CONFIDENTIAL
Sir Murray MacLehose GBE KCMG KCVO Governor and Commander-in-Chief HONG KONG
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
London SW1A 2AH
29 May 1981
153
See
60A
Hiek 243/2 RECEIVED IN RESTRY NO. 51 1 - JUN 1981
Dem Musay
VIETNAMESE REFUGEES
DESK OFFICER INDEX
REGIST
PA
Action T
20
Pas 7/21
attached
1. I have seen from the minutes of the EXCO meeting on 5 May that the Secretary for Security is to consult the UNIICR on the possibility of repatriating Vietnamese refugees who refuse resettlement
2. Whilst we fully understand why you should be thinking along these lines, we would prefer it not to be raised with UNHCR until we have cleared our minds on it here. As you know only too well, reports from the UNHCR representative in Hong Kong can so easily become distorted by the time they reach Geneva and as a result lines get badly crossed.
3. In the circumstances, we think it would be better if this was not raised with UNHCR yet. If it has already been raised then I hope it can be stressed that the talks were only exploratory.
4. In the meantime, we will look into the implications of what is proposed and let you have our views in due course.
cc: CW Lang Esq UKMIS Geneva
Jones
Dick
R D Clift
Hong Kong and General Department
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