XN000022-1995-05-22 — Page 4

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Governor: I think it reflects the amount of violence that was being used by some of the Vietnamese migrants. I think it also shows how brave our disciplined services are.

Question: What do you think prompted the rioting this time as oppose to in April?

Governor: It is difficult to say given that we behaved in exactly the same way. There have of course been reports of things that have been said, things that have been done in the American Congress and there is of course a great deal of speculation and that is unlikely to have been particularly helpful. But that's only speculation. All that I will say is that our policy and our determination have not changed one inch.

Question: Governor, how would you deal with the next 8,000 Vietnamese migrants in the Whitehead Detention Centre so as to later remove them. Would a similar situation occur later?

Governor: I hope a similar situation doesn't recur. We will continue to behave sensibly, giving proper counselling, when we have to move migrants between camps in this sort of way. But I want to repeat that we remain absolutely determined, operating as we have been within the law and within international agreements to move Vietnamese migrants and to send the Vietnamese migrants home under the Comprehensive Programme of Action. I hope that more will volunteer but where necessary we would also send Vietnamese migrants home under the mandatory programme.

Question: Someone has criticised about the operation timing as not appropriate and simply regarded as a provocation to the Vietnamese migrants?

Governor: I don't think the provocation came from those who were carrying out the operation. I think the provocation came from some of the Vietnamese migrants. We went through exactly the same procedures on this occasion as we had been through in April when there wasn't any problem.

End/Monday, May 22, 1995