TNAG-1791-FCO40-2551-Hong-Kong-Vietnamese-refugees-repatriation--including-Opera-1988 — Page 157

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MDLIAN 32

REPATRIATION), NEW MEASURES WERE NEEDED TO TACKLE THE PROBLEM.

4. KOBSAK (MFA) SAID IT WAS THE RTG'S VIEW THAT (QUOTE) BUSINESS AS USUAL (UNQUOTE) COULD NOT (NOT) CONTINUE AS FAR AS

THE BOAT PEOPLE WERE CONCERNED AND THAT (QUOTE) ARRANGEMENTS ENTERED INTO IN GOOD FAITH IN THE PAST WERE NO LONGER ACCEPTABLE

OR APPROPRIATE (UNQUOTE). THEY URGED (QUOTE) INNOVATIVE THINKING (UNQUOTE) TO DEVISE NEW ARRANGEMENTS TO STOP THE FLOW OF ECONOMIC MIGRANTS AND SUGGESTED THAT THIS SHOULD BE TACKLED AS A (QUOTE) REGIONAL PROBLEM (UNQUOTE) INVOLVING ASEAN, HONG KONG AND OTHERS (UNSPECIFIED) IN THE PROCESS.

5. THE THAI OFFICIALS EXPRESSED KEEN INTEREST IN HONG KONG'S CLOSED CENTRE POLICY WHICH THEY SAW AS HAVING BEEN EFFECTIVE

AS A DETERRENT TO LARGER NUMBERS COMING TO HONG KONG. I BRIEFED THEM ON THE BACKGROUND TO THE INTRODUCTION OF THE CLOSED CENTRE POLICY AND DEVELOPMENTS SINCE THEN. THEY EXPRESSED SOME SURPRISE THAT MOST OF THE COSTS OF RUNNING THE CLOSED

CENTRES WERE BORNE BY HKG SINCE ALL THE REFUGEE CAMPS IN THAILAND ARE FUNDED BY UNHCR (EVEN THE HOLDING CENTRE FOR LOATIANS SCREENED OUT FOR REPATRIATION TO LAOS) HOWEVER THEY NOTED THAT CIRCUMSTANCES WERE RATHER DIFFERENT IN THAILAND AND, AS WELL AS PROVIDING THE LAND ON WHICH THE CAMPS ARE SITUATED, THEY DO MEET THE RECURRENT STAFF AND ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS OF OFFICIALS AT CENTRAL AND DISTRICT LEVELS INVOLVED IN DEALING WITH REFUGEES (ABOUT 60M HK DOLLARS PER ANNUM OF THE

MINISTRY OF INTERIOR'S BUDGET).

6.

THE THAI OFFICIALS WERE VERY INTERESTED IN RECENT PUBLICITY IN HONG KONG ON THE SUBJECT OF FIRST ASYLUM. WE DISCUSSED THE ISSUE AT SOME LENGTH, AND I HOPE TO HAVE THE CHANCE TO DISCUSS IT FURTHER WITH OFFICIALS OF THE MFA DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATIONS TODAY (17/3). BASICALLY HOWEVER

THEY CONCURRED WITH OUR VIEW THAT, WHILE THERE IS NO (NO) LEGALLY ENFORCEABLE OBLIGATION ON ANY TERRITORY TO GRANT ASYLUM TO REFUGEES, THE MAIN CONSIDERATIONS ARE MORAL, HUMANITARIAN AND CONVENTIONAL. (THAILAND IS NOT (NOT)

A SIGNATORY TO THE 1951 COVENTION AND 1967 PROTOCOL ON THE STATUS OF REFUGEES, BUT THEY DO NOT REGARD THIS AS RELEVANT EITHER).

COMMENT.

7. THAI OFFICIALS ARE OBVIOUSLY KEEN TO FIND EFFECTIVE METHODS OF STOPPING THE CONTINUING FLOW OF BOAT PEOPLE BUT ARE SOMEWHAT

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