CONFIDENTIAL
3. MURRAY ADDED THAT IN OUR VIEW MORE GOVERNMENTS HAD TO BE PERSUADED TO ACCEPT VIETNAMESE REFUGEES.
AT THE PRESENT POINT ONLY A HANDFUL OF COUNTRIES HAD ADMITTED SIGNIFICANT NUMBERS. EVEN TINY HONG KONG HAD ABSORBED 15,000. BUT THERE WERE NOW MORE THAN 40,000 UNABSORBABLE BOAT PEOPLE IN HONG KONG AND MORE WERE ARRIVING AT A RATE OF 1,000 A DAY. THE UK HAD LARGE EXISTING IMMIGRATION COMMITMENTS. AT THE PRESENT POINT, SWEDEN HAD ADMITTED ONLY 200 REFUGEES. IT WAS HOPED THAT THE SWEDES COULD NOW ADOPT A POSITIVE
APPROACH ON THIS ISSUE.
4. RYDBECK PROMISED TO TRANSMIT THESE REMARKS
IMMEDIATELY TO STOCKHOLM WHERE THEY WOULD BE CONSIDERED AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL. ON 2(A), RYDBECK, SPEAKING ON A PURELY PERSONAL BASIS, THOUGHT THAT THE RESPONSE OF HIS AUTHORITIES WOULD BE POSITIVE. ON 2(B) RYDBECK
COULD GIVE NO INDICATION AND SAID THIS WOULD CERTAINLY
HAVE TO BE DECIDED BY THE SWEDISH FOREIGN MINISTER.
HE SAID NOTHING ON THE SUBJECT OF SWEDISH WILLINGNESS
TO ACCEPT MORE REFUGEES.
5. PLEASE TAKE PARALLEL ACTION WITH MFA AFTER THE
PUBLIC HOLIDAY.
CARRINGTON
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SIR A DUFF
SIR A PARSONS MR CORTAZZI . MR J.C. MOBERLY MR MURRAY
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