TNAG-1795-FCO40-2555-Hong-Kong-Vietnamese-refugees-repatriation--including-Opera-1988 — Page 223

CONFIDENTIAL

FM FCO

TO DESKBY 29010OZ HONG KONG

TELNO 1988

OF 28103OZ JULY 88

RFC

CONFIDENTIAL

HKCD 24318

29 JUL 1988

LESK OFFICE!

INDEX

PA

576

115540

MDHOAN 1329

OP COPY

DIST 7

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

VIETNAMESE BOAT PEOPLE : TALKS WITH VIETNAMESE : 3-5 AUGUST

1.

WE WERE GRATEFUL FOR HANOI'S VIEWS ON STRATEGY (HANOI TELNO

269): FOR YOUR FURTHER VIEWS AND THE DRAFT SPEAKING NOTES IN YOUR TELNOS 2791 AND 2793-4: FOR UKMIS GENEVA'S COMMENTS (UKMIS GENEVA

TELNO 418): AND FOR WASHINGTON TELNO 1794. THIS TELEGRAM SEEKS

TO PULL THE THREADS TOGETHER.

GENERAL STRATEGY

AS

2. OUR GENERAL APPROACH TO THESE TALKS REMAINS ESSENTIALLY SET OUT IN OUR TELNO 1859. WE AGREE WITH THE THINKING IN PARA 1

OF YOUR TELNO 2791. THE WATCHWORD IS CAUTION. WE DO NOT EXPECT

ANY EARLY BREAKTHROUGHS AND WE MUST TAKE CARE NOT TO RAISE EXPECTATION PREMATURELY (PARTICULARLY IN THE MEDIA). YOU SHOULD

ALSO KNOW THAT MINISTERS CONTINUE TO HAVE STRONG RESERVATIONS

ABOUT THE PROVISION OF AID IN CONNECTION WITH A REPATRIATION

PACKAGE. THE TEAM WILL CLEARLY HAVE TO LISTEN TO WHAT THE

VIETNAMESE SAY, AND TO UNDERTAKE TO REPORT ANY SPECIFIC PROPOSALS. BUT THEY SHOULD BE CAREFUL TO AVOID ANY COMMITMENT.

3. WE SHARE YOUR VIEWS ABOUT THE UNDESIRABILITY OF THE

VIETNAMESE GETTING INVOLVED IN THE SCREENING PROCESS. WE FIND REPORTS TO THIS EFFECT SOMEWHAT CURIOUS. NEVERTHELESS, WE AGREE THAT IT WOULD BE SENSIBLE TO HAVE PREPARED LISTS OF THOSE

SCREENED OUT AND TO BE READY TO HAND THESE OVER IF APPROPRIATE.

4.

*

WE WOULD BE GRATEFUL IF CLIFT COULD TAKE A ROBUST LINE ON THE

NEED FOR REPATRIATION TO COVER INVOLUNTARY AS WELL AS VOLUNTARY

CASES (SEE PARA 6 BELOW). BUT WE ACCEPT THAT FOR PRAGMATIC

REASONS IT MAY BE DESIRABLE TO FOCUS PART OF THE DISCUSSION ON

CLEARING THE BACKLOG OF VOLUNTARY CASES, SINCE EARLY CONCRETE PROGRESS, EVEN OF A VERY LIMITED KIND, WOULD HELP TO SEND A CLEAR DETERRENT MESSAGE. WE WOULD BE INTERESTED TO KNOW HOW MANY

VOLUNTARY CASES YOU NOW HAVE.

DRAFT SPEAKING NOTE (YOUR TELNO 2793)

5.

WE ARE GENERALLY CONTENT WITH THE DRAFT, WHICH SEEMS TO US TO

1

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CONFIDENTIAL