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1. Mrs Belfall in the Immigration and Nationality Department of the Home Office has sent me a background note and draft letter to HM Treasury about our accepting around 100 refugees from Indo- China under the UNHCR's new scheme. She tells me that she has also sent a copy to Mr Mallett but not to other Departments in the FCO.
2. Apart from one or two inaccuracies and drafting points, I find nothing wrong with Mrs Belfall's note and draft letter.
It is, as you will see, primarily concerned with the problem of ship- wrecked Vietnamese refugees and not with the large community of Vietnamese refugees in Thailand. However, it is stated in paragraph 12 of Mrs Belfall's note that refugees who find their way to Hong Kong should be regarded as having a better claim on us than those in Thailand. I think that this is right for thẹ reason stated in paragraph 12 of the note. I think too that it was at least implicitly accepted, in connection with the letter of 14 July from the Standing Conference of British Organisations for Aid to Refugees to Mr Luard, that Hong Kong deserved prior
consideration. I should not, however, like to tell Mrs Belfall that I agree with what she has said without your having a chance to comment.
3. I attach a draft letter to Mrs Belfall, in which I have taken the opportunity to remind her that, as agreed earlier between UND and HKD and the Home Office, any refugees from the "M.V. Ava" still remaining in Hong Kong should be regarded as having a good claim for admission to the UK as part of the 100 or so Indo-Chinese refugees whom the Home Office hope to take under the UNHCR's scheme.
D.F. Millho
D F Milton
Hong Kong Department
CODE 18 - n
1 October 1976
Mr Milton
1.
It might add more weight to the Home Office's draft letter to the
Treasury if it is made clear that the High Commissioner's appeal on behalf of the 'small boat' refugees was launched when it was as a result of some pressure from ourselves and the Americans. You may, therefore, consider it worthwhile suggesting the insertion of the following piece after the second sentence of para 2 of the
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/draft