HC Deb 21 July 1998 vol 316 c491W
Dr. Tonge

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what direct discussions his Department has had with the SPLA in Southern Sudan. [51772]

Mr. Fatchett

Officials keep in regular contact with the Sudan People's Liberation Army both in London and Nairobi.

I myself met representatives of the SPLM/A in The Hague on 18 June and in Nairobi on 14 July.

Dr. Tonge

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when his Department was first informed of the impending famine in Southern Sudan by(a) the Sudanese Government and (b) other sources. [51771]

Mr. Fatchett

We first saw predictions of severe problems in Bahr al Ghazhal in December 1997, with the release of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Crop Assessment and the draft UN Coordinated Appeal.

We can find no trace of any earlier warnings from the Government of Sudan.