§ Lord Aveburyasked Her Majesty's Government:
What agreements have been made with the Turkish authorities since 1 May 1997 to provide training for 59WA either police or military personnel; and whether they will place copies of any such agreements in the Library of the House. [HL2808]
§ The Minister of State, Ministry of Defence (Lord Gilbert)No formal arrangements to provide training for police or military personnel have been conducted with the Turkish authorities since 1 May 1997. The UK Government have, however, a programme of practical assistance to help the Turkish civil authorities in the field of human rights. This programme was announced in October 1997 and includes police training in the areas of public order policy, detainee rights, domestic violence and the role of an independent police complaints authority. Details of the military training given to Turkish personnel was set out in the reply I gave the noble Lord, Lord Hylton, on 22 April, (Official Report, WA 212) and in the reply given by my right honourable friend the then Minister of State for the Armed Forces, Dr. Reid, to the honourable Member for Tooting, Mr. Cox, on 14 July 1998 (Official Report, col. 173).