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Sri Lanka

Does my hon. Friend accept that whereas the Chinese might, for historic reasons, be concerned that by either abstaining or supporting a resolution they might be supporting the case for an independent Tamil homeland, and worry about the implications of that in China, there has actually always been a strong Tamil voice, including from the LTTE, that accepts that that is not the only and necessary option? At the moment, that is not the main issue. The main issue is getting the peace, the ceasefire and other things, and the Chinese and potentially Russia should at least see the merit of abstaining, even if they are not able to support a resolution.