Africa (Hansard, 8 March 1999)

§ Mrs. Gillan
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the representatives of the Governments of(a) Angola, (b) Zimbabwe, (c) Namibia, (d) Uganda, (e) the Democratic Republic of Congo and (f) South Africa whom the Minister of State met on his recent visits to the region, indicating the dates of the meetings. [75479]

§ Mr. Tony Lloyd
As the Prime Minister's Special Envoy I visited the Democratic Republic of the Congo and other African countries directly or indirectly involved in the conflict from 22–26 February to assess progress in African mediation efforts and to explore what more Britain and the international community may be able to do to support these. I met(a) Deputy Foreign Minister Miranda (24 February), (b) President Mugabe (25 February), (c) Prime Minister Geingob (24 February), (d) President Museveni (26 February), (e) President Kabila (23 February) and (f) Deputy Foreign Minister Pahad (22 February). I also met President Bizimungu and Vice President Kagame of Rwanda (25 February) and the Secretary General of the OAU (26 February).

§ Mrs. Gillan
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list those(a) British citizens and (b) British citizens with dual nationality who have been kidnapped in Africa from 1 January 1998 to date, together with (i) the date of the kidnap, (ii) the identity, or suspected identity, of the kidnappers and (iii) the outcome of the kidnaps. [75484]

§ Mr. Tony Lloyd
Not all kidnappings of British nationals are reported. However, to our knowledge, the following kidnappings have taken place in Africa since 1 January 1998On 10 March 1998, Lenard Holland and Barry Glover (both British nationals) were abducted by villagers in Warri, Nigeria, along with a US national. They were released unharmed on 12 March. On 14 April 1998, Gordon Hutchinson, Andrew Odell, Mark Edward and Grevill Moteran (British nationals) were held hostage by fellow oil workers in Nigeria. They were released after four days. On 11 August 1998, Douglas Kear (joint New Zealand/British national) was abducted, probably by Rwandan Interahamwe rebels, in the eastern Democractic Republic of Congo, along with two Swedes and a Canadian. The Canadian was released on 18 August. The fate of the other three remains unknown. On 6 October 1998, Pierre de School-Meester (British national) was abducted by pirates from a ship off the Delta State Coast, Nigeria. He was released unharmed on 12 October 1998. On 8 November 1998, following a UNITA attack on a diamond mine in north-east Angola in which two British nationals were killed, Jason Pope (British national) was abducted along with a South African, two Filipinos and several Angolans. Their fate remains unknown. On 10 November 1998, Peter John Holgate (British national) was taken hostage with seven other oil rig workers by Ijaw youths in Bayelsa State, Nigeria. All eight were released unharmed on 17 November 1998. On 9 February 1999, Jim Simpson (British national) was abducted by local youths in Warri, Nigeria, along with an Italian and a Nigerian. He was released unharmed on 17 February. On 15 February 1999, Martin Westbury and his young son Benjamin (both British nationals) were abducted by armed youths in Warri, Nigeria. They were released unharmed on the same day. 4W On 1 March 1999, Joanne Cotton, Steve Roberts, Mark Lindgren, Martin Friend, Gary Tappenden (all British nationals and Mark Avis (joint New Zealand/British national) were abducted by Rwandan Interahamwe rebels in Bwindi National Park, western Uganda, along with a number of other Western tourists. Gary Tappenden and Mark Avis found their way to safety; the other four were murdered by their abductors, along with four US and New Zealand tourists. On 3 March 1999, Ian Lane (British national) was abducted by armed men in Warri, Nigeria. The case has not yet been resolved.

§ Mrs. Gillan
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations were made to the Minister of State during his recent visit to Africa concerning the targeting by the Interahamwe of(a) British and (b) American citizens. [75480]

§ Mr. Tony Lloyd
None.