CONFIDENTIAL
The Government is particularly concerned at the reports of an
organised scheme whereby large ships are chartered through the connivance of Vietnamese officials and unscrupulous entrepreneurs to pick up thousands of refugees directly from Vietnam and then sail
unbidden to neighbouring countries. Noble Lords will have read the
articles in the Observer of 11 February and Daily Telegraph of 10 February about this cynical arrangement. I believe that these articles give a good impression of what is going on. It is scarcely possible to believe that organised departures on such a scale could be taking place without the full knowledge of the Government concerned.
My Right Honourable Friend, the Secretary of State for Foreign
and Commonwealth Affairs, recently summoned the Vietnamese Ambassador to express his concern about such reports and to say that any dubious
practices should be stopped. The Government's concern was reiterated by a senior official to the Ambassador on 13 February. My Right
Honourable Friend previously told the Ambassador of the concern felt
by the Government and the British people, including many who were not unsympathetic to the Vietnamese during the Indo China war, about the overall human rights situation in Vietnam.
I regret to say that there is no evidence that the Vietnamese Government have significantly altered their policies. As I have said, a further vessel, the Skyluck, has now arrived in Hong Kong with another 3,000 refugees. Other vessels may be on the way. The consequences of this are under consideration but they must inevitably affect our wider relationship with Vietnam.
There obviously has to be some order in dealing with the flow from Vietnam. The Vietnamese government have said they will cooperate with the High Commissioner for Refugees in taking measures to allow those Vietnamese who wish to do so to leave Vietnam in an orderly
fashion. But it remains to be seen whether this statement represents
even if so, how it will work out in
a genuine change of heart and, practice.
CONFIDENTIAL.