Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to his Indonesian counterpart on the recent persecution and violence against Christians in Aceh Province.

The British Government takes freedom of religion or belief extremely seriously and regularly urges governments to protect the right of all individuals to practise their religion or belief free from persecution or discrimination. Staff from our Embassy in Jakarta visit Indonesia's provinces regularly, discussing our concerns with government officials, civil society leaders and religious communities. We welcome the comments made by Indonesian President Joko Widodo following the violence in Aceh, in which he said that any violence of any kind – especially violence around religion and belief - will destroy diversity.

We also note action taken by Indonesia on protection of religious beliefs, including a Bill on protections for religious and faith communities, on which we have offered UK assistance and expertise.