HANOI TZLELETTER 289
CONFIDENTIAL
FOLLOWING FROM
D TONKIN,
HANOI.
FILE REFERENCE :
243/4 OF 9 AUGUST 1982
FOLLOWING FOR
L M DAVIES, HONG KONG
HKK 24-3/1
COPIED TO
R D CROFT, HKGD, FCO
K FX BURNS, SEAD, FCO
SIR J CATER, HKGO LONDON.
C W LONG, UKMIS GENEVA L
倔
see
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268
VIETNAMESE REFUGEES: CLOSED CAMPS
185
1. HONG KONG TELNO 014 TO HANOI.
2. IT IS REALLY VERY DIFFICULT FOR ME TO PROVIDE MORE THAN A
SPECULATIVE ASSESSMENT ON THE LINES REQUESTED IN PARA 3 OF HONG
KONG TELEGRAM UNDER REFERENCE. 78 £--3, FOR EXAMPLE, NO IDEA OF
THE EXTENT OF LOCAL KNOWLEDGE OF THE CLOSED CAMP POLICY AND NO
F MEANS OF ZINDING OUT. IF ONE IN FIVE OF NEW ARRIVALS IN JULY
WERE ALREADY AWARE OF THE NEW POLICY, THEN UNDOUBTEDLY THIS
KNOWLEDGE WILL SPREAD. I THINK IT UNLIKELY THAT THE VIETNAMESE
AUTHORITIES THEMSELVES WILL TAKE ANY MEASURES TO PUBLICISE THE
NEW POLICY, UNLESS FOR SOME INTERNAL POLITICAL REASON THEY SEE ADVANTAGE IN SO DOING. THERE WOULD, FOR EXAMPLE, BE NO POINT IN
PROMOTING ARTICLES IN THE TWO MAIN NATIONAL DAILIES. (NHAN DAN
AND QUAN DOI NHAN DAN) SINCE CIRCULATION IS SO LOW (ABOUT
300,000 COPIES OF EACH AMONG A POPULATION OF 55 MILLION). THE
ONLY EFFECTIVE MEANS OF REACHING THE VIETNAMESE PEOPLE IS FROM
OUTSIDE, IE BBC AND VOA. NEWS TRAVELS BY WORD OF MOUTH IN A VERY
SHORT TIME.
3. AS YOU KNOW, WE HAVE DONE EVERYTHING POSSIBLE IN HANOI TO
ENSURE THAT THE AUTHORITIES HAVE BEEN FULLY INFORMED. AS EARLY
AS 14 MAY (MY TELELETTER 020/2 OF 17 MAY TO KEVIN BURNS, SEAD),
I TOLD VICE FOREIGN MINISTER HA VAN LAU THAT HONG KONG WERE
CONSIDERING CLOSED CAMPS AND ON 13 JULY (HANOI TELNO 18 TO HONG
KONG) AND AGAIN ON 27 JULY (ROBERTS LETTER 243/4 OF 28 JULY TO MARGOLIS), MY HEAD OF CHANCERY LEFT COPIES OF AN AIDE MEMOIRE ON
THE SUBJECT WITH THE MFA. THERE HAS SO FAR BEEN NO VIETNAMESE COMMENT OR REACTION. I SHALL BE IN HO CHI MINH CITY LATER THIS MONTH AND WILL MAKE SURE THAT THE AUTHORITIES THERE ARE FULLY BRIEFED. BUT DOUBT THAT THEY EITHER WILL REACT TO MY BRIEFING.
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