1215
Vietnamese Refugees
15 DECEMBER 1978 Vietnamese Refugees
most significant uncertainty is the out- come of the negotiations on the common fisheries policy. I am afraid that I have been giving this kind of reply for some time, but until we get that problem re- solved and I hope that we can make progress soon-some of these factors will remain uncertain. On the local question, I am asking the planning council to look again at the matter, making some assump tions about the outcome of the negotia- tions.
Those are the main points. The hon. Member referred to the trawling and pursing for mackerel off the South-West, He suggested that it should be permitted for a limited period with a closed season, There have been further discussions about this idea between the various interests concerned and it is a possibility which we shall consider further with the industry in the light of the development of the United Kingdom mackerel catches this winter. There does not appear to be a conservation case for a general closed season of the south-west applying to all fishing for mackerel, but in certam cir- cumstances there might be a case for some sort of limited closure. This matter can be kept under review.
!
I have found this debate very useful. There are a number of factors which have been dealt with in correspondence and contact with the hon. Member and between our officials in the South-West and the local industry. I am sure that we will be in contact again on some of the matters that the hon. Member has raised today.
I am afraid there are no easy solutions to the problems. I can, however, assure the House that we keep the situation in this fishery under constant review. If we feel that further control measures are called for or that changes are needed în the measures that we have already intro- duced, we stand by ready to take the necessary action. I am grateful to the hon. Member for Truro and the hon. Member for Haltemprice who have taken part in these matters. Fishing is of great concern to a lot of people around our coasts, and in view of the fact that we contribute so much to the resources of the community it is in our interests to ensure that the outcome of the common fisheries policy reflects for the future good of the industry.
6 Y 37
1216
Mr. Speaker: The debate on the Viet- namese refugees is due to conclude at 1.15 p.m.
VIETNAMESE REFUGEES
12.25 p.m.
Mr. Philip Goodhart (Beckenham): I am grateful for the chance to discuss a different sort of boat problem in a differ- ent part of the world. A year ago I had the opportunity of raising the question of the Indo-Chinese refugees during the Christmas Adjournment debate. Sadly, in the 12 months separating those two debates the situation has deteriorated dramatically.
Obviously we cannot tell how many refugees tried to escape from Vietnam last year or how many have tried this year. Last year one distinguished expert on the problem, Mr. Ian Ward of The Daily Telegraph, estimated that one in six of those trying to escape actually reached safety. The rest were turned back by coastal guards, died of exposure, or drowned when their small cockle shell boats sank in the China Sea.
In 1977 it was comparatively rare for the number of refugees who reached safety by boat to exceed 1,500 a month. In 1978 the number of boat people who reached some form of safety reached 6,000 a month, and recently the figure was run- ning at more than 12,000 a month. No one can tell how many more are still waiting to come.
When Vietnam was divided in 1954, 800,000 Vietnamese, many of them Christians, moved from the Communist North to the South. Then it was easy to flee. Now it is comparatively difficult. In the past three and a half years almost 300,000 have fled from Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia and there are no signs of the flow stopping.
Vast uumbers of people put up with extreme danger and extraordinary dis- comfort. Some flee because of social and economic pressures. They may have been connected with the old regime and face re-education. They may have faced transfer from the over-crowded towns to the rigours of the new economic zones in Vietnam where life is arduous, primitive and bleak. Some were from the Buddhist and Christian communities and they took
Page 105Page 106