TNAG-0794-FCO40-998-Refugees-from-Vietnam-in-Hong-Kong-Vietnamese-boat-people-1978 — Page 111

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15 DECEMBER 1978

Vietnamese Refugees individual, with a view to enabling the refugees to return to their own countries. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees should play a leading part in assisting in that process. In the mean- time, we should expose the nature of the existing regimes and vigorously proclaim the right of their peoples to live in free- dom from tyranny. Britain should play a leading mole in that.

1.4 p.m.

The Under-Secretary of State

State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Mr. Evan Luard): I congratulate the hon. Member for Beckenham (Mr. Goodhart) on raising a vital topic, perhaps one of the most serious and difficult of all the refugee problems in the world today. It is a situation of great tragedy, of which British public opinion is beginning to be aware. The debate is also timely, because earlier this week there was a United Nations conference on the problem, which I attended. In replying to the debate. I shall try to make use of the experience I gained there.

One can trace the long-term origin of the problem to the terrible war that raged in Vietnam and throughout Indo-China for 30 years, and the fact that the war reflected a division of society within Vietnam-indeed, a division between two separate societies, two different ways of life, two different political philosophies and perhaps above all-two different kinds of economy.

The conquest of one side by the other meant that one of those political philo sophies, one way of life and one type of economy were imposed on the whole country. It is perhaps not altogether surprising that some of those who were used to an entirely different way of life, an entirely different belief in how life should be lived and an entirely different economy no longer found their existence worth while in the new society.

In addition, there has been great poverty, much greater in the south of Vietnam than previously existed. There have been movements of population out of the big cities, out of Saigon-Ho Chi- Minh City, as it now is-into the country- side. Many other factors, including the general human rights position, made many people wish to leave. That movement has been going on for about three years. The figure given by the hon. Gentleman

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Vietnamese Refugees

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of about 700,000 refugees over that period is probably about right. It is a reflection of the dissatisfaction of many people with life in Vietnam as it is today.

We come across a difficult problem here. I do not think that any of us would wish the Government of Vietnam to apply the kind of policies that have been applied by the Soviet Union, East Germany and other countries, of forcibly preventing people who wished to leave from doing so. But we cannot fail to recognise that the present position is creating not merely a tremendous burden on other countries but huge hardship and in many cases loss of life, which it must be our aim to prevent.

Some of the refugees-unfortunately, only a small proportion-leave in an orderly manner. Some go by air from Ho Chi-Minh City to Hong Kong. They are mainly the dependants of people who have already left. As we all know from television and newspapers, many others leave in appallingly dangerous circumn- stances, in small boats that are often un- seaworthy. They have hazardous journeys, do not want to receive them. and may finally arrive in countries that

What can we do? That was the prob- lem confronted by the conference that I attended earlier this week, and it is con- fronted by the entire international com- munity. I shouk like to deal first with the most immediate problem and then go on to the more general, long-term prob- lem.

What can we do to prevent the loss of life of people at sea, which is perhaps the most tragic feature of the whole situa- tion?

It is particularly appalling when we read of Western ships passing small boats carrying refugees, or small islands where refugees are situated, and doing nothing to assist them because of the problems that may occur for the masters of the ships, or the countries to which they belong, over resettl:ment.

seas.

Three things can be done. First, the Governments of Western countries can urge the masters of their ships to pick up refugees wherever they find them on the We have already done this. We first did it a year ago and we officially reiterated our request recently. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the secretary-general of the Inter-Governmental Maritime Consulta- tive Organisation have issued a joint