TNAG-1425-FCO40-1908-Vietnamese-refugees-in-Hong-Kong-general-1985 — Page 81

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MR. LEON DAVICO, CHIEF OF THE PUBLIC INFORMATION SECTION, UNICR;

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JIM BIDDULPH, BBC:

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Do you regard people arriving now

from Vietnam as refugees under the United Nations definition?

MR. HARTLING:

It is a difficult question to answer because we are not screening them or trying to identify their refugea status. At least we can say they cannot go back without danger, and when they cannot go back in safety we would be inclined to say we like to treat them as refugees.

PATRICIA PENN, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION:

Is it possible to define in any way the groups that are able to leave by orderly departure and the ones who are not able to leave, that is to say people who are leaving in what you call a 'disorderly manner', the ones who cannot get out in an orderly

manner?

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MR. HARTLING:

Again, that I don't know, because in Vietnam is a business I cannot

Some will

the granting of exit visa describe to you because I don't know how that works. get exit visa

and some will get it rather easily obviously, others not that easily but the rules and the criteria, well, it is difficult for me to say anything about it because I don't know. I can only say that in the years 1980/81/82, more people left Vietnam by boat than by air, but in September '83 or autumn 183 it changed, and in '84 more people had left by air than by boat, which is for us encouraging, and that is the only fact I really have, still in '85 this year, in January/February/March/

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April, more than 2,000 each month, more than 500 each week, have seen it, I have travelled with one of these orderly departure 'planes from Saigon, Ho Chi Minh City to Bangkok. They clarify, they interview, they put together the files and everything for more than 500 each week; at least that should be a help. I cannot say who are not accepted to have an exit visa and who are, that's in the hands of the Vietnamese authorities.