CONFIDENTIAL
2 -
REFUGEES
3. In the course of a long conversation the main points were as follows:-
(a) The processing centres proposed by the Malaysians should
deal only with boat people. Refugees from Hong Kong should be included in such centres.
(b) The Malaysian idea that processing centres might be set
up in Vietnam raised legal problems for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees as people did not count as refugees until they had left their own country of origin. The Malaysians accepted that there were dangers in pursuing this idea which would probably not in any case be acceptable to the Vietnamese. They thought it might be providing the Vietnamese with an opportunity of passing responsibility to' others for members of their own population for which they had no longer any use. Ghazali repeated his phrase about Malaysia not being prepared to accept "Vietnamese garbage" as the Vietnamese regarded them - and suggested that a processing centre in Vietnam would provide the Vietnamese with a "dustbin" in their own territory.
(c) The Malaysians agreed that any final solution must depend
on the attitude of the Vietnamese. They were sceptical about the likelihood of any pressure on Vietnam being effective. They recognised that a further Chinese attack on Vietnam would only speed up the Chinese exodus.
(d) Of the refugees who had come to Malaysia since 1975, some
14% were ethnic Vietnamese. Of recent arrivals some 25% - 26% were Vietnamese.
(e)
(f)
7
Ghazali said that despite their present policy of turning back refugees, he expected that by the end of the year Malaysia might have up to 90,000 refugees on their territory. However, they had got offers for 52,000 places this year and on this basis they ought to be able to solve the problem in two years. In this context he was very scornful of the French. M. Stirn, the Minister of State in the Quai d'Orsay who had been there recently, had offered to take 2,500 from Malaysia.
On the question of resettlement in other developing countries, eg. in Latin America, Ghazali thought that the essential need was a new fund to help these countries resettle refugees.
(e) Ghazali did not hold out much hope of help from the non-aligned
movement.
/(h) Ghazali
CONFIDENTIAL
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