§ Lord Aveburyasked Her Majesty's Government:
When was the last occasion on which an official from the UK Embassy in Ankara visited the emergency region; which places the official visited; whether the official was able to converse directly with people in Kurdish or Turkish; whether those conversations were held in the absence of Turkish officials or members of the security forces; and whether any attempt was made on this or any other visit to the region to assess the destruction of villages and parts of larger towns.
§ Baroness Symons of Vernham DeanThe last visit to the region under emergency rule in Turkey was made by our Ambassador in November 1996. He visited Diyarbakir, Mardin and Midyat and was able to converse with contacts in Turkish. He was accompanied to some, but not all, calls by a Turkish security escort. The subject of village clearances is one which every visit to the region addresses. The next visit to the region is planned for early September, again by Turkish-speaking staff. Our Embassy is in regular contact by telephone with human rights and other organisations in the region.