CONFIDENTIAL
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
London SW1
TJ B George Esq
Colonial Secretariat
HONG KONG
Dear Timothy,
Telephone 01-
File
150
Your reference
Our reference
Date
SCR 4/1316/72 I
HKK 19/3
26 September 1973
LAST
REF
123
2.F
NARCOTICS
1. I am sorry that I have not been able to reply sooner to your letter of 14 July about the forthcoming Annual Assembly of Interpol in Vienna. We have been considering it both within
the Office and with the Home Office.
2. I am afraid we are not altogether happy about the suggestion that the UK representative at the Interpol meeting should include in his statement to the Assembly a passage on Narcotics which contains exhortations to certain countries to continue or to take further action in suppressing the illicit trade in narcotics. This is not to say we disagree in any way with the sentiments expressed in Norman Rolph's draft passage for inclusion in Woods' statement. It is just that we have considerable doubts whether this is an appropriate forum in which to express them formally in public. We expect delegations from Burma and Thailand will be attending the Interpol meeting. You will be aware of their sensitivities on the subject of narcotics. You will have seen the recent telegram from Bangkok reporting the sharp criticism in the Thai press following the leak about Law's appointment to Bangkok.
3. We therefore propose to advise Woods that we should prefer him not to include the passage on drugs in his statement. However, we still have very much in mind the Governor's commenta in paragraph 5 of his letter SCR 4/1316/721 of 24 May to Michael Wilford. Our doubts are not about the discussion of the drug problem at the Interpol meeting. It obviously will be go discussed, and Train has seen Woods and briefed him, particularly on the discussions with you and the Americans in Hong Kong. At the Interpol meeting it should be possible, in discussions both inside and outside the sessions, to consider the question fully on the technical level, and we will certainly give what help we
can.
cc: CJ Train Esq
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CONFIDENTIAL
R B Crowson
Hong Kong & Indian Ocean Dept