nakutana Caspikadant n'ondado de ANDRESSINATAŠC mat Zanih masaki ZREZANDLARCON N', a
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SAID SPECIFICALLY TO VU KHOAN THAT THE VIETNAMESE AUTHORITIES SHOULD ALLOW ACCESS BY THE MEDIA TO THE RETURNEES. IF THEY DID, THEY WOULD GET A GOOD PRESS (SEMI-COLON) IF THEY DID NOT, THEY WOULD BE LIKELY TO GET A BAD PRESS. THIS MAY HAVE WORKED. JON SWAIN OF THE SUNDAY TIMES TOLD ME OVER DINNER THIS EVENING THAT ACCESS WAS APPARENTLY GOING TO BE GRANTED OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS IN HAIPHONG.
5. BOTH LE THO AND VU KHOAN RAISED AS THEIR SECOND POINTS THE ISSUE OF FORCE. WITH LE THO A GOOD DEAL OF TIME WAS WASTED DEALING WITH THE SILLIER MEDIA REPORTS ALLEGING THE USE OF VERY CONSIDERABLE FORCE IN HONG KONG. HE CONCEDED AT MY INSISTENCE THAT NOT EVEN THE RETURNEES THEMSELVES HAD SUGGESTED THAT THERE HAD BEEN ANY USE OF PHYSICAL FORCE. I REMINDED HIM THAT WE WERE DEALING WITH NON- VOLUNTEERS WHO WERE BEING MANDATORILY REPATRIATED, NOT PEOPLE WHO WERE EAGER TO GET BACK TO THEIR HOMELAND. BOTH HE AND THEN VU KHOAN THEN FOCUSSED ON THE NUMBER OF POLICEMEN ON THE AIRCRAFT. ON THIS PARTICULAR POINT I THINK THAT BOTH OF THEM HAD BEEN GENUINELY SHOCKED BY THE SIZE OF THE POLICE CONTINGENT. THEY SAID THAT IT WAS SURELY EXCESSIVE FOR AN OPERATION CONSISTING OF REPATRIATES WHO WERE NOT RESISTING RETURN AND AGAINST WHOM NO FORCE WAS TO BE USED. I SAID THAT THE NUMBERS MIGHT INDEED SEEM LARGE TO ANYONE NOT FAMILIAR WITH SUCH OPERATIONS. HOWEVER, GIVEN THE AMOUNT OF VIOLENCE WHICH HAD OCCURRED IN THE CAMPS BETWEEN GROUPS OF VIETNAMESE AND IN PARTICULAR THE VIOLENCE WHICH HAD BEEN DIRECTED AT THOSE WHO HAD VOLUNTEERED TO RETURN, IT WAS THE DUTY OF THE HONG KONG AUTHORITIES TO ENSURE THE SAFETY OF THOSE WHO WERE BEING RETURNED. IT WAS ALSO THE DUTY OF THE AUTHORITIES ENSURE THAT NO INDIVIDUAL AMONGST THOSE ON BOARD THE AIRCRAFT COULD ACT IN SUCH A WAY AS TO ENDANGER THE OTHER PASSENGERS, THE CREW OR THE AIRCRAFT. I ASSURED THEM THAT I WOULD OF COURSE PASS ON THEIR VIEWS TO YOU BUT SAID THAT SECURITY WOULD HAVE TO
REMAIN A FUNDAMENTAL CONCERN FOR US ALL.
ΤΟ
6. AS REPORTED IN MY TELNO 697, BOTH LE THO AND VU KHOAN REFERRED TO A NUMBER OF POINTS RAISED BY THE RETURNEES THEMSELVES TO ME WHEN I MET THEM AT THE TRANSIT CENTRE. VU KHOAN DID NOT DWELL ON THEM (SEMI-COLON) LE THO TYPICALLY, TRIED TO MAKE A MEAL OF THEM, BUT
I CUT HIM OFF BY POINTING OUT THAT I HAD ALREADY SOUGHT THE VIEWS OF
THE HONG KONG AUTHORITIES.
7. IN THE MORNING, LE THO PROMISED THAT HE WOULD COMMIT THE POINTS HE HAD MADE TO PAPER. AT THE END OF MY SESSION WITH VU KHOAN. THE LATTER GAVE ME A DIPLOMATIC NOTE WHICH, HE SAID, CONTAINED THE POINTS WHICH HE HAD JUST MADE. I SHALL HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL MONDAY
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