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HOUSE OF COMMONS
LONDON SW1A OAA
On the present situation in Cyprus, the Executive Committee has replaced the old working group set up to establish the terms of reference for a committee to monitor relations between the two communities and the prospects for unification. The new committee will be made up of representatives from Australia, Eygpt, Finland, France, Ireland and the United Kingdom. Of these, perhaps the most interesting volunteers so far are the Irish Deputy Speaker, Mr. Jim Tunney whose participation stems from previous work on the subject in the Twelve Plus but also as part of his obvious interest in the concept of unification, and the leader of the Finnish delegation who is continuing work originally begun by the former Prime Minister, Mr. Virolainen.
IPU Presidential Election
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I have left till last this matter as it will be decided at the 86th IPU Conference in Chile in October. However, much of the week in Pyongyang was dominated by negotiations within the Twelve Plus which, I am happy to report, led to the formal adoption of myself as their official candidate with the support of eighteen countries present at the meeting with France declining to take part in the vote for reasons which can best be explained informally. Of the support for my candidature, that of Italy was particularly significant following as it did, the conversations between our own Speaker and the Italian Speaker which led to the personal endorsement of Prime Minister Andreotti.
While nothing is certain in these matters (and it may be that a previously favoured candidate,
Mr. Martinez of Spain or a French candidate could emerge in Chile, despite formal Twelve Plus endorsement) there is little doubt that this support has greatly strengthened our prospects. Parallel discussions in Pyongyang have shown acceptance in principle for the idea of a Twelve Plus candidate by the Latin American, Asian and African groups (although there are some signs of the possible emergence of a rival candidate from the non-aligned countries including India or alternatively, Indonesia or one of the two Koreas).