§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Prime Minister why Her Majesty's Government have not facilitated the International Red Cross in arranging a visit to the Falkland Islands by bereaved Argentine relatives.
§ The Prime MinisterI outlined to the hon. Member on 31 March the basis on which we were prepared to permit such a visit. We have given full co-operation to the International Committee of the Red Cross. It announced on 20 April that the Argentine organisers' arrangements for the proposed visit were contrary to its principle of neutrality and that it was not willing to participate in the venture. It is clear that so far as the ICRC is concerned this visit should not go ahead. In these circumstances, there can clearly be no question of our agreeing to it. Meanwhile we stand by our undertaking to accept a purely humanitarian visit that meets our criteria and our offer to return to Argentina the bodies of their service men buried on the Falkland Islands.