A
Private Secretary
CONFIDENTIAL
Hkk 243/1
RECEIVED 131
31 MAYI
DESK OFFIC. INDEX
PA
KO. 31
Act.
780
VIETNAMESE REFUGEES
1.
JB:
You passed on to me this morning comments by the Prime Minister on my letter to Mr Cartledge of 28 May. The following are my comments on these points:
a.
The Prime Minister wants fast action on all fronts.
I have held a meeting of departments and given instructions for immediate follow up.
b. The Prime Minister wants the heat to be put on Taiwan as the obvious recipient for the refugees on the Roachbank. We are telegraphing to Washington asking Mr Blaker, who is there at the moment, to request the Americans to use their good offices. Unfortunately their influence is now very limited and we have no direct channel to Taiwan or means
of putting pressure on them.
c.
is.
The Prime Minister wants to know what the legal position
I attach a note by Mr Watts, Legal Counsellor.
d. The Prime Minister wants to mount' a major international ! campaign against Vietnam and in favour of more resettlement, We are collecting publicity material and will seek ways of
We are publicising the iniquities of the Vietnamese.
preparing further approaches to Governments including a brief for the Quadripartite dinner tonight and the NATO Meeting.
e. The Prime Minister wishes to reply to U N Secretary General Waldheim and the Save the Children Fund today. UN Department · are preparing drafts. There are also suggesting raising the issue in ECOSOC:"
f. The Prime Minister wants the Soviet Ambassador summoned to receive representations about Vietnam. EESD are preparing
notes and seeking an appointment with the Lord Privy Seal. Sir Curtis Keeble, to whom I sent a telegram yesterday, has commented on the telephone that we should try to get the ASEAN countries to make representations in Moscow (we shall follow up on this). He also thinks that we should bear in mind that
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CONFIDENTIAL
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