TNAG-0889-FCO40-1099-Refugees-from-Vietnam-in-Hong-Kong-Vietnamese-boat-people-1979 — Page 126

14 ..

!

Press Release SG ́SM/2722 24 May 1979

growing influx, Governments in the region are concerned over inadequate

Again and again they told me, especially in Thailand,

offers of resettlement.

"What can we alone do

with all these refugees? Why does the international community not help us in a better way to solve this problem?" They complained

bitterly about the fact that prospective countries of final asylum are not making more efforts to receive these refugees. For instance, Prime Minister

Kriangsak Chamanan of Thailand told me: We cannot solve the problem alone; we cannot handle hundreds of thousands of refugees alone. So please help us in getting increased offers from prospective countries of final asylum, so that we can solve

this problem,

I have of course explained to the Government of Thailand our position

in regard to the status of refugees. I insisted that all those who leave neighbouring countries-- Democratic Kampuchea or Laos have to be considered

on the basis of international conventions as refugees.

··

We have agreed that I would send a liaison officer to the Government of Thailand

in order to be helpful in this regard. As far as the Vietnamese refugees are

concerned,

has assured me that it will make every effort

the Goverment

•

to normalize the departure of these refugees, in other words, to ensure that they get the necessary documents in order to avoid having boat people trying to flee the country only to drown somewhere because they cannot land. Here we have certainly achieved a more constructive approach, and I hope that this will help to solve

the problem in a more humanitarian way.

Finally, I wish to inform you that this morning I made an appeal to all

countries which have the means to be more co-operative and to help us by giving us

the necessary financial aid and when I say "us" I mean primarily the

High Commissioner for Refugees, with whom only this morning I had a telephone conversation in this regard--and also to make more generous offers to receive refugees in their countries. I repeat this appeal here firmly, because only

in this way -

through better help from comtries which can serve as countries

of fipal asylum we have a chance to solve this great humanitarian problem.