TNAG-0888-FCO40-1098-Refugees-from-Vietnam-in-Hong-Kong-Vietnamese-boat-people-1979 — Page 134

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Hkk 243/1

RECEIVED

10.

CESKBY FCO 011200Z

FMM SINGAPORE 0118682 JUN 79.

TO INMEDIATE FCO

D

887

TELNO 175 OF 1 JUNE

DESK OFFICIA INDEX

AND TO IMMEDIATE KUALA LUMPUR BANGKOK JAKANGO A

MOBILA PR

INFO PRIORITY HONG KONG (FOR GOVERNOR) UKM13 NEW YORK, UNITS GENEVA PEKING, MOSCOW, WASHINGTON, HANOI, CANBERRA, WELLINGTON

S49 YOUR TELEGRAM NO 123 TO KUALA LUMPUR: VIETNAMESE REFUCEES.

1. 1 CALLED ON RAJARTNAM THIS MORNING, DHANABALAN WAS ALSO PRESENT..

I LEFT A PIECE OF PAPER SETTING OUT IN EXTENSO THE VARIOUS ACTIONS

LISTED IN PARAGRAPH 1 OF YOUR TUR, I ALSO SUMMARISED THE ACTION "TAKEN BY HMA MOSCOW (MOSCOW TELNY$315) AND THE DISCUSSIONS IN THE

MARGINS OF THE NATO MEETING (YOUR TELNO 91 TO HANOI)

›

2. RAJARATNAM SAID HE ENDORSED OUR VIGOROUS ACTION, BUT IT WAS AN ERROR OF JUDGMENT TO SEEK, AS THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY SEEMED TO BE SEEKING, TO CONCENTRATE ON GAINING VIETNAMESE COOPERATION IM CRGANISING AN ORDERLY EXODUS. TOO MUCH INDIGNATION HAD BEEN GENERATED AGAINST THE COUNTRIES WHICH HAD RECEIVED REFUGEES FOR NOT DOING MORE FOR THEM, THE ONLY CULPRIT WAS VIETNAM: IT WAS HER CONSCIOUS POLICY TO PUSH THESE PEOPLE OUT FIRST TO EASE HER INTERNAL POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC PROBLEMS, BUT ALSO WITH THE DELIBERATE OBJECTIVE OF CAUS- ING INSTABILITY IN ASEAN, THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY SHOULD ADOPT THE LIVE THAT NO GOVERNMENT WAS ENTITLED TO SEEK TO DRIVE ANY PART OF ITS PEOPLE OUT, AND IF CONDITIONS WERE SUCH THAT PEOPLE WANTED TO LEAVE THAT GOVERNMENT WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR THOSE CONDITIONS. IF MORE COUNTRIES OFFERED MORE PLACES FOR REFUGEES, THE VIETNAMESE WOULD ONLY PUSH MORE OUT. HE HAD DISAPPROVED OF THE FAILURE OF THE GENEVA CONF- ERENCE ON REFUGEES TO BRAND VIETNAM WITH THIS PGWN KOHY RESPONSIBILI AS HE HAD OF MOCHTAR'S INSISTENCE AT THE RECENT JAKARTA CONFERENCE ON THE ISLAND PROCESSING CENTRE THAT NO POLITICAL ATTITUDES SHOULD BE ADOPTED. VIETNAM WAS CUT TO GAIN INTERNATIONAL CREDIT AND RESPEC- ABILITY FOR COOPERATING WITH THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY OVER THIS RPOBLEM, THIS WAS A HYPOCRISY WHICH SHOULD NOT BE TOLERATED. IF AT THE CONFERENCE NOW PROPOSED, MEYBERS OF THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY WOULD STAND UP AND NAIL VIETNAM'S GUILT SINGAPORE WOULD SIDE THEM. ONLY IF THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY TOOK THIS LINE AND DEGAN TO TREAT VIETNAM AS A PARIAH WAS THERE ANY PROSPECT OF THEIR BEGINNING TO SEE

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Ane.