TNAG-0888-FCO40-1098-Refugees-from-Vietnam-in-Hong-Kong-Vietnamese-boat-people-1979 — Page 38

GRS 500

CONFIDENTIAL

CONFIDENTIAL

HKK 243/1

RACEVED IN REGISTRY NO.

- 7 JUN1979

OFFICER

DESKBY 043400Z

FM FCO 011959Z JUNE 79

TO IMMEDIATE DEHLI

TELNO 261 OF 1 JUNE

STRY

INC

PA

Action Take:

по

no 87.6

935

INFO PRIORITY HONG KONG (FOR GOVERNOR) UKMIS GENEVA UKMIS NEW YORK WASHINGTON

INFO SAVING HANOI JAKARTA BANGKOK MANILA SINGAPORE KUALA LUMPUR

PARIS MOSCOW UKDEL BRUSSELS

INDO CHINA REFUGEES.

1. CORTAZZI CALLED IN THE MINISTER AT INDIA HOUSE AT 1845 ON 1 JUNE TO TALK ABOUT THE INDO-CHINA REFUGEE CRISIS.

2. HE SAID THAT HE HAD INFORMATION THAT THE VIETNAMESE GOVERNMENT WERE CARRYING OUT A SYSTEMATIC PERSECUTION. IN PARTICULAR THEY SEEMED INTENT ON GETTING RID OF ALL OF THE ETHNIC CHINESE. THIS COULD MEAN A FLOW OF 800,000 TO 1.2 MILLION. WE ESTIMATED THAT TWO THIRDS OF THOSE CURRENTLY LEAVING WERE NOT REACHING THEIR DESTINATION. THIS WAS A MAJOR TRAGEDY, CAUSED BY DELIBERATE GOVERNMENTAL POLICY. THERE WERE ALREADY 200,000 REFUGEES IN THAILAND, 70,000 IN MALYSIA AND OVER 41,000 IN HONG KONG. THE SITUATION WAS LIKELY TO GET WORSE RATHER THAN BETTER.

3. THE FIRST THING TO DO WAS TO FOCUS INTERNATIONAL ATTENTION ON THE PROBLEM. CORTAZZI HANDED OVER TEXTS OF DR WALDHEIM'S MESSAGE OF 24 MAY TO MRS THATCHER, AND THE PRIME MINISTER'S REPLY OF 31 MAY (BOTH BEING COPIED TO YOU AS RETRACTS) AND URGED INDIAN SUPPORT FOR THE PROPOSED CONFERENCE. WE NEEDED URGENTLY TO RESETTLE MORE OF THE REFUGEES IN MORE COUNTRIES. THE RESPONSE SO FAR HAD BEEN MEAGRE WITH A FEW NOTABLE EXCEPTIONS. WE DID NOT EXPECT INDIA TO CONTRIBUTE SUBSTATIALLY IN THIS FIELD,

THOUGH ANY GESTURE WOULD BE VERY WELCOME.

4. WE MUST ALSO TACKLE THE PROBLEM AT SOURCE. WE HAD MADE

REPRENSENTATIONS TO THE VIETNAMESE BOTH HERE AND IN HANOI

IN THE STRONGEST TERMS. BUT UK REPRESENTATIONS HAD LITTLE EFFECT

ON THE VIETNAMESE. WE WERE THEREFORE ASKING OTHER GOVERNMENTS

WITH REPRESENTATION IN HANOI TO APPROACH THE VIETNAMESE. COULD THE INDIANS, WHO TRADITIONALLY HAD CLOSE RELATIONS WITH VIETNAM, USE THEIR INFLUENCE IN HANOI TO PERSUADE THE VIETNAMESE TO CONTROL THE FLOW OF EMIGRANTS, AND TO PREVENT THE APPALING LOSS OF LIFE AND THE SERIOUS PROBLEMS ELSEWHERE IN INDO-CHINA?

15. WE WERE

CONFIDENTAL