§ Ann ClwydTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) whether his Department has made recent representations to the Indonesian Government about the need to co-operate fully with UN officials in connection with the investigation into the deaths of the two British newsmen. [98872]
(2) when recently released representations were first made by Her Majesty's Government to the Indonesian authorities about the deaths of Brian Peters and Malcolm Rennie; and whether he will list those representations made before June 1996. [98870]
(3) when his Department was first informed of the circumstances in which the two British newsmen died in Indonesia. [98871]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienWe cannot provide details of what representations were made by HMG before June 1996 about the deaths of Brian Peters and Malcolm Rennie because of the disproportionate costs involved in researching the answer.
Our Embassy in Jakarta reported on 24 October 1975 that five journalists from Australia had been killed during an attack on Fretilin forces in Balibo on 16 October 2003, and that the Australian Embassy had confirmed that two of the journalists, Brian Peters and Malcolm Rennie, were British citizens.
On 30 August 2002, at the UK's instigation, the EU urged the Indonesian Attorney General to co-operate with the UN investigation into the death of Brian Peters and his colleagues. We will continue to raise this issue with the Indonesian authorities.