CONFIDENTIAL
013405 MDHOAN 6537
REALLY APPRECIATE THEM. FURTHER DISCUSSIONS ON PRACTICAL ISSUES KHOAN COULD NOT GIVE WOULD TAKE PLACE WITH UNHCR AND OURSELVES.
A DATE FOR THE FIRST BATCH OF RETURNEES, BUT HE SAW NO NEED FOR
EARLY DELAY. THEY COULD TAKE PLACE EARLIER THAN DECEMBER. IMPLEMENTATION DEPENDED ON AN AGREEMENT WITH UNHCR ON A RESETTLEMENT PACKAGE. HE LOOKED FORWARD TO RECEIVING DE MELLO'S DRAFT PAPER ON THIS.
5. I HOPED THAT THE 110 APPLICATIONS FOR RETURN WOULD BE FOLLOWED BY MANY MORE. WE LOOKED FORWARD TO HEARING THE RESULTS IF OF THE VIETNAMESE TECHNICAL EXAMINATION AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. THEY HAD ANY QUESTIONS THESE SHOULD BE PUT TO US QUICKLY AND WE WOULD DO OUR BEST TO PROVIDE EARLY ANSWERS. KHOAN CONFIRMED THAT TECHNCIAL EXAMINATION WAS ALREADY IN HAND.
6.
I QUESTIONED THE NEED FOR ANY VISIT TO HONG KONG IN CONNECTION WITH THE FIRST BATCH OF RETURNEES. ALL OF THESE HAD ASKED TO GO BACK, AND NEEDED NO PERSUADING. QUESTIONS ON WHERE THE RETURNEES SHOULD LIVE COULD BE HANDLED THROUGH UNHCR. TRAVEL DOCUMENTS MIGHT BEST BE PROVIDED THROUGH ICRC. KHOAN'S OTHER PRACTICAL POINTS SEEMED ACCEPTABLE. I RECOGNISED THAT THE POINT ABOUT THE RETURN IN LARGE BATCHES COULD CAUSE THE VIETNAMESE PROBLEMS. WE WISHED TO CO-OPERATE IN SUCH MATTERS. WE NEEDED TO WORK OUT WHO WOULD ACCOMPANY RETURNEES. REPRESENTATIVES OF UNHCR OR ICRC MIGHT BE APPROPRIATE. I WELCOMED KHOAN'S INDICATION THAT THE FIRST BATCH MIGHT GO BACK BEFORE DECEMBER. WE WOULD BE IN TOUCH WITH UNHCR AFTER THE MEETING AND WOULD URGE THEM TO PREPARE THEIR PROPOSALS AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
7.
ON THE QUESTION OF FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE, I SAID THAT WE UNDERSTOOD FROM DE MELLO THAT THE VIETNAMESE WOULD BE LOOKING FOR ASSISTANCE IN THE FOLLOWING AREAS: TRANSPORT, TEMPORARY ACCOMMODATION ON ARRIVAL, BASIC CLOTHING AND SUPPLIES, HOUSING AND DOMESTIC ITEMS, TOOLS AND SEEDS, AND PERHAPS SOME CONTRIBUTION TO THE COST OF PRIMARY EDUCATION AND IF NECESSARY RE-TRAINING. WE ALSO UNDERSTOOD THAT THE VIETNAMESE HOPED FOR UNHCR'S FINANCIAL SUPPORT FOR ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS, IN LINE WITH ODP ARRANGEMENTS. KHOAN CONFIRMED THAT THESE WERE THE POINTS HE HAD RAISED WITH DE MELLO.
8.
KHOAN STRESSED THE IMPORTANCE THAT THE VIETNAMESE ATTACHED TO A VISIT TO HONG KONG BY THEIR TECHNICAL PERSONNEL. THIS WOULD FACILITATE RETURNS.
WERE
RETURNEES. THEY THERE MIGHT BE DIFFICULTIES IN SETTLING CONCERNED THAT THE REPATRIATION EXERCISE SHOULD BE PROPERLY IMPLEMENTED. THE MALAYSIANS HAD UNDERSTOOD AND ACCEPTED THE NEED DISCUSS FOR VISITS BY VIETNAMESE OFFICIALS. THE VIETNAMESE WOULD THE COST OF TRAVEL ETC WITH UNHCR AND HAVE NO INTENTION OF
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