(c)
CONI
ITIAL
At a
Programme. At a general meeting attended by 18 ODP countries there was a chorus of appeals to the Vietnamese to change their policy on the question of returnees. bilateral with the UK The Vietnamese did not rule out the
possibility but said that a large-scale returnee programme was not acceptable for the time being: if those who had fled returned now, this would increase Vietnam's economic
difficulties. Vietnam would however continue to consider a
voluntary repatriation on a case-by-case basis.
HMA Hanoi met Vice Minister Tran Quang Co on 9 June.
Co
indicated that for the time being there was little chance
of the UNHCR's idea for assisting with the resettlement of refugees in Vietnam getting off the ground. He also expressed doubts as to the effectiveness of screening as a
deterrent.
6.
In parallel to these developments, the Vietnamese recently
announced troop withdrawals from Cambodia. Co Thach told the
and the rest in 1990.
Secretary of State in New York that half the remaining troops would
leave in 198 It remains to be seen how serious a commitment this
is. Co Thach also acknowledged to the Secretary of State that serious economic mismanagement had been at the heart of Vietnam's
problems for the last 15 years. He said that Vietnam had paid a high price for its leaders' ignorance, but had learned some lessons
and there would be major changes.
RESETTLEMENT
7. The focus of interest in Hong Kong may shift to resettlement
once the new policy has been announced. The UK is likely to come under strong pressure to make a new resettlement commitment. The
UK's record on resettlement since 1975 is good: we have taken over
13000 Vietnamese Boat People from Hong Kong. But our current off