§ Lord Aveburyasked her Majesty's Government:
Whether they consider that the weapons and ammunition acquired by the Indonesian army from the United Kingdom in recent years were intended for the purpose of defending Indonesia from external aggression; and whether they were needed for that purpose. [HL4150]
§ Baroness Scotland of AsthalBearing in mind the right of all sovereign states to self-defence under Article 51 of the UN Charter, when this Government came into office we introduced new and stricter criteria for all arms exports. We will not issue an export licence if there is a clearly identifiable risk that the proposed export might be used for internal repression or external aggression. We have taken great care to apply the criteria scrupulously in the case of Indonesia, as elsewhere. We have seen no evidence that arms approved for export by this Government have been used in East Timor.