§ Mr. CoxTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he last visited Turkey; and if he will list the people he met on his visit. [74623]
§ Ms QuinMy right hon. Friend the Secretary of State last visited Turkey on 19 May 1998. During his visit he met the President of the Turkish Republic, Mr. Suleyman Demirel, the Prime Minister, Mr. Mesut Yilmaz, the Foreign Minister, Mr. Ismail Cem, and the President of the Human Rights Association, Mr. Akin Birdal, who was recovering in hospital.
§ Mr. CoxTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has for discussions with the Turkish Government about forthcoming elections in Turkey; and if he will encourage Turkey to invite foreign election observers to witness the elections; and if he will make a statement. [74632]
§ Ms QuinOur Embassy in Ankara is closely following the forthcoming elections in Turkey.
On the question of election monitoring, we encourage all OSCE (Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe) Participating States to acknowledge their standing commitment to election observation as expressed in the OSCE Copenhagen Document of 1990.
§ Mr. CoxTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Government of Turkey on proceedings against Abdullah Öcalan; and if he will make a statement. [74627]
§ Ms QuinI refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Edmonton (Mr. Love) on 3 March 1999,Official Report, column 797.