HL Deb 22 June 1989 vol 509 cc405-6WA
Lord Hylton

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What information they have concerning: (i) the deportation on 9th June of the entire Kurdish population of Sangasar, near Qala Diza in Iraq, and the demolition of all buildings; (ii) the complete depopulation of the town of Degala and the beginning of deportations from the city of Qala Diza; (iii) the poisoning of male Kurdish refugees from Iraq in camps at Mardin, Turkey, following their refusal to return to Iraq.

The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Glenarthur)

We remain seriously concerned at allegations of Iraqi deportations of Kurds from Qala Diza and other towns in northern Iraq. We have received some evidence to back up the reports, though none suggests resettlement outside Kurdistan. We continue to press the Iraqis to allow foreign diplomats and journalists access to the areas in question to see for themselves. My honourable friend the Minister of State last spoke to the Iraqi Ambassador in these terms on 14th June.

We understand that several hundred refugees fell ill at Mardin after eating bread made from over-fermented yeast. There has been no confirmation of Kurdish allegations that the bread was poisoned by Iraqi agents.