§ Mrs. GillanTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the role played by the Government of Libya in(a) Guinea Bissau, (b) Sierra Leone and (c) Liberia. [48212]
§ Mr. FatchettWe are aware of contacts between Libya and President Vieira of Guinea-Bissau, and that Libya has just sent a high-level delegation to Bissau to mediate in the current internal political crisis there.
We are aware of reports that the Liberian Government are training soldiers in Libya to fight West African peacekeeping forces (ECOMOG) on the Sierra Leone/Liberia border. We are also aware of longstanding links between Libya and the President of Liberia, Charles Taylor, and between Libya and the Sierra Leone rebel movement, the Revolutionary United Front (RUF).
We have been told that the Government of Sierra Leone are now considering their position with regard to Libya. A Libyan delegation made a recent visit to Sierra Leone, and was received by President Kabbah.