Mr Hartland-Swanny
MKK 243/2
RECEIVED IN REĜISTRY
DESK
INDEX
30/1975
تم
نه
он
CONFIDENTIAL
FROM:
DATE:
A C Galsworthy, HKD
30 January 1985
Cc:
SCORRI ENQUIRY INTO VIETNAMESE REFUGEES
PS/Mr Luce
Dr Wilson
Mr Williams, UND
17
Hong Kong's comments (their telno 239) on the briefing which you
submitted to PS/Mr Luce on 25 Jnaury have alerted
my attention to
1.
the fact that our views on the draft sent to us by your Department
for comments do not seem to have been taken into account when the
final version was prepared. We asked that the last sentence of the
reply to question (e) ("clearly involuntary repatriation would be
unacceptable") should be omitted. I now see that in the final
version submitted to PS/Mr Luce, the sentence has been amended, by
substituting "repugnant" for "unacceptable",
but not deleted. This
was done without consulting us, and I a m bound to say that I do not
find the amended version any more acceptable than the
original.
The point
is this: the present position is that the Hong Kong
Government have made a formal request to us,
2.
on
which has been endorsed
by the Executive Council, to authorise HMA Hanoi to discuss with the
Vietnamese authorities the possibility for involuntary repatriation
as an eventual possibility. Ministers have not yet taken view
a
this:
we hope to submit to them in consultation with you before
long. Accordingly no reply has yet been sent to Hong Kong. Until a formal reply is given, I think it is very important that Ministers
should not be briefed to make statements in public which rule out
involuntary repatriation as a possible option. Nor do I think they
would be wise to
well force us at least to explore the possibilities of instituting a
of involuntary repatriation, although I accept that lack of Vietnamese cooperation may well make it impossible.
programme
do So: I suspect that the lack of other options may
CONFIDENTIAL
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