Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Swire and Richard Fuller

Tuesday 24th May 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr Swire]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. There was not only the Daesh-claimed killing on 9 April in Dhaka of Nazimuddin Samad, but the murder on 23 April of Rezaul Karim Siddique in Rajshahi, in the east of the country. This is becoming an all too familiar occurrence in Bangladesh. There is a disagreement: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina blames the opposition parties for trying to destabilise the country and the victims for insulting Islam; we think the problem goes beyond that.

[Richard Fuller (Bedford) (Con)]

Do not the Government of Bangladesh’s inability to protect human rights and the absence of effective opposition to that Government require the UK Government, which continues to provide substantial aid to Bangladesh, to have a timetable for intervention to ensure that democracy and human rights continue in that country and do not fall under a single-party state?

[Mr Swire]

I do not think my hon. Friend is suggesting that we should tie our aid, which helps some of the worst-off people in the world, with political progress, but I take on board his point. There is much more we can do in Bangladesh and we are trying, not least through the role of the new Commonwealth Secretary-General. Bangladesh is of course a member of the Commonwealth and we want the Commonwealth to take more action in that country, which at the moment is not heading in the right direction.

Nigeria

Debate between Lord Swire and Richard Fuller

Monday 12th January 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr Swire]

We are extremely concerned about the problem spreading—I have already said that—but let me look at the glass as being half-full, rather than half-empty as my hon. Friend sees it. Nigeria is the richest economy in Africa, and it has huge talent—we have only to look at the Nigerian diaspora in this country to recognise that. It is rich in resources, so there are huge opportunities for it. However, it has endemic problems, such as a disparity of wealth, including a north-south geographical disparity, that is far too great.

I believe that if an incoming Nigerian Government of whatever persuasion in February are determined to invite in the international community in a more open way to help rebuild a modern Nigeria, they can become a shining beacon on the African continent of what such a country can achieve.

[Richard Fuller (Bedford) (Con)]

I fear that many people listening to this exchange, perhaps including the 1 million or more British citizens of Nigerian origin, will see the Minister’s response as inadequate: first, because he has framed the problem as being smaller than they perceive it to be; secondly, because his response that we are at the behest of the Nigerian Government, rather than actively pushing them for change, is too weak; and thirdly, because he has not outlined one measure that will give the thousands of people who are running for their lives right now any hope for any change in the near future.

With the greatest respect to those who took part, our response to Boko Haram needs more than a hashtag and a photo opportunity. It needs an active response from the British Government, who believe in the freedom of the individual wherever they are in the world. May I ask the Minister to reflect on that and perhaps come back to the House with a more substantive response?

[Mr Swire]

I simply do not recognise any of that. My hon. Friend talks about photo opportunities and Boko Haram, but there have not been any that I am aware of. We have one of the biggest bilateral aid budgets at £250 million, and we are doing a lot on education and safety in schools in Nigeria. However, Nigeria is a rich country and it needs to be taught to do those things itself. I believe that the UK is at the forefront of trying to assist Nigeria, but we cannot impose assistance if it is not asked for. There is something called sovereignty, which may have escaped my hon. Friend’s notice, and the Nigerian Government are perhaps, as I have said, too slow to ask the international community for help. The United Kingdom should be proud of its record at the forefront of attempts to right some horrible wrongs going on in that country.

Death Penalty (India)

Debate between Lord Swire and Richard Fuller

Thursday 28th February 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Swire]

As the hon. Gentleman would expect, the permanent under-secretary listened to what I had to say. He was aware of our consistent position on this issue but stressed to me the very real fear in India created by acts of terrorism.

[Richard Fuller]

The Minister is being very generous with his time. May I press him a little on the consequences of this issue for the UK? For example, suppose a terrorism suspect from India is in the UK. If India moves forward with executions, what will be the UK Government’s position on extradition to India?

[Mr Swire]

As my hon. Friend would expect, the Government would review the case on an individual basis. I cannot comment on a hypothetical case of that nature.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Swire and Richard Fuller

Tuesday 4th December 2012 Commons Chamber

[Richard Fuller (Bedford) (Con)]

10. What steps he is taking with the Burmese and Bangladeshi Governments to assist the Rohingya Muslim community.

[The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Mr Hugo Swire)]

We continue to raise our concerns about the recent violence in Rakhine state, as well as the conflict in Kachin and Shan states, with Burmese Ministers and Aung San Suu Kyi. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary raised the plight of the Rohingya community in recent discussions with the Burmese President, stressing the need to resolve their citizenship status. Officials continue to emphasise the importance of our humanitarian aid programmes in Bangladesh and Rakhine with the Bangladeshi and Burmese Governments.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Swire]

Of course we remain extremely concerned about the situation in Burma, but we believe that it is moving in the right direction. We welcome President Obama’s recent visit there and I shall be taking a trade delegation on my visit. We believe that engaging with the Government commercially as well as politically is the right way to proceed. We are concerned about the ethnic violence and issues of religion, and we remain concerned—I shall raise these points forcefully when I am there—about the issue of the remaining political prisoners.

[Richard Fuller]

The Minister has rightly focused on issues regarding the Rohingya community in Burma, but equally there are hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslim refugees in Bangladesh and 20,000 or 30,000 of them in refugee camps. What steps can the Minister take to persuade the Bangladesh Government to begin the registration of undocumented Rohingya refugees and to provide access for non-governmental organisations to the refugee camps?

[Mr Swire]

My hon. Friend makes a good point. The issue was raised by my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary during a meeting with the Bangladeshi Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina, on 28 July. The former Secretary of State for International Development, my right hon. Friend the Member for Sutton Coldfield (Mr Mitchell), raised it with Prime Minister Hasina on 12 August. My noble friend Baroness Warsi raised it with the Bangladesh Foreign Minister, Dipu Moni, in October 2012 and the British high commissioner has also raised it in Bangladesh. It is important that we get aid to that part of Rakhine and that the Bangladeshis make it possible for that aid to reach the people.