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9. A decision to take such a number on a continuing basis will not
be an easy one for HMG. Resettlement of Vietnamese in this country
is difficult, and there is a high rate of unemployment among them.
Nevertheless we believe that it is the key to unlocking the
resettlement problem,
graver consequences.
continuing
off take
and
We
much
that failure to unlock it will have
therefore believe that the case for a
should be pressed initially with the Home
Secretary, and later if necessary in Cabinet Committee. This should
be coupled with a study of what training might most appropriately be
given to Vietnamese destined for this country in an effort to avoid
some of the problems we face with those already here. This might
include examination
of the possibility of our using the refugee
processing centre at Batan (paragraph 25(a) (iii) of the paper
refers).
10.
Of the other options for increasing resettlement we do not
believe that regional integration offers any prospect of success:
other regional countries such as Thailand have ruled out absorbing
more. Local absorption in Hong Kong might be a possibility for a
small number, but only if the rate of arrivals
can be drastically
reduced.
Decreasing arrivals
11.
Of the
unacceptable.
is clearly
identified options, towing out to sea
Screening new arrivals would be more likely to hinder
efforts to reduce the camp population in the absence of measures
for repatriation. The only identified option which seems to merit further exploration is repatriation to Vietnam.
our
Repatriation
12.
For the
explained reasons
repatriation on a voluntary basis
numbers; there are virtually no
paper
set
out
the
advantages
of in paragraph 25(a)
is unlikely to is unlikely to have much impact on
volunteers. Paras 17 and 18 of the
and
the paper,
drawbacks of involuntary
repatriation. The advantages are obvious:
if we could get a
scheme
going it would enable us substantially to dispose of the problem.
But it is
also clear that there are formidable
being adopted.
The
central points
are that such a
obstacles to its
scheme would not
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