TNAG-0898-FCO40-1108-Refugees-from-Vietnam-in-Hong-Kong-Vietnamese-boat-people-1979 — Page 229

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FM MANILA 0594202 OCT 79

TO IMMEDIATE FCO

TELEGRAM NUMBER 409 OF 5 OCTOBER

HKK 24+3

RECENLO

DRUK

MIDEX

PA

INFO BANGKOK, JAKARTA, SINGAPORE, KUALA LUMPUR, HONG KONG AND UKMIS GENEVA,

REFUGEE PROCESSING CENTRE: YOUR TELNO 217.

หางเค

Jek (173)

1820

1. THE MEETING REFERRED TO IN OUR TELNO 391 WAS HELD THIS MORNIB AND REPRESENTATIVES OF THE EEC, USA, ASEAN, CANADA, AUSTRALIA, SWITZERLAND, JAPAN, SWEDEN, NORWAY, DENMARK AND UNHCR WERE PRESENT. 2. MRS MARCOS TOOK THE CHAIR AND ANNOUNCED THAT A SITE AT SABANG, BATAAN, HAD BEEN CHOSEN FOR THE CENTRE WHICH IS TO BE A HALF-WAY ZONE FOR PRE-SELECTED REFUGEES FROM COUNTRIES OF FIRST ASYLUM. MRS MARCOS MADE AN APPEAL TO THOSE GOVERNMENTS REPRESENTED FOR CONTRIBUTIONS FOR THE CONSTRUCTION AND OPERATION OF THE CENTRE. ESTIMATED CAPITAL COST IS 48 MILLION U.S. DOLLARS AND THE YEARLY OPERATIONAL COST IS 22 MILLION U.S. DOLLARS. SUFFICIENT ACCOMODATION SHOULD BE AVAILABLE FOR 18,003 PERSONS BY THE END OF THIS YEAR AND THE CENTRE IS EXPECTED TO BE COMPLETED BY THE END OF APRIL 1993, MRS MARCOS PAID PARTICULAR TRIBUTE TO THE ASSISTANCE SO FAR GIVEN BY THE USA AND HOPED THAT OTHER COUNTRIES WOULD COME FORWARD WITH SUFFICIENT FUNDS TO COMPLETE THE PROCESSING CENTRE. THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR SUPPORTED MRS MARCOS IN HER APPEAL AND DREW ATTENTION TO THE FACT THAT PEOPLE ARE DROWNING EVERY DAY.

3. THERE WERE NO OPPORTUNITIES FOR FURTHER STATEMENTS AND AS REPORTED IN OUR TELNO 396 WHICH RECORDED MR BLAKER'S APPROACH TO MRS MARCOS, THE CASE FOR ACCESS TO THE CENTRE FOR REFUGEES FROM HONG KONG WILL BE FOLLOWED UP WITH THE MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS WHEN HEAD OF CHANCERY CALLS THERE THIS AFTERNOON.

GEORGE

FILES SCAD

HKVGD

UND

FED

MR CORTAZZ-

HL MULLAY

LORD N.G.LENNOX

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