§ Mr. CohenTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the timing of the release of funds allocated by international institutions for stability and reconstruction work in Kosovo in respect of their effectiveness; and if he will make a statement. [98097]
§ Mr. VazWe have been working in the EU and with other international organisations to ensure assistance is delivered to those in need in Kosovo. A programme for Reconstruction and Recovery in Kosovo will be discussed at the second international donors meeting on Kosovo, on 17 November. We shall continue to work to ensure that funds are released in an appropriate and timely way.
§ Mr. CohenTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the prospects for continued operation of power stations in Kosovo; and if he will make a statement. [98098]
§ Mr. VazBritish Trade International assess the overall power situation in Kosovo at present as poor, with frequent power outages. The main reason for this is because the two power stations are old and have been inadequately maintained for many years. There has been no war damage to either power station. A British management team, jointly funded by the EU Task Force and British Trade International, is currently working with the EU Task Force, UNMIK and the Kosovo Electric Company to manage the situation.
The period between now and the end of November, when we expect one of the power stations to become operational again following essential maintenance, may well prove difficult. There have also been difficulties maintaining a regular supply of consumables, funded by the EU Task Force, required to keep the power stations operating. However, DfID and British Trade International are now both providing funds for the hire of bulldozers until new machines funded by the Dutch Ministry of Development arrive. This will ensure that the coal supply to the power stations can be maintained.
Danish and Norwegian programmes are repairing the high voltage transmissions systems and the ability to import what power is available from neighbouring grid systems should be improved by the end of December.
849WDfID is working on the low voltage distribution system to ensure that essential services are maintained through the winter period. Our infrastructure engineering unit staff are heavily involved in co-ordination of the power sector to ensure that donor work is complementary.
§ Mr. DalyellTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will estimate the number of revenge attacks on(a) gypsies and (b) Jews in Kosovo since September. [98268]
§ Mr. DalyellTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received from the FBI about the number of bodies found in mass graves in Kosovo. [98263]
§ Mr. VazThe FCO has not received any reports on this subject from the FBI. National forensic teams who have been working in Kosovo are submitting their reports to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY).
§ Mr. DalyellTo ask he Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) if he will make a statement on attacks by ethnic Albanians on Serbs who have stayed in Kosovo; [98265]
(2) if he will make a statement on UN reaction to the grenade attack on Sunday 7 November on the Serb village of Pasjane; [98266]
(3) how many villagers from Ulastica are under arrest; and for what alleged crimes. [98267]