§ Mr. CousinsTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when a request for the use of aircraft fitted with electronic combat reconnaissance devices was made by the United Kingdom either directly or indirectly through NATO actions and UNPROFOR forces in Bosnia; when it was agreed; and to which country or countries such request was made.
§ Mr. Douglas HoggIt is not our policy to comment on operational matters of this nature.
§ Mr. Austin MitchellTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 1 December,Official Report, column 817, concerning the legal basis for the protection by the United Nations of the civilian population of safe areas in Bosnia-Herzegovina, whether the United Nations Secretariat, the United Kingdom and other members of 60W the Security Council take account in creating those areas of the possibility of use for war purposes to mount offensives against the Serbs.
§ Mr. Douglas HoggMembers of the United Nations Security Council, including the United Kingdom, and the United Nations Secretariat do take into account the possibility that safe areas might be used by one party to mount offensives against another. In his report on safe areas of 1 December, the UN Secretary-General highlighted the importance of definition and demilitarisation of safe areas by negotiation. NATO chiefs of defence staff meeting in The Hague on 19 and 20 December, noted the Secretary-General's report on safe areas and underscored the importance of achieving, by negotiations, agreement on complete demilitarisation of the safe areas acceptable to all parties and which could be effectively implemented and controlled by UNPROFOR.