minister Alatas during his visit to the United Kingdom in January. We are aware of continued violence in East Timor, and we are monitoring the situation very closely.