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CONFIDENTIALRECEVA..
REGISTRY
29 JUL 1988
OFFICER
INDE
PA
115615
MDHOAN 1339
CONFIDENTIAL
FM FCO
TO IMMEDIATE HONG KONG
TELNO 1990
OF 28142OZ JULY 88
AND TO IMMEDIATE UKMIS GENEVA
TOP COPY
JOT ?
INFO PRIORITY SINGAPORE, MANILA, JAKARTA, BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN INFO PRIORITY WASHINGTON, CANBERRA, OTTAWA, TOKYO, PEKING INFO PRIORITY KUALA LUMPUR, BANGKOK
MIPT
VIETNAMESE BOAT PEOPLE : VISIT OF UNHCR DELEGATION
1.
WE WERE GRATEFUL FOR THE REPORTS IN HANOI TELNO 272 AND BANGKOK TELNO 510. IN PARTICULAR IT WAS INTERESTING TO NOTE THE APPARENTLY POSITIVE ATTITUDE THE VIETNAMESE ARE TAKING TOWARDS THE TALKS (SECOND TUR) AND THE VIETNAMESE VIEW REPORTED IN FIRST TUR THAT HONG KONG'S SCREENING POLICY SHOWS THAT THE PROBLEM HAS ENTERED A NEW PHASE AND THAT THERE ARE NOW QUOTE NEW RULES TO THE GAME UNQUOTE. SO MUCH FOR UNHCR'S CONCERNS THAT THE INTRODUCTION OF THE NEW POLICY WAS PREMATURE AND WOULD UNDERMINE UNHCR'S EFFORTS TO SEEK A SOLUTION IN DIALOGUE WITH VIETNAM.
NFM
2.
WE WERE ALSO ENCOURAGED BY DE MELLO'S APPARENTLY TOUGH LINE THAT ALL ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS SHOULD BE REPATRIATED TO VIETNAM. 3.
ON AID THE VIETNAMESE LINE REMAINS UNCLEAR, BUT WE TAKE SOME ENCOURAGEMENT FROM DE MELLO'S SPECULATION THAT THE
VIETNAMESE ARE UNLIKELY TO SEEK TO WIDEN THE DISCUSSION TO UNDERMINE OUR POLICY ON CAMBODIA. HOWEVER, WE SHOULD STILL APPROACH THE QUESTION OF AID WITH GREAT CAUTION.
4.
FOR UKMIS GENEVA: WE WOULD BE GRATEFUL FOR ANY FURTHER INFORMATION YOU CAN OBTAIN ON THESE TALKS FOLLOWING DE MELLO'S RETURN TO GENEVA.
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.VIETNAMESE REFUGEES IN HK
SPD
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