TNAG-1789-FCO40-2549-Hong-Kong-Vietnamese-refugees-general-1989 — Page 79

CONFIDENTIAL

ZCZC

CONFIDENTIAL

FM FCO

TO PRIORITY UK REP BRUSSELS

TELNO

OF 161630Z DECEMBER 88

AND TO INFO ROUTINE HONG KONG, HANOI, UKMIS GENEVA

PRIORITY

HONG KONG TELNO 4542 AND KUALA LUMPUR TELNO 664 (SINCE REPEATED

TO YOU): VIETNAMESE BOAT PEOPLE: EC INTERVENTION AT UNHCR

WORKING GROUP MEETING IN KUALA LUMPUR

1. The Kuala Lumpur meeting did not go well for the UK. Our

policy of seeking agreement with Vietnam for the repatriation of

all boat people in Hong Kong who are not refugees received

something of a setback. This policy is generally supported by

the international community, including the ASEANS and

resettlement countries such as Australia. UNHCR can live with it

if not challenged by a major donor. However the Americans are

causing problems. They tend to fluctuate between tacit

acceptance and pious objection on humanitarian grounds. At Kuala

Lumpur they were in the latter mode. We are working on bringing

them round to accepting that the situation faced by Hong Kong

similar to the problems the USA has with, for instance,

illegal immigrants whom the Americans forcibly return to Mexico.

The Vietnamese have accepted the need for comprehensive

arrangements (code for accepting responsibility for taking back

all the screened out, but insist on accepting volunteers only at

is

this

RTAAFE

SEAD

P KC THOMAS

2449