gistry
DSK II
D.
URITY CLASSIFICATION
Top Secret,
Secret.
Confidential.
Restricted.
Unclassified.
DRAFT
LETTER
To: HE Mr Saleh Basarah
Indonesian Ambassador Indonesian Embassy 38 Grosvenor Square LONDON W1X 9AD
Type 1 +
from
Mr Cortazzi
Telephone No. Ext.
VACY MARKING
In Confidence
Department
Thank you for your letter of 4 April enclosing the statement
of 21 February by His Excellency the Foreign Minister of
Indonesia on refugees from Indo-China, which was made on
behalf of the ASEAN states, and also for the record of his
talks on 27 March with the United Nations High Commissioner
for Refugees. These were most useful for us.
I should be most grateful if your Excellency would assure
Professor Mochtar Kusumaatmadja of the British Government's
deep concern, not only for the plight of the refugees from
Indo-China but also for the serious burdens which ASEAN states
are having to bear as a result particularly of the exodus from
Vietnam.
The British Government have consistently supported the efforts
of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and are a major
financial contributor to his programmes in South East Asia.
We have so far accepted from Indo-China over 1,400 refugees.
In addition, the Home Secretary announced in Parliament, on
17 January, that Britain would accept a further 1,500
Vietnamese refugees over a 15 month period. Of these, 1,000
are to be drawn from the very large number of refugees now in
Hong Kong who are awaiting resettlement elsewhere (there are
now over 17,000 refugees in this category in the Colony and
the number is growing daily at a serious rate) and 250 each
/from
Dd 0532000 800M 5178 HMSO Bracknell
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