§ Mr. Alan DuncanTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of links between the Nepalese Maoist insurgents, and other non-Maoist terrorist organisations outside that country. [40059]
§ Mr. BradshawWe have no credible evidence of links between the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) and non-Maoist terrorist organisations outside of Nepal. This is an issue which we watch very closely, particularly since the events of 11 September 2001.
§ Mr. Alan DuncanTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what support the British Government have given to the Nepalese peace process since July 2001. [39928]
§ Mr. BradshawOur Ambassador in Kathmandu was in regular contact with the Nepalese Prime Minister and other senior figures during the period when the Nepalese Government and the Maoists in Nepal were engaged in peace talks. Unfortunately the peace talks were ended abruptly in November 2001 by the Maoists who returned to violence to further their aims. Our Ambassador remains in close contact with the Nepalese Government. I made it clear to the Nepalese Prime Minister and others during my recent visit to Kathmandu that the UK stands ready to help in the peace process if asked to do so.
§ Mr. Alan DuncanTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the visits to Nepal made by his Department's Ministers, by date, since 1 January 1999; and what plans Ministers have to make further visits. [39930]
§ Mr. BradshawMy right hon. Friend the Leader of the House visited Nepal on 20–21 April 2000 as Foreign Secretary. I visited Nepal from 19–20 February 2002. There are currently no further plans for Ministers from this Department to visit Nepal. However, we will keep under review, in conjunction with the other two Government Departments with particular interest in Nepal, the MOD and DFID. In this context my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for International Development and for Defence visited Nepal in November 1998 and December 2001 respectively.
204W
§ Mr. Alan DuncanTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Government of Nepal regarding the recent unrest and Maoist violence in that country. [39929]
§ Mr. BradshawDuring my visit to Nepal on 19 and 20 February I held discussions with the King of Nepal, the Nepalese Prime Minister and the Nepalese Assistant Foreign Minister. In all of these meetings I discussed the current security situation in Nepal and condemned the recent barbaric attacks by the Maoists on the Nepalese security forces, politicians and general public.