§ Ms KeebleTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the arrest of the Member of Parliament Roy Bennet following an incident in the Zimbabwean Parliament. [176062]
§ Mr. MullinMr. Bennett was briefly detained on 18 May after an incident with ZANU (PF) Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa in the Zimbabwean Parliament. The Minister had called Bennett's forefathers "thieves and murderers". Bennett had said that he was unable to forgive the Government of Zimbabwe for acquiring his farm despite six court orders prohibiting this. The incident is to be investigated by the Zimbabwe Parliament's privileges committee, including MPs from both parties.
§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he last discussed the threat to safety of members of the Movement for Democratic Change in Zimbabwe with the Secretary General of the Commonwealth. [176606]
§ Mr. MullinThe Government of Zimbabwe withdrew from the Commonwealth on 7 December 2003. The Commonwealth Secretary General is not in a position to raise the treatment of political opponents with the Government of Zimbabwe. But Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials remain in close touch with the Commonwealth Secretariat on developments in Zimbabwe. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary continues to raise our concerns about political violence in Zimbabwe with ministers in Europe, the USA, Africa and elsewhere.