TNAG-0498-FCO40-563-Deportation-of-foreign-nationals-from-Hong-Kong-1974 — Page 77

CONFIDENTIAL

ILLEGAL EMIGRANTS FROM SOUTH VIETNAM

BACKGROUND BRIEF

1.

All but one of the group of 119 South Vietnamese citizens who attempted to enter Hong Kong illegally were repatriated to South Vietnam on 17 June. Most were men of conscription age who said they were seeking to avoid the draft.

2. Before they were returned the Vietnamese Government had given us assurances that nothing serious would happen to members of the group who were victims of the syndicate which had smuggled them out of Vietnam, and that cases of violation of the emigration laws would be tried in open court and would not be harshly punished.

3.

Twenty-seven of the 118 are no longer being held in prison - children have been unconditionally released and some women and older people have been released subject to having to report for trial later. The rest are awaiting trial in prisons in or near Saigon.

4. No date can be set for the holding of the trial until an appeal against the decision of the examining magistrate to commit some of the accused for trial has been heard. However the trial could start by the

end of September.

5.

Apart from charges of violating South Vietnamese emigration laws, 13 are to be additionally charged as deserters, 45 for draft dodging and 8 for using false identification papers.

6.

Amnesty International have alleged that members of the group have been ill treated since they were returned to Saigon: in particular, they allege that 14 of the 118 have died and that about 25 men have been sent to frontline units without military training;

and that the group

was savagely beaten. We have pressed Amnesty for their evidence but they have so far failed to produce any.

7.

We are reluctant to ask the Vietnamese to allow a member of our Embassy to visit the prison as this would appear to call in question the assurances that they have given when we have no evidence for doing so. 8. Independent observers looking into the allegations that have been made may wish to see defence counsel, though there may be practical

difficulties over this.

CONFIDENTIAL