GRS 300A
CONFIDENTIAL
Hkk243/1
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CONFIDENTIAL
FM F C O 012003 Z JUNE 79
TO PRIORITY HAVANA
TELEGRAM NUMBER 95 OF 1 JUNE
DISK V
INDEX
по
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INFO GOV HONG KONG, UKMIS GENEVA, UKMIS NEW YORK WASHINGTON INFO SAVING HANOI, BANGKOK, SINGAPORE, JAKARTA, MANILA BRUNEI
CANBERRA, KUALA LUMPUR, PARIS, MOSCOW, UKDEL BRUSSELS
VIETNAME SE REFUGEES: CUBA.
•
1. CORTAZZI ASKED THE CUBAN AMBASSADOR, BOLANOS, TO CALL TODAY
TO EXPLAIN OUR CONCERN ABOUT THE VERY LARGE NUMBER OF PEOPLE
MAINLY ETHNIC CHINESE, LEAVING VIETNAM. HE SAID THAT 70,000
REFUGEES FROM VIETNAM ARE NOW IN CAMPS IN MALAYSIA AND OVER
41,000 IN HONG KONG. YESTERDAY A FURTHER 1,500 1,600 VIETNAME SE
REFUGEES ARRIVED BY BOAT IN HONG KONG AND THE PRESSURE WAS
ENORMOUS UPON THE IR ALREADY HUGE POPULATION.
2. CORTAZZI SAID THAT IT WAS OUR UNDERSTANDING THAT THE VIETNAMESE
GOVERNMENT INTENDED TO REMOVE THE BULK OF THE IR ETHNIC CHINESE
POPULATION OF UP TO 1.2 MILLION PEOPLE. CONDITIONS MUST INDEED BE
VERY BAD AS PEOPLE WERE PAYING LARGE SUMS TO LEAVE AND YET WERE PREPARED TO TAKE THE RISK THAT THEY MIGHT NEVER ARRIVE CORTAZZI
POINTED OUT THAT UP TO TWO THIRDS OF THE PEOPLE LEAVING VIETNAM
PROBABLY NEVER ARRIVED AT THE IR DESTINATIONS. THE WORLD WAS FACING A MAJOR HUMANITARIAN DISASTER.
.
3. CORTAZZI SAID THAT H.M.G. WERE CALLING ON ALL GOVERNMENTS
FRIENDLY TO VIETNAM TO EXERCISE THE IR INFLUENCE IN HANOI IN
AN ATTEMPT TO MITIGATE THIS HUMAN TRAGEDY AND TO ENSURE THAT ANY
EXODUS WAS PROPERLY CONTROLLED, THE PRIME MINISTER HAD URGED
DR WALDHE IM TO CALL A CONFERENCE ON THE REFUGEE PROBLEM AND
CORTAZZI EXPRESSED THE HOPE THAT THE CUBANS WOULD SUPPORT THIS
AND GIVE IT THE IR BACKING.
CONFIDENTIAL
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