TNAG-1795-FCO40-2555-Hong-Kong-Vietnamese-refugees-repatriation--including-Opera-1988 — Page 129

622

CONFIDENTIAL

TOP COPY Q DIST ?

нко 24318

137673

MDLIAN 7773

CONFIDENTIAL

FM HANOI

TO PRIORITY F CO

TELNO 285

OF 05030OZ AUGUST 88

AND TO PRIORITY HONG KONG

RECER

RY

SAUG 1988

D:

INDL

INFO PRIORITY BANGKOK, BANDA SERI BAGAWAN, SINGAPORE, MANILA INFO PRIORITY JAKARTA,WASHINGTON, CANBERRA, OTTAWA, TOKYO INFO PRIORITY PEKING, UKMIS GENEVA, KUALA LUMPUR

FROM CLIFT 610)

OUR TELNO 281: VIETNAMESE BOAT PEOPLE:

TALKS IN HANOI: SECOND DAY

·

I COMMENTED FURTHER ON KHOAN'S POINTS OF THE PREVIOUS DAY

STRESSING VIETNAM'S RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE PROBLEM AND HONG KONG'S

INABILITY TO TAKE MORE VBP'S WITHOUT PROSPECT OF RESETTLEMENT.

2. THE MOST EFFECTIVE MEANS OF STEMMING THE FLOW WOULD BE REPATRIATION, IN A HUMANE AND ORDERLY FASHION. REPATRIATION WOULD ALSO ENHANCE VIETNAM'S INTERNATIONAL REPUTATION AND CREDIBILITY.

I SAID THAT THOSE TO BE REPATRIATED SHOULD BE A CLEARLY DEFINED

GROUP IE THOSE WHO HAD BEEN SCREENED OUT AFTER 16 JUNE.

THOSE WHO HAD ARRIVED BEFORE THIS DATE WERE CLASSIFIED AS REFUGEES AND STILL HAD ACCESS TO RESETTLEMENT OPPORTUNITIES, HOWEVER LIMITED. RESETTLEMENT IN HK WAS NOT A REALISTIC OPTION.

PRACTICAL NOR

3. REPATRIATION ON A VOLUNTARY BASIS ONLY WAS NEITHER RIGHT,

GIVEN THE INTERNATIONALLY ACCEPTED PRINCIPLE THAT AN ILLEAGL

IMMIGRANT (II) SHOULD BE RETURNED TO HIS COUNTRY OF ORIGIN.

ALSO, VOLUNTARY REPATRIATION WAS AN OPEN INVITATION TO VBP TO COME TO HK. SO FAR, ONLY 18 VII'S IN HK HAD AGREED TO RETURN

VOLUNTARILY.

4. BARNES THEN BRIEFED THE VIETNAMESE SIDE ON THE

THOROUGHNESS OF THE SCREENING PROCEDURE. HE EMPHASISED THAT SCREENING

WAS CONDUCTED BY EXPERIENCED HK IMMIGRATION DEPARTMENT STAFF IN

ACCORDANCE WITH UNHCR GUIDELINES AND THE 1951 UN CONVENTION.

AFTER SCREENING, ANY VBP'S CATEGORISED AS II'S WOULD BE DETAINED PENDING REPATRIATION TO VIETNAM. ANY WHO WERE FOUND TO BE REFUGEES

1

PAGE

CONFIDENTIAL