§ Mrs. MahonTo ask the Prime Minister, further to his oral answer of 28 February,Official Report, column 1116, if he is now in a position to make a statement about East Timor.
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§ The Prime Minister[holding answer 15 March 1991]Through our embassy in Jakarta, we keep a close watch on developments in East Timor and have made clear to the Indonesians our concern about infringements of human rights, such as those described in the Amnesty report. We will continue to do so.
All countries have a sovereign right under the United Nations charter to secure the means of their own self-defence. Applications to export defence equipment are carefully scrutinised on a case-by-case basis. We do not allow the export of arms and equipment likely to be used against civil populations. In the case of Indonesia this criterion extends to possible use against the civilian population of East Timor.