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dated April 18, 1956: Ceylon to be a Republic

Mr. S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike, the new Prime Minister of Ceylon, said in an interview on April 16 that he had made up his mind that British forces based in Ceylon would have to go. "Having foreign bases on our soil is not at all consistent with our sovereignty as a nation," he said in the interview to the U.S. News and World Report, a weekly magazine. (Britain has a naval base at Trincomalee and two Royal Air Force bases on the island). Mr. Bandaranaike said Ceylon would become a republic but he had not yet decided whether it should leave the Commonwealth. He said that a long time ago his party had advocated Ceylon becoming a republic and also withdrawing from the Commonwealth. "Now, however, the case of India has shown that it is possible to remain within the Commonwealth without impairing one's sovereignty. There may be certain advantages in staying in. On the other hand, there may also be certain advantages in staying out."

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