CONFIDENTIAL
19.
Grenada
On 26 August the leaders of the main centre parties recommended the formation of a single party to be known as the New National Party. The High Commissioner now believes that elections may be held in late October or November. The Preliminary Inquiry against the 20 accused of Maurice Bishop's murder ended on 8 August. Nineteen were committed for trial and one discharged on the murder count; he has subsequently been charged with conspiracy to murder and remanded. The trial is due to begin in October but the defence is likely to argue for a delay until possibly February. The police training programme has been stepped up to meet US concerns and is going well.
FAR EAST/SOUTH EAST ASIA/SUB-CONTINENT
20. China:
Publicity on Invitation to HM The Queen
It had been agreed with the Chinese MFA that Deng Xiaoping's invitation for HM The Queen to visit China would not be publicised. However, the Palace was forced to acknowledge that an invitation had been issued, following leaks in Hong Kong, apparently by the New China News Agency. The story broke in the British press on 9 August. Neither we nor the Chinese have commented on the likely timing of a visit.
21. South East Asia
(a) Prime Minister's Visit
The Prime Minister sent personal messages to President Soeharto, Dr Mahathir and Mr Lee Kuan Yew on 28 August telling them that she had been obliged to postpone her visit. She explained that industrial developments in Britain required her close attention. She hopes to reinstate the visit in a few months. The responses expressed the Heads of Governments' disappointment at the news but their understanding of the circumstances which led to the Prime Minister's decision.
(b) Mr Heath
Mr Heath left for South East Asia on 28 August. His stepmother's death caused him to rearrange the visit, and he is now expected to go to Singapore, Thailand, Burma, Brunei and Malaysia, in that order, returning on 10 September.
CONFIDENTIAL
/ (c)
UK/
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