TNAG-1068-FCO40-1318-Resettlement-of-Vietnamese-refugees-from-Hong-Kong-in-the-UK-1981 — Page 52

CONFIDENTIAL

Sir Murray MacLehose GBE KCMG KCVO Governor and Commander-in-Chief HONG KONG

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

London SW1A 2AH

29 May 1981

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Hiek 243/2 RECEIVED IN RESTRY NO. 51 1 - JUN 1981

Dem Musay

VIETNAMESE REFUGEES

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1. I have seen from the minutes of the EXCO meeting on 5 May that the Secretary for Security is to consult the UNIICR on the possibility of repatriating Vietnamese refugees who refuse resettlement

2. Whilst we fully understand why you should be thinking along these lines, we would prefer it not to be raised with UNHCR until we have cleared our minds on it here. As you know only too well, reports from the UNHCR representative in Hong Kong can so easily become distorted by the time they reach Geneva and as a result lines get badly crossed.

3. In the circumstances, we think it would be better if this was not raised with UNHCR yet. If it has already been raised then I hope it can be stressed that the talks were only exploratory.

4. In the meantime, we will look into the implications of what is proposed and let you have our views in due course.

cc: CW Lang Esq UKMIS Geneva

Jones

Dick

R D Clift

Hong Kong and General Department

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