-2
British Embassy
Electra House 115-117 Esteban Street Legaspi Village Makati Rizal Philippines
Telephone 89-10-51/8
Mr Bartom
41 that be included now
Submasin.
On B1, pre copy
3/
Nash - Le
A
Nash-Logy may may have/as have aberly given?)
Some obs
K J Woodhouse Esq
Principal Assistant Secretary for
Security
Government Secretari
Hong Konghi rotarifs.
RECEIVED IN REGISTRY
- 2 MAY 1986
Your reference
(90) in SRD 903/20
Our reference
Date
24 April 1986
DESK OFFICER
INDEX
R.PIRY
clove
cc M. Nooh, SHAD
TIMED
PA
Action Take!
2
R+R will
2
ter 29/4
83
A
EX CHINA VIETNAMESE REFUGEES
1.
301
Please refer to your tel. number 206 which deals both with the mercy ship REGINE nad UNHCR allegations that Hong Kong has been encouraging the onward movement of known ex China refugees. I enclose with this letter a self explanatory, if rather lengthy, set of papers submitted by Beyer to the newly appointed Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Ingles. As you will see all the old allegations are there. I have since spoken with Beyer and he confirmed to me that the 55 Vietnamese who arrived in northern Luzon on 9 April have indeed been left in the hands of the Philippine Coast Guard, in the town of Aparri. UNHCR are refusing to have anything to do with them.
2.
Beyer told me that Ingles's initial reaction had been favourable to the UNHCR point of view. But he has since learned that his own arguments were effectively countered with Ingles through the medium of one Joe McCarthy (SP?) of the International Catholic Migration Commission (ICMC). McCarthy apparently argued that to return the ex China Vietnamese to the PRC as UNHCR have suggested raises moral issues (God fearing people into the hands of the Communists etc. according to Beyer).
3.
very logical for a baunch of Puddhists!
The upshot of all this is that Beyer expects the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to do nothing but he fully intends to keep up the pressure on them through the Coast Guard (who are stuck with 55 refugees) and the Commission on Immigration who are apparently sympathetic to his arguments.
4.
Turning now, if I may, briefly to the mercy ship REGINE,
I should report that she has off loaded her cargo of 328 refugees and has sailed to find more. (Paragraph 2 of my tel. number 211 refers). According to Beyer the sailing of the REGINE was reported over the Vietnamese language service of the BBC. He says that this is active encouragement to more Vietnamese to try to make contact with /Dept.the ship. It would be helpful if Hong Kong/could either confirm or deny this allegation, which seems likely to make us unpopular with both the UNHCR and the American refugee coordinators here.
сс CÊ Leeks Esq
Hong Kong Dept. FCO
N A Thorne