TNAG-0895-FCO40-1105-Refugees-from-Vietnam-in-Hong-Kong-Vietnamese-boat-people-1979 — Page 76

CONFIDENTIAL

1484

145°

RS 350

CONFIDENTIAL

FM BRUSSELS 3009402 JULY

TO PRIORITY FCO

TELEGRAM NUMBER 109 OF 30 JULY

AND TO PRIORITY UKMIS GENEVA

HKK 24

-43/1

.P.A.

४

INFO ROUTINE HONG KONG WASHINGTON OTTAWA BUENOS AIRES CANBERRA

$

VIENNA COPENHAGEN PARIS BONN TEL AVIV ROME THE HAGUE WELLINGTON OSLO MADRID STOCKHOLM BERNE AND HONG KONG GOVERNMENT OFFICE, LONDON.

(14.69

YOUR TELNO 355 TO CANBERRA : RESETTLEMENT OF VIETNAMESE REFUGEES FROM HONG KONG

nee in 84A

1. WHEN WE TOOK ACTION WITH THE RESPONSIBLE OFFICIAL IN THE BELGIAN MFA, HE TOLD US THAT THE BELGIAN GOVERNMENT HAD NO DIRECT SAY IN THE SELECTION OF REFUGEES AS BETWEEN THE VARIOUS SOUTH EAST ASIAN COUNTRIES/TERRITORIES. SELECTION WAS LEFT ENTIRELY TO THE GROUP OF SIX VOLUNTARY AGENCIES HERE WHO WERE GIVEN THE TASK OF RESETTLING REFUGEES IN BELGIUM IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE OVERALL QUOTA OF TWO

THOUSAND FIXED BY THE BELGIAN GOVERNMENT. DESY SAID HE WAS PUZZLED BY THE FIGURE WHICH WE GAVE HIM OF 300 VIETNAMESE REFUGEES FROM HONG KONG AS ALREADY EARMARKED FOR RESETTLEMENT IN BELGIUM (PARA 6 OF HONG KONG TELNO 1057). HE HAD NOT HIMSELF HEARD OF ANY SUGGESTED ALLOCATION FOR REFUGEES FROM HONG KONG APART FROM THOSE COVERED BY THE FAMILY REUNION PROGRAMME (WHICH HAS BEEN OPERATING FOR MANY YEARS NOW AND WHICH IS QUITE SEPARATE FROM THE RECENT QUOTA OF 2,000 INDOCHINESE REFUGEES).

2. I HAVE NOW SPOKEN TO THE UNHCR REPRESENTATIVE HERE, WHO CONFIRMS THAT RESETTLEMENT PRACTICE IS AS DESCRIBED BY THE MFA. KRENZ SAID

THAT THE BELGIAN VOLUNTARY AGENCIES LOOKED CLOSELY TO THE UNHCR FOR ADVICE. HE BELIEVED THAT BETWEEN 600 AND 1,000 VIETNAMESE REFUGEES WERE NOW ON THEIR WAY TO BELGIUM, MAINLY FROM THAI AND TO A LESSER EXTENT FROM MALAYSIAN CAMPS. TO HIS KNOWLEDGE NONE HAVE SO FAR

BEEN SELECTED FROM HONG KONG. HE HAD RECEIVED NO INSTRUCTION FROM HIS HEAD OFFICE IN GENEVA REGARDING THE DESIRABILITY OF RESETTLING REFUGEES FROM HONG KONG, THOUGH HE COULD WELL APPRECIATE THE PRESENT PROBLEM. KRENZ SAID THAT IF HE WERE SO DIRECTED, HE WOULD PROBABLY BE ABLE TO INFLUENCE THE VOLUNTARY AGENCIES TO TAKE A SUBSTANTIAL NUMBER OF REFUGEES FROM HONG KONG IN THE REMAINING BELGIAN QUOTA.

CONFIDENTIAL

13.