E/CN.4/1503
Annex II page 35
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the authorities realized that harmonious integration of these millions of people into a new socialist framework would not be easy. Consequently the leadership had stressed the urgent need for more intensive security operations, and the official Vietnamese media has carried frequent reports about the success of the security branch, especially in the South, in making arrests of unnamed agents and spies.
110. A high rate
rate of population increase (2.6 per cent) re- presenting yearly 1.3 million more people to feed, combined with an economy all too vulnerable to adverse pressures and the cost of maintaining one of the largest
one of the largest armies in the world speak to continuing material deprivation. The reported lack
of confidence in the authorities by sections of the population, unpopular security
security measures, adverse economic conditions, the desire to rejoin relatives abroad and the fear of relocation are all factors helping to explain why so many people are still attempting to leave the country illegally.
111. An ingenuous attempt was made in mid-1979 to contain the massive outflow of Vietnamese boat people through an "Orderly Departure Programme" (ODP). The Government of Viet Nam and UNHCR signed a memorandum of understanding whereby the latter was to facilitate the departure for resettlement of these Vietnamese desirous of leaving their homeland and who could obtain an entry visa from a receiving country and
and an exit visa from the Vietnamese authorities. Although it was hoped by many at the time of the commencement of the Programme that, linked with the moratorium to which Viet Nam had agreed, it would help reverse the trend of outflow, in fact its implementation met the outset many hurdles, several being of a purely technical nature. The numbers of those leaving under ODP remained very as compared to the outflow of boat people. After a new impetus given by UNHCR, the Programme has picked up some momentum and ODP departures towards the end of 1981 were reported to be over a thousand per month.
112. Finally, what has been called the "pull factor" must be taken into account: the psychological effect upon the Viet- namese population of foreign broadcasts giving the latest information on resettlement quotas; of letters received from those already resettled, couched in glowing terms; of the presence in extra-territorial waters of foreign vessels, merchant ships and motor launches of concerned groups in western countries whose intention it is to save "boat people" undergoing severe hardship. To distraught people contemplating leaving their country, these reassuring elements in the picture must have a certain effect and weigh in their decisions. However great the dangers at sea - of running out of supplies, of pirate attack, of drowning an established escape route exists, even if funds have to be borrowed from those remaining behind to make the attempt, and even if several attempts are made before the final one.
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