''THE PROVISIONS DO NOT TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION THE REQUESTS EY THE COUNCIL FOR THE RIGHT OF ABODE IN THE UNITED KINGDOM FOR ITS MEMBERS WHO HOLD BDTC PASSPORTS.''
THE COUNCIL, WHICH REPRESENTS ASSOCIATIONS WHOSE MEMBERS ARE OF ETHNIC INDIAN ORIGIN, WILL CONTINUE TO LOBBY THROUGH THE BRITISH PARLIAMENT AND HONGKONG'S LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL SEEKING FULL BRITISH CITIZENSHIP WITH THE RIGHT OF ABODE IN BRITAIN.
MR HARILELA SAID MANY ETHNIC INDIANS HAVE LIVED IN HONGKONG FOR SEVERAL GENERATIONS AND IN SOME CASES THEIR FAMILY CONNECTIONS GO
AS FAR BACK AS 1841.
THERE ARE 6,000 BDTCS AMONG THE 14,000 INDIANS IN HONGKONG, AS WELL AS A RELATIVELY SMALL NUMBER OF OTHER NON-CHINESE BDTCS WHO ARE IN THE SAME NATIONALITY POSITION AS THE INDIANS,
HE SAID.
THE COUNCIL FEELS THAT IT IS A BASIC HUMAN RIGHT THAT AS AN INDIVIDUAL SHOULD BE GIVEN AN EFFECTIVE NATIONALITY WITH CLEARLY DEFINED RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES.''
BUT THE PROPOSED PROVISIONS FOR THE ETHNIC BDTC MINORITIES DO NOT SATISFY THIS REQUIREMENT, MR HARILELA SAID.
LIKE THE CHINESE BDTCS, BDTC MINORITIES WILL BECOME BRITISH NATIONALS (OVERSEAS) BEFORE 1997.
THEIR CHILDREN BORN AFTER 1997 WILL HAVE ANOTHER STATUS · BRITISH OVERSEAS CITIZENS AVAILABLE TO THEM FOR TWO GENERATIONS.
''SUBSEQUENT GENERATIONS ARE NOT EVEN COVERED BY THESE PROVISIONS
HE SAID. AND WILL, THEREFORE, BECOME STATELESS,''
**IN FACT, WHAT ARE BEING OFFERED ARE WATERED-DOWN, FORMS OF NATIONALITY ULTIMATELY RESULTING IN NO NATIONALITY.''
OVERALL, HOWEVER, THE COUNCIL CONSIDERS THE 1997 AGREEMENT BETWEEN CHINA AND BRITAIN TO BE A GOOD ONE AND MR HARILELA'S STATEMENT REITERATED ITS MEMBERS' CONFIDENCE IN BEING ABLE TO LIVE, WORK AND PROSPER IN THE PLACE.
2
RESTRICTED
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