TNAG-1071-FCO40-1321-Resettlement-of-Vietnamese-refugees-from-Hong-Kong-in-other--1981 — Page 4

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3. Lapre said that his authorities now intended to concentrate on clearing its ship-rescue cases from Hong Kong. About 60 refugees from the Largs Bay are due to arrive in the Netherlands on 3 December and arrangements are in hand to bring the remainder to Holland as early as possible in the new year. The problem with the latter is that there is no KLM flight available before early February. Lapre said that the Dutch have pressed the ICM in Geneva and Hong Kong to arrange a charter flight in early January but so far this organisation had not been very cooperative. If ICM were able to arrange a charter flight, the remaining refugees from the Nedlloyd Dejima and Mounts Bay could be accepted on 4 or 5 January. There is a limit to the rate at which refugees can be processed and all other dates in early January have already been allocated to new arrivals from Singapore and Malaysia).

4. On more general questions Lapre said that the amount of money available for resettling refugees, from all sources, had been reduced and in future there would be severe limit- ations on the number of refugees - other than ship-rescue cases - who could be accepted from South East Asia.

As a general rule only those refugees who had close relatives already settled in the Netherlands would be considered. Without mentioning that Stutterheim, Director for General Affairs at the Ministry, had so suggested to Roger Hervey, I asked whether there was any likelihood that the Dutch would be able to increase the proportion of refugees they took from Hong Kong. Lapre said quite unequivocally that there was not. Given the financial constraints within which they were working and the ruling about family ties, Lapre thought that the proportion coming from Hong Kong might even decline.

5. It looks as though there is severe infighting within the MFA as well as within the Dutch Government machine as a whole!

B.

Yours sincerely Елба

Miss Alexandra Adams

CC.

NHS Armour Esq, WED, FCO

C Stitt Esq, SEAD, FCO

R P Margolis Esq, Assistant Political Officer, Hong Kong

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