British Embassy
RESTRICTED
Britannia House rue Joseph II 28 1040 Brussels
Telephone (02) 217 90 00
Telex 22703
Robert Footman Esq
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FCO
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RECEIVED REGISTRY
12 JUL 1988
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488
DES OFFICER
1 July 1988
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286
Door Foodman 117
VIETNAMESE BOAT PEOPLE IN HONG KONG
1. As I reported to you earlier by telephone, I took action on FCO Telno 133 to Athens, leaving a speaking note with both Erik Bal, Head of the Asian Dept of the political wing, and Straatman, Deputy to Lacroix who has overall responsibility for refugee policy in the consular wing. Lacroix returned from a conference this week and I went over the ground again with him on 22 June.
He
2. He was entirely supportive of our change in policy and was particularly supportive of our intention to repatriate non-refugee cases to Vietnam under appropriate safeguards. could, however, give no assurances of Belgium taking more refugees. There were no more close family relatives of refugees already in Belgium still in Hong Kong (the Belgians only include spouses and children under 18 in this category), but the Belgians believed there wereabout 400 with close family links still in Vietnam whom the Belgians would be obliged to take if they left. A decision to take a new batch of refugees was unlikely in the foreseeable future, but he undertook to have the question on the agenda of the next Ministerial committee on refugee questions (the timing of which had not yet been decided).
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cc: Chanceries: Hong Kong
Hanoi
UKMis Geneva
PH B Baker
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