TNAG-1800-FCO40-2560-Hong-Kong-Vietnamese-refugees-principle-of-first-asylum-1988 — Page 177

RESTRICTBALD 243/11

133

176363

MDLIAN 6080

RESTRICTED

FM KUALA LUMPUR

TO PRIORITY FCO

TELNO 227

OF 06003OZ MAY 88

INFO PRIORITY HONG KONG, BANGKOK, MANILA, HANOI, SINGAPORE

INFO PRIORITY SINGAPORE, BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, JAKARTA, UKMIS GENEVA

HUD 243/7 (33

MY TELNO 216: VIETNAMESE REFUGEES

1. ON 3 MAY I ATTENDED A MEETING CALLED BY THE ACTING SECRETARY GENERAL OF THE MFA, DATO' RAZALI, TO BRIEF FOREIGN HEADS OF MISSION ON MALAYSIAN POLICY TOWARDS VIETNAMESE REFUGEES.

2. RAZALI SAID THAT MALAYSIA HAD REACHED THE END OF ITS PATIENCE.

MOST OF THE RECENT ARRIVALS WERE ECONOMIC MIGRANTS RATHER

THAN POLITICAL REFUGEES. IT WAS CLEAR AFTER THE RECENT VISIT OF THE VIETNAMESE DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER THAT VIETNAM HAD NO

INTENTION OF TAKING SERIOUS ACTION TO DEAL WITH THE PROBLEM AT

SOURCE. THE RECENT CHANGE IN THAI POLICY MEANT THAT MALAYSIA WAS NOW ''THE END OF THE LINE'' MALAYSIA HAD TO DO SOMETHING TO CONTAIN A PROBLEM WHICH COULD NOT BE ALLOWED TO CONTINUE INDEFINITELY, AND

HAD THEREFORE ANNOUNCED THE CLOSURE OF PULAU BIDONG CAMP.

·

3. ON THE QUESTION OF TIMING, RAZALI SEEMED AS CONFUSED AS PREVIOUS MALAYSIAN SPOKESMEN. HE DID NOT KNOW WHEN THE CLOCK

WOULD START (OR INDEED WHETHER IT HAD ALREADY STARTED) ON THE

12 MONTH PERIOD FOLLOWING WHICH PULAU BIDONG WOULD BE CLOSED.

4. RAZALI SAID THAT MALAYSIA HOPED TO SETTLE ALL REFUGEES IN

THIRD COUNTRIES OR TO REPATRIATE THEM TO VIETNAM. INSOFAR AS

THIS COULD NOT BE ACHIEVED REFUGEES WOULD BE TAKEN TO SUNGEI BESI

REFUGEE CAMP (NEAR KUALA LUMPUR) ONCE PULAU BIDONG CLOSED.

MALAYSIA MIGHT BE FORCED TO PREVENT ARRIVALS THEREAFTER BY

TURNING AWAY BOATS.

COMMENT

/

5. NOTHING NEW EMERGED FROM THIS BRIEFING, AND MANY OF THE SAME POINTS HAVE SINCE BEEN REPEATED BY A BU HASSAN AT THE EC/ASEAN MEETING IN DUSSELDORF. IT WAS CLEAR, HOWEVER THAT THE MALAYSIANS ARE WORRIED ABOUT ADVERSE PRESS REACTION TO THEIR ANNOUNCED INTENTION TO CLOSE PULAU BIDONG. THEIR POLICY DOES NOT SEEM TO HAVE BEEN THOUGHT THROUGH, AND THERE WAS NO EVIDENCE THAT THEY

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