TNAG-0883-FCO40-1093-Refugees-from-Vietnam-in-Hong-Kong-Vietnamese-boat-people-1979 — Page 15

gistry

DSK II

D.

URITY CLASSIFICATION

Top Secret,

Secret.

Confidential.

Restricted.

Unclassified.

DRAFT

LETTER

To: HE Mr Saleh Basarah

Indonesian Ambassador Indonesian Embassy 38 Grosvenor Square LONDON W1X 9AD

Type 1 +

from

Mr Cortazzi

Telephone No. Ext.

VACY MARKING

In Confidence

Department

Thank you for your letter of 4 April enclosing the statement

of 21 February by His Excellency the Foreign Minister of

Indonesia on refugees from Indo-China, which was made on

behalf of the ASEAN states, and also for the record of his

talks on 27 March with the United Nations High Commissioner

for Refugees. These were most useful for us.

I should be most grateful if your Excellency would assure

Professor Mochtar Kusumaatmadja of the British Government's

deep concern, not only for the plight of the refugees from

Indo-China but also for the serious burdens which ASEAN states

are having to bear as a result particularly of the exodus from

Vietnam.

The British Government have consistently supported the efforts

of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and are a major

financial contributor to his programmes in South East Asia.

We have so far accepted from Indo-China over 1,400 refugees.

In addition, the Home Secretary announced in Parliament, on

17 January, that Britain would accept a further 1,500

Vietnamese refugees over a 15 month period. Of these, 1,000

are to be drawn from the very large number of refugees now in

Hong Kong who are awaiting resettlement elsewhere (there are

now over 17,000 refugees in this category in the Colony and

the number is growing daily at a serious rate) and 250 each

/from

Dd 0532000 800M 5178 HMSO Bracknell

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