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MEANS DEFINITE YET) WOULD HAVE TO BE VERY SHORT CHALF A DAY) AND WOULD BE LARGELY TAKEN UP BY OTHER BUSINESS: MR PATTEN WOULD HAVE IN NO OPPORTUNITY TO TALK IN DETAIL TO THE REFUGEE PEOPLE THERE. ANY CASE, I REMAIN UNSURE WHETHER WE WOULD BE READY BY THAT TIME TO RAISE THE MATTER AT MINISTERIAL LEVEL WITH UNHCR.
5. MR PATTEN ATTACHES IMPORTANCE TO THE IDEA OF A PILOT REINTEGRATION ASSISTANCE SCHEME AS A MEANS OF GETTING THE BALL ROLLING FAIRLY SOON AND IN ORDER TO REASSURE PUBLIC OPINION IN HONG
KONG. IT IS NOT HOWEVER CLEAR WHETHER HE ENVISAGES QUOTE THE FIRST GROUP OF DETAINEES UNQUOTE AS CONSISTING OF VOLUNTEERS OR NON VOLUNTEERS. IT IS SIMILARLY UNCLEAR FROM HONG KONG TELNO 3625 WHETHER YOU ARE CONTEMPLATING REINTEGRATION ASSISTANCE FOR VOLUNTEERS ALTHOUGH IT SEEMS THAT THIS MAY BE AN APPROACH WHICH SOME UNHCR OFFICIALS FAVOUR (PARA 4 OF THAT TELEGRAM).
6. OUR OWN VIEW AS YOU KNOW, IS THAT WE SHOULD TRY TO KEEP REINTEGRATION ASSISTANCE SEPARATE FROM THE RETURN OF THE FIRST BATCH OF VOLUNTEERS (IE THE 100 OR SO NAMES, VALIDATED BY UNHCR, WHICH WE PLAN TO PUT TO THE VIETNAMESE IN THE SECOND ROUND OF TALKS). OUR THINKING HAS BEEN THAT THE VOLUNTEERS WHICH HAVE ALREADY EMERGED NEED NO FURTHER INDUCEMENT: THAT IT WOULD BE TACTICALLY SENSIBLE FIRST TO GET THE VIETNAMESE TO AGREE IN PRINCIPLE TO A COMPREHENSIVE ARRANGEMENT FOR THE REINTEGRATION OF ALL NON REFUGEES BEFORE GETTING DOWN TO DETAILED DISCUSSION OF REINTEGRATION ASSISTANCE: AND THAT ANY PILOT SCHEME SHOULD COVER
DECIDED TO OF NON VOLUNTEERS RATHER THAN PEOPLE WHO HAD ALREADY RETURN. ON THE OTHER HAND WE RECOGNISE THAT PILOT REINTEGRATION SCHEME COULD ACT AS AN INDUCEMENT TO NEW VOLUNTEERS, AS WELL AS PAVING THE WAY FOR A WIDER REINTEGRATION ASSISTANCE PACKAGE.
THINKING. WE
7.
WE SHALL NEED TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT MINISTERS' ARE ALSO ASKING UKMIS GENEVA TO SOUND OUT UNHCR VIEWS. IN THE MEANTIME IT WOULD BE HELPFUL TO HAVE YOUR OWN VIEWS ON ALL THIS, AND IN PARTICULAR ON WHETHER YOU WOULD CONTEMPLATE REINTEGRATION ASSISTANCE TO VOLUNTEERS AS WELL AS TO NON VOLUNTEERS.
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