243/1
P Morgan Esq
United Nations Dept FCO.
HEDTHICTED
B.HKK.243/1
STOCKHOLM
28 March 1979.
No J124
मिरज़
1530
Ра
Seat Margen,
SWEDEN'S RECEPTION OF 250 BOAT REFUGEES
In David Wyatt's absence on leave I am replying to your letter of 9 March.
1.
2. I called on 23 March on Sven Hirdman whom David Wyatt had seen on two occasions in January about Vietnamese refugees and who attended the talks here on 9 February when Sir R Hibbert raised this with the Swedes.
3.
Hirdman
I spoke to Hirdman as instructed in your letter. told me that Swedish representatives were already in Malaysia selecting refugees and asked me to refer you to the 24 January press release. He gave no indication that the Swedish authorities would accept any of the refugees now in Hong Kong. One of his colleagues subsequently telephoned me and added to what Hirdman had said that Sweden would bear in mind the importance which the UK attach to the resettlement of refugees now in Hong Kong.
4.
This was as we might have expected. There has been considerable domestic controversy and some Departmental in- fighting over whether Sweden should accept any Vietnamese refugees at all. We cannot hope to elicit a more positive response here and can only repeat the suggestion in our telno .16 of 24 January that since the Swedes collaborate closely with
the UNHCR on this and other refugee questions we should concentrate our efforts on talking to the High Commissioner rather than the Swedish Government.
се
Yous
Jolensa que
JD K Grant
cc: I C Ore Esq, Government Secretariat, Hong Kong
DR Snoxell Esq, UKMIS Geneva
HK&GD, FCO
SEAD, FCO
*
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