CONFIDENTIAL
FM PARIS
TO DESKBY 22110OZ FCO
CONFIDENTIAL
ADVANCE COPY
TELNO 367
OF 22104OZ APRIL 93
INFO DESKBY 22110OZ HONG KONG
аз фор сони
treat as
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176404 MDADAN 3955
par des BJ,
I discussed this idea wirf Nigel Banker lave night. He was sceptical. Pl. pursue.
MACGREGOR'S LETTER TO HKD OF 22 JANUARY AND TELECONS MACGREGOR/MORRIS: EXTRADITION OF RAIS BIN SANIMAN
SUMMARY
1.
2214 مل
Need for immediate political intervention on Saniman case. Suggested text of draft letter from Attorney General to Minister of Justice in MIFT.
DETAIL
2.
After receipt of a copy of the observations of Saniman's lawyer to the Conseil d'Etat (Clifford Chance, Paris, have translated and Hong Kong should now have received this), H of C called on the Lawyer representing the British and Hong Kong Governments yesterday evening.
3.
The urgent point that emerged is that Mme Masse-Dessen has Learned that the Ministry of Justice has been asked for its observations on ours of 11 March and those of Saniman, and that the deadline for this is 24 April. She was dismayed to learn that we had not yet made political contact with the new Justice Minister as
She per the timetable proposed to Hong Kong and HKD in LUR. advised that if we could possibly get a Ministerial foot in the door before 24 April, we should. Otherwise the new French Minister would
(probably) unknowingly be signing up to the policy of the previous government, greatly diminishing the chances of his reviewing the matter in our favour.
4. In order to accelerate matters, we have prepared the draft in MIFT which makes the French handling points we consider necessary. Mme Masse-Dessen has advised that, as much as possible, we should put the British Government up front because it is with the UK that France has an extradition treaty, not Hong Kong, and because of
We have British responsibility for Hong Kong's external relations.
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22 APR 1993
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