TNAG-1071-FCO40-1321-Resettlement-of-Vietnamese-refugees-from-Hong-Kong-in-other--1981 — Page 5

HKK

HOFO 215/26

243/4

*C. ST

60545/46

2 OCT 1981

13

GRS 700

RESTRICTED

TELELETTER

FM R P MARGOLIS, APA HONG KONG

Mr Willerism

done pho

29/19/81

Rejisti c. par stilt 2. Chest -

FILE NUMBER CR12/4821/79 AND SCR 48/4821/793. £/time,

DATE 26 OCTOBER 1981

FOLLOWING FOR P J WILLIAMSON, ESQ, HKGD FCO

R BR HARVEY ESQ, THE HAGUE

17

726.10

J27.10

Br

noted 100 3/11

VIETNAMESE REFUGEES: RESETTLEMENT IN NETHERLANDS. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TELELETTER OF 20 OCTOBER. THE NEWS FROM THE HAGUE DOES NOT ALTOGETHER TALLY WITH OUR EXPERIENCE IN DEALING WITH

THE DUTCH HERE. WE SO NOT WISH TO DETER THEM OR ANYONE- FROM

TAKING MORE OF HONG KONG'S REFUGEES: BUT IN PURUSING OUR POLICY OF

ENSURING THAT SHIP RESCUE CASES ARE REMOVED FROM HONG KONG BY THE DUE DATE, WE HAVE FOQRYYYZE DUT

BHLLR QVNG THE MOST SLUGGISH

OF THE RESCUE COUNTRIES. THE REASON QUOTED BY THE CONSULATE-GENERAL

IS SHORTAGE OF APPROPRIATE TRANSIT ACCOMMODATION IN THE NETHER- LANDS. IF THE NEWS FROM THE HAGUE MEANS THAT ADDITIONAL FACILITIES

ARE TO BE PROVIDED, THIS IS IN ITSELF MOST WELCOME. FROM HONG KONG'S POINT OF VIEW, HOWEVER, IT WOULD BE HELPFUL IF THE RENEWED INTEREST YOU REPORT COULD BE TRANSLATED AS A START, INTO THE PROMPT REMOVAL OF OUTSTANDING DUTCH SHIP-RESCUE CASES FROM HONG KONG. 2. OUR POLICY IS TO LAND SHIP-RESCUE REFUGEES IN HONG KONG ONLY AGAINST A FIRM GUARANTEE BY THE FLAG STATE THAT THEY WILL REMOVE

AFTER THREE MONTHS ANY WHO CANNOT MEANWHILE BE PLACED WITH OTHER

RESETTLEMENT COUNTRIES. WE ARE PREPARED WITHIN REASON TO BE FLEXIBLE OVER EXACT DEPARTURE DATES, BUT WE HAVE MADE CLEAR TO THE

DUTCH HERE THAT THERE IS NO QUESTION OF ALLOWING THEM SIMPLY TO CALL FORWARD SHIP- RESCUE CASES AT A PACE TO SUIT THEIR OWN CONVENIENCE. AN UNDERTAKING IS AN UNDERTAKING, AT PRESENT, 40 PER CENT OF OUR UNCLEARED BACK-LOG OF SHIP RESCUE CASES IS FROM

DUTCH SHIPS, WHICH REGRETTABLY PUTS THE DUTCH AT THE TOP OF THE

BLACK LIST. THE DETAILS ARE:

LARGS BAY (ARR HK 21 MAY) 59

NEDLLOYD DEJIMA ( ARR HK 5 JULY ) - 88

MOUNTS BAY (ARR HK 15 JULY) + 15

(THESE ARE NETT FIGURES, WHICH EXCLUDE THOSE ACCEPTED FOR RESETTLEMENT ELSEWHERE).

3. WE DO NOT WANT TO SEEM GRUDGING ABOUT THE SUBSTANCE OF THE DUTCH APPROACH, WHICH IS OF COURSE GOOD NEWS: WE WOULD CERTAINLY WELCOME THE DUTCH TAKING MORE OF HONG KONG'S EXISTING CASELOAD, BUT IT GOES GIVE US A TIMELY CONTEXT IN WHICH TO RAISE WITH THEM THE SPECIFICA (AND WE HOPE PURELY TRANSIENT) PROBLEM OF THE SHIP-RESCUE CASES FOR WHOM, UNLIKE THE GENERAL **POOL'’ OF REFUGEES HERE, THE DUTCH HAVE A SPECIFIC RESPONSIBILITY, WHICH FOR THE MOMENT IS TENDING TO SLIP.

4. AS FOR THEIR 'DOUBT THAT VIETNAMESE IN HONG KONG WERE REALLY DESERVING ** IT SEEMS ODD TO REGARD REFUGEES AS LESS DESERVING SIMPLY BECAUSE THEY ARE BETTER TREATED IN A PARTICULAR

COUNTRY OF FIRST ASYLUM.

5. I AM COPYING THIS TELELETTER TO ROGER HERVEY IN THE HAGUE: PERHAPS HE COULD TAKE AN OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE THE POINT ABOUT SHIP RESCUE CASES, DRAWING ON THE BACKGROUND ABOVE, WHILE AT THE SAME TIME WELCOMING THE DUTCH SUGGESTION- WHICH WE SHALL NOW PURSUE. (BEFORE WE SAW YOUR TELELETTER, WE HAD GIVEN THE CONSULATE-GENERAL A FURTHER REMINDER ABOUT SHIP CASES ON 23 OCTOBER: THEY UNDERTOOK TO TELEGRAPH THE HAGUE AGAIN ON 26/27 OCTOBER. PARALLEL ACTION BY H M EMBASSY SHORTLY THEREAFTER WOULD BE HELPFUL).

SIGNED R P MARGOLIS APA

NNNN

COPY HAS BEEN PASSED

TO THE HAGUE

CCN PSE DELETE THE 1 AFTER MOUNTS BAY (ARR HK 15 JUL )

NNNN