TNAG-1794-FCO40-2554-Hong-Kong-Vietnamese-refugees-repatriation--including-Opera-1988 — Page 22

UK page 4

We recognise that conditions do not yet exist for the

return to Vietnam of those screened-out. UNHCR and others

represented here have had discussions with the Vietnamese

Government on this question. We have raised the question

with the Vietnamese at senior levels in London, Hanoi,

New York and here in Geneva. Others raised it with the

Vietnamese during the May ODP talks in Geneva. The problems

in Hong Kong are reflected elsewhere in the region and are

a cause of increasing concern. We have urged ASEAN countries

to press the Vietnamese on this. We should not be discouraged

by initial Vietnamese reactions.

We need to press the point

vigorously with the Vietnamese. We expect UNHCR and others to

do likewise with the authorities in Hanoi. The British

Government will play an active and constructive role in this.

The new policy in Hong Kong provides another element in

the search for solutions to the problems of the Vietnamese boat-

people in the region. We hope that the members of this

Executive Committee will join us in our strong support of

UNHCR's efforts to discuss the issue of return with the

Vietnamese. We believe that it is important to maintain such

pressure on Vietnam.

Finally, I would like to reassure the members of this

Executive Committee of the humanitarian nature of the new

4

/policy