[2]
4.
3.
has now
Vera Harley (YMCA and Wings of Friendship) asked for her apology for absence to be added to the minutes.
The Chairman signed the minutes, with these amendments, as a correct record.
MATTERS ARISING
3.1 Biharis in Bangladesh
The Chairman reported on the progress that had been made since the last Asia Committee Meeting, which had been sustained but slow.
He had recently been to Jedda to meet those involved in the project to transfer those Biharis in Bangladesh to Pakistan. The bankers and the building team would soon be leaving Jedda for Islamabad. the resettlement areas had been agreed by the government of Pakistan. There would probably be a meeting of The Joint Committee in Islamabad in January which the Chairman was hoping to attend.
HONG KONG CAMPAIGN
4.1 Deputation to Mr Waddington
The Chairman reported on the deputation to Mr Waddington, the minutes of which had been circulated. He said they had been well received and had had a friendly but non-committal discussion. had taken into account all the points that they had been asked to by the Asia Committee Meeting. They had asked him to consider
Waddindividual cases of family reunion of Vietnamese refugees in Writter David Waddington who at first replied that he had not thought he
Hong Kong with relatives in this country. Two months after the delegation, having received no response, Lord Ennals approached
to the SRC
They
was required to respond, and had then agreed to respond after the publication of the report of the Sub-Committee on Race Relations
and Immigration (SCORRI). It was believed that this report would not be published until late February at the earliest.
agreeing toreconside certain
4.2 Evidence to the SCORRI
The BRC gave evidence on three issues: Procedures for determining
・advance fefugee status in the UK; The resettlement programme for
report.
Vietnamese refugees in the UK; Vietnamese refugees in Hong Kong. The evidence had been given by Joyce Pearce (Ockenden Venture) Julia Meiklejohn (Refugee Action) Sir Arthur Peterson (Chairman, BRC) Martin Barber and Lord Ennals. The evidence had been received sympathetically by the committee.
Martin Barber (BRC) reported on the evidence submitted to the committee by David Waddington on 17th December 1984. He reported the alteration of the BRC request for 584 Vietnamese refugees to be admitted to the UK as family reunion cases. He had said: "Of course I will look again at individual cases" and had said he had thought the agencies would prefer to await a firm decision on this until the report by the SCORRI was received.