shortly.
DSR 11C (Revised 5/87)
The Vietnamese agreed that returnees should be
SECURITY CLASSIFICATION humanely treated and subject to monitoring on return.
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UNHCR's proposals will cover these aspects. I warned in
my minute of 2 September that we could face criticism
when the time came to implement a policy of returning
boat people to Vietnam. The press reaction to the London
talks has borne this out, despite the careful briefings.
which we have given. In Hong Kong the outcome has been
generally welcomed.
Charles Powell's letter of 5 September also raised
the question of a possible endowment scheme to encourage
other countries to take Mase economic migrants from Hong
Kong. In practice I am not sure how this would work.
If Vietnam can be persuaded to take its own
(back)
economic migrants in accordance with normal international
practice and we are now making some headway in this
this must be preferable to creating yet another displaced
community in a third country. Financial considerations
are not a major factor for the developed resettlement
They see the boat people problem primarily as
countries.
a refugee/humanitarian issue, and would not respond to
financial incentives to take economic migrants. Other
governments, in the unlikely event that they were
interested, could be expected to exact a very high price.
I therefore for participating in any such scheme.
believe we should continue to concentrate our efforts on
establishing suitable arrangements for the return of all
its economic migrants to Vietnam