§ Mr. FoulkesTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will initiate discussions with the other countries of the European Community to consider what joint action needs to be taken in relation to the occupation of East Timor by Indonesia.
§ Mr. Lennox-BoydWe are already in contact with our EC partners on this matter. We continue to believe that the best hopes for a solution lie in the hands of the United Nations Secretary-General.
§ Mr. FoulkesTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Government of Portugal regarding the situation in East Timor; and what further discussions he proposes.
§ Mr. Lennox-BoydMy right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs sees his Portuguese colleague regularly and has discussed East Timor with him on several occasions, most recently during his visit to Lisbon on 7 January. We remain in close contact on this issue, together with our EC partners.
§ Mr. FoulkesTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will raise at the United Nations the continuing repression by Indonesia of the people of East Timor with a view to agreeing appropriate joint action.
§ Mr. Lennox-BoydThis issue will be considered at the forthcoming session of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in Geneva from 27 January to 6 March.