CONFIDENTIAL
нко
MED 24319
102)
017005
MDHIAN 6028
CONFIDENTIAL
FM KUALA LUMPUR
TO IMMEDIATE FCO
TELNO 157
OF 09090OZ MARCH 89
INFO IMMEDIATE HONG KONG, UKMIS GENEVA
Q DIST ?
INFO PRIORITY BANGKOK, HANOI, WASHINGTON, CANBERRA, OTTAWA INFO PRIORITY TOKYO, PEKING INFO ROUTINE
JAKARTA, SINGAPORE, MANILA, UKMIS NEW YORK, PARIS
FROM UK/HK DELEGATION, PART (B)
MY TELEGRAM NO 154: PREPCON ON INDOCHINA REFUGEES: FINAL DAY
SUMMARY
1. PREPCON ENDS WITH AGREEMENT ALL ROUND. COORDINATING COMMITTEE SET UP AND HOLDS FIRST MEETING. AMMERICANS UNHAPPY, ESPECIALLY ABOUT REGION-WIDE SCREENING, AND COULD STILL CAUSE DIFFICULTIES, BUT EXCELLENT OUTCOME FOR US.
DETAIL
2. THE PREPCON CONCLUDED AT 11.30 AM ON 9 MARCH WITH UNANIMITY ON ALL AGENDA ITMES. IN CLOSING REMARKS, VIETNAM AND THE UNITED STATES BOTH PRAISED THE SPIRIT OF COOPERATION AND DIALOGUE WHICH HAD MADE AGREEMENT POSSIBLE.
3. OVERNIGHT, AGREEMENT WAS REACHED ON THE CREATION OF A COORDINATING COMMITTEE TO OVERSEE THE DETAILED WORK NECESSARY IN THE APPROACH TO THE GENEVA CONFERENCE (TEXT OF CHAIRMAN'S NOTE IN MIFT). JAPAN WAS ANXIOUS TO BE A MEMBER OF THE ''CORE GROUP'' AND THIS WAS AGREED. THE COMMITTEE STARTED WORK AS SOON AS THE PREPCON ENDED WHEN SWITZERLAND JOINED THE COMMITTEE AT ITS REQUEST.
4. THE UNITED STATES, ALONE OF THE WESTDELEGATIONS, CONTINUED TO AGONISE OVER THE TERMS OF THE ASEAN ANNOUNCEMENT OF A CUT-OFF DATE AFTER WHICH ASYLUM-SEEKERS WILL NO LONGER BE AUTOMATICALLY
ELIGIBLE FOR RESETTLEMENT. THEY SAID THAT THEY FEARED THAT A
BOLD STATEMENT WITHOUT REFERENCE TO THE SAFEGUARDS IN THE CPA DELIVERED OUTSIDE THE FRAMEWORK OF THE PREPCON COULD UNDERMINE THE HUMANITARIAN STANDARDS FOR DEALING WITH VBPS SINCE 1979. AMBASSADOR MOORE SAID THAT THE US GOVERNMENT TOOK THIS POSSIBILITY EXTREMELY SERIOUSLY AND FAILURE TO RESOLVE IT COULD COLOUR THE AMERICAN APPROACH TO THE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE. AFTER A DIFFICULT MEETING
1
PAGE CONFIDENTIAL