CONFIDENTIAL
a draft telegram
to Ottawa;
5.
(ii) that HM High Commissions in Ottawa, Canberra and
Wellington should be instructed to seek the coopera- tion of the Canadian, Australian and New Zealand Governments in the absorption of as many of these refugees as possible;
(iii)
(iv)
(v)
that HM Ambassadors in Copenhagen and Stockholm should ask the Danish and Swedish Governments to accept refugees picked up by their ships. (We should explain to the latter why Hong Kong could not take in theirs.) ;
that the Home Secretary should be made aware of the
problem with a view to ensuring that a reasonable proportion are absorbed in the United Kingdom; and that a proportion of the funds for the relief of Vietnamese refugees should be made available to the Hong Kong Government in the present emergency.
I attach a draft telegram to Washington; a draft telegram to Canberra, Wellington, Copenhagen and Stockholm; a draft minute to the Home Secretary; and a draft minute to the Minister for Overseas Development. NAD, SEAD, SWPD, M&VD, WED, FED and Defence Department concur as appropriate.
Argument
6.
The United States: The Americans, who originally appeared cooperative over some of the refugees, have now informed the Political Adviser that the Task Force in Washington faced great difficulties because of Congressional pressures. They argued that those who are already in Guam, or proceeding to Guam, were evacuated following a planned and monitored operation in Saigon involving US ships, whereas those in Hong Kong left Vietnam on their own initiative. This is true but some of those in Hong Kong do seem to have close American connections (e.g. working for Air America). It is not unreasonable to expect the Americans to accept responsibility for these and there should be no objection to the American Government adding its weight to our representations to
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