Cypher
CONFIDENTIAL
OUTWARD TELEGRAM
FROM THE COMMONWEALTH OFFICE (The Secretary of State)
TO HONG KONG (0.A.G.)
Sent 7 July 1967. 2245Z
HWB3/3
91
CONFIDENTIAL No.1391
Following saving of 5 July from Lisbon addressed to Foreign Office saving No.17 repeated for information to Hong Kong.
Begins.
In conversation with me today (4. 7. 67) the Minister for Foreign Affairs raised the question of the conversation between the Portuguese Ambassador in London and Mr. Rodgers on the subject of the treatment to H.M. Consul in Macao.
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He told me that the Portuguese Ambassador had received instructions to approach you again in the matter with some further explanations. Minister's line was that the Portuguese authorities had in fact given Mr. Ions as much protection as they could. They very much regretted the fact that he had been kept waiting for so many hours in his own courtyard but while they had every sympathy for him they felt that perhaps he was himself partly to blame for agreeing to receive the deputation at all. Minister also mentioned that purely out of a desire to avoid troubling the Portuguese authorities Ions had on occasions gone into the town without an escort, which they felt to be somewhat unwise. In general the Portuguese authorities had done their utmost to protect H.M. Consul, but there were occasions when it was quite impossible for them to do so without sparking off very much more serious trouble. The Minister said in fact that they had the force to quell disturbances, with great loss of life, but naturally this would be disastrous in the long run. In saying this he may have had in mind an incident of which I have seen a Reuter report, when the Portuguese were obliged to make an apology for having injured anti-British demonstrators.
3. I took this opportunity to raise question of the anti-British broadcasts from Macao (F.0. telegram No.677 to Lisbon) and asked whether there was anything Portuguese could do to stop them. He said he had not heard about this, and would look into it.
Ends.
Distribution H.K. W.I.D. 'C'
I.G.D.
CONFIDENTIAL
PA
11/7/67
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