Lord Hylton askedHer Majesty's Government:
Whether they and other regional powers are able to assist Indonesia in disarming Laskar Jihad and rival militants, dismantling training camps, removing landmines, and deporting infiltrated foreigners; and [HL3518]
Whether they are exploring with the government of Indonesia the practicality of stationing international human rights observers in Sulawesi and Maluku. [HL3519]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Baroness Amos)We welcome the agreements brokered by the Indonesian Government between the warring factions in Maluku and Sulawesi to end the fighting. This is the136WA over the past year; and how many of those were because of a lack of court time. [HL3531]
§ The Lord Chancellor (Lord Irvine of Lairg)The details are not available for the whole of last year. However the Greater London Magistrates' Courts Authority (GLMCA) has conducted a monthly survey starting in June 2001 and I can provide details for the six months between June and November 2001 shown in the following table.
The GLMCA has now adopted the national monitoring scheme that has been rolled out to all magistrates' courts from January 2002 which will collect data for all cracked and ineffective trials. Data from this scheme is not yet available.
first small step to reconcile the warring communities and start the process of reconstruction and repatriation. We agree that firm law enforcement is needed to allow space for reconciliation efforts to take root.
The UK, with our EU partners, has urged the Indonesian Government to build on this early, fragile peace and to implement in full its security and law enforcement obligations under the terms of the peace agreements. The Department for International Development (DfID) has pledged more than £4 million to help to establish the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Conflict Prevention and Recovery Unit in Jakarta. We are also awaiting a report from the recent European Union Rapid Reaction Team visit to both provinces which should also allow us to consider the scope for further practical assistance.
We continue to monitor closely events in Maluku and Sulawesi through our embassy in Jakarta. Additionally, we draw on a large international presence already active in the provinces such as the permanently stationed UN resource centre in Maluku. However, we do not currently feel that international monitors would be broadly acceptable in Maluku or Sulawesi.