§ 19. Mr. Altonasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with members of the Commonwealth on the situation in Sri Lanka.
§ Sir Geoffrey HoweIt is the convention, of course, that the Commonwealth does not discuss the internal problems of member states without the consent of the country concerned. We have none the less kept in close touch with the Government of Sri Lanka both before and after the visit there of my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister in April. We particularly welcome the recent discussions between the Governments of Sri Lanka and of India, with whom we have also maintained contact, and the announcement of a cease-fire in Sri Lanka on 18 June.
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§ 28. Mr. Kilroy-Silkasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he next intends to seek to visit Sri Lanka.
§ Sir Geoffrey HoweI have at present no plans to do so.
§ 69. Mr. Freudasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many applications for emigration to the United Kingdom have been received by the consulate in Sri Lanka over the last 12 months; and what proportion of these were in respect of Tamils.
§ Mr. RentonBetween May 1984 and May 1985 the high commission in Colombo received a total of 201 entry clearance applications for settlement in the United Kingdom. It is not possible to provide a breakdown of those from Tamils as, until 30 May 1985, applications were recorded on a basis of nationality only.