TNAG-0792-FCO40-996-Refugees-from-Vietnam-in-Hong-Kong-Vietnamese-boat-people-1978 — Page 38

CONFIDENTIAL

ANNEX VI

DISPLACED PERSONS IN CYPRUS

1.

There are almost 200,000 involuntarily displaced persons in Cyprus, mainly as a result of the upheavals following the Turkish invasion of the island in 1974. Both the Greek and Turkish Cypriot claims of 180,000 and 38,000 refugees from their own respective communities are probably somewhat exaggerated.

2. Of the Greek Cypriot refugees, some 10,000 are still housed in shanty towns of huts or tents, a large proportion of which are located within the British Sovereign Base Areas (SBAs). The Turkish Cypriot refugees are almost all settled and housed in the north of Cyprus.

3. The UNHCR provides substantial aid for refugee relief work in Cyprus, much of it contributed by the United States. This aid is distributed in the proportion of about 80:20 as between the Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities respectively, with priority in the Greek Cypriot Sector going to housing and medical facili- ties, and in the Turkish Cypriot sector to health, education, forestry and agriculture. The Cyprus Government in May 1978 appealed to a number of countries, including the United Kingdom, for donations through UNHCR to meet what they claim to be an outstanding requirement of US$ 115,000,000. The British Government is still considering its response to this request.

4.

Britain has contributed a total of almost £2 million to UNHCR for refugee relief work in Cyprus, in addition to the provision of certain facilities, mainly medical, for displaced persons within SBAS. The latest British contribution was made in 1975.

ANNEX VII

CONFIDENTIAL