TNAG-1003-FCO40-1240-Evacuation-of-UK-citizens-from-Dependent-Territories-militar-1981 — Page 18

AGENDA ITEM NO.

13

OAGS' CONFERENCE 1981

SECRET

EVACUATION OF UK PATRIALS FROM DEPENDENT TERRITORIES

1.

Following recent visits to certain of the Caribbean dependencies,

the Inspectors recommended that consideration be given to the possible

preparation of plans for the evacuation of UK citizens in times of

severe danger due either to external threat or internal unrest. The

preparation of such plans is the norm with regard to British communi-

ties in independent countries.

2.

Such plans do not exist in dependent territories. It has long been

a generally accepted principle that it is the first duty of the

Governor to restore law and order; and that all residents, whether UK

patrials or dependent nationals, are entitled to the same protection.

There is also the problem that the preparation of evacuation plans

might become known in the territory and seriously impair public

confidence. The alternative might be to rely on mounting a crash

operation if the need arose.

3. Preliminary consideration has been given to this question by the

relevant departments in the FCO. SED consider that the military

presence in Gibraltar makes any plan superfluous. Moreover, the pros-

pects of need are nil and any leakage would be political dynamite.

4. The view in SAmD in the case of the Falkland Islands was that

evacuation could be to Comodoro Rivadavia in the unlikely event of a

natural disaster, but in the event of attack

would probably have to be much further afield.

Islanders are almost all CUKCS under the present legislation and would

have to be evacuated as well as the 10 DS staff, 10 ODA personnel and

from Argentina, evacuation

The 1,700 or so

SECRET

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