GRS 300 PRIORITY
CYPHER CAT/A
FM HONG KONG 140236Z
CONFIDENTIAL.
Enter lkkk 18/25
25
Сне
Cree para
معلم
驻
14/8
CONFIDENT'AL
TO PRIORITY HANOI TELEGRAM NO 25 OF 14 AUGUST INFO PRIORITY F CO, UKMIS GENEVA, VIENTIANE, SEOUL, ROUTINE UKMIS NEW YORK, WASHINGTON, PARIS AND PEKING (VIENTIANE PLEASE PASS CONFIRMATION COPY SAVING TO HANOI).
YOUR TELEGRAM NO 20: UNHCR FLIGHTS.
AS YOU MAY NOW HAVE GATHERED, LOCAL AUTHORITIES AT SAIGON AIRPORT HAD NOT HEARD OF CLEARANCE GIVEN BY HANOI AND REFUSED TO ALLOW THE CARAVELLE TO FLY ON TO HONG KONG FROM SAIGON AS HAD BEEN PLANNED ON 12 AUGUST. UNHCR THEREFORE LENT THE CARAVELLE TO THE FRENCH TO TAKE THEIR REPATRIATION CASES FROM SAIGON TO BANGKOK AND UNHCR TOOK THE DC4 WHICH THE FRENCH HAD CHARTERED FROM AIR LAO, TO SEND BACK TO VIENTIANE SOME LAOS WHOM THEY HAD PROMISED TO MOVE OUT OF SAIGON. WE UNDERSTAND FROM CASELLA, WHO LEFT HONG KONG FOR VIENTIANE LAST NIGHT, THAT THE PROGRAMME OF FLIGHTS FROM SAICON TO HONG KONG IS NOT NOW LIKELY TO TAKE PLACE UNTIL NEXT WEEK, WHEN THE FRENCH WILL HAVE OBTAINED A CARAVELLE OF THEIR OWN TO CARRY OUT THEIR AIR-LIFT, THUS RELEASING THE AIR LAO CARAVELLE FOR UNHCR USE.
2. MEANWHILE, WE HAVE SET UP A COMMUNICATIONS LINK BETWEEN KAI TAK AND HANOI AT CASELLA'S REQUEST AND SHOULD THEREFORE BE ABLE TO GIVE HANOI DETAILS OF THE FLIGHT PLANS FOR THE RETURN FLIGHTS FROM HONG KONG TO SAIGON AS REQUESTED IN PARA 2 OF YOUR TELEGRAM
NO 19.
3. WE ARE GLAD TO HEAR THAT VIETNAMESE WOULD BE PREPARED TO GRANT PRIORITY ON SAIGON/HONG KONG FLIGHTS TO HONG KONG RESIDENTS AND U.K. CITIZENS, WE HAVE ALSO ASKED CASELLA, WHO WOULD PROBABLY ACCOMPANY FIRST FLIGHT FROM SAIGON TO HONG KONG, THAT HE SHOULD MAKE SURE PRIORITY IS GIVEN TO THESE CATEGORIES. WE HAVE GIVEN
CONFIDENTIAL
/ HIM