RESTRICTED
United Kingdom Mission 37-39 ruo do Vermont 1211 Geneva 20
Telax 22556
Telegrams Prodrome Genera Tempbane 24 28 10 15 23 80
HKK 243/1
RECEIVED
DESK INDEX
3 APR
PA
10.
522
P Morgan Esq
UND FCO.
по
Our
613/3
618/4
30 March 1979
VISIT OF MR DE HAAN, DEPUTY HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR REFUGEES, TO SOUTH EAST ASIA, 26 FEBRUARY - 19 MARCH
1. With my letter of 28 March to Mc Gee, I enclosed De Haan's official report (not to all) on his trip and yesterday the Ambassador called on him for a more candid account of his impressions. We were grateful for the reports on the visit from Hanoi (saving tel no 3), Bangkok (tel no 160), and Hong Kong (Davies' letter of 19 March).
2.
Outflow of Refugees from Vietnam
and
De Haan was heartened by the attitude of the Vietnamese which he described as quite positive. A few flights of family reunification cases had left since January and he hoped that these would build up to one or 2 regular lights per week. De Hoan had reached a "flexible understanding" with the Vietnamese but had not talked to them about quotas or a time scale, which depended entirely upon the number of offers of places becoming available. The way the mechanics of the operation were developing was that applicants for family runification would apply to the local authority for registration for departure, the UNHCR office would then be informed, as they do most of the processing, and this will soon include health checks in cooperation with the Vietnamece. UNHCR would be setting up a "working group" of 5 or so from Geneva, using as the base of operations Ho Chi Minh City to process applicants in the South. Family reunification was a legal option which could make a positive contribution, although perhaps only about 20,000 cases a year would leave in this way. De Haan was optimistic that the Sky Luck would be the last of the big boats; none had appeared since and the number of small boats had decreased. The Vietnamese had clamped down on boats of more than 100 refugees and in some cases money had been refunded. When pressed hard by the American Ambassador during his call on De Haan last week, the latter produced a figure of about 500,000 possible refugees yet to come out, but he did not commit himself to a figure with us. I ought to take the opportunity of clarifying the figure of 80.000 quoted in my letter of 21 March as the number which the US Ambassador said the US would be taking annually from 1 April. you know, the only figure that has so far been published is 51,000, but the 80,000 was later described to me by the US Missir as an internal figure and a well-educated guess of what it is estimated the US might eventually take annually. There is no ++ fact, even legal authority for the 51,000 yet.
DRSSID TANTUA
As
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.