TNAG-1905-FCO40-2709-Hong-Kong-Vietnamese-refugees-voluntary-and-mandatory-repat-1989 — Page 362

CONFIDENTIAL

FM UKMIS GENEVA

TO IMMEDIATE FCO

TELNO 427

OF 051354Z JULY

1989

CONFIDENTIAL

HKB 2+3/5

075242

MDHIAN 2057

TOP COPY Q DIST ?

INFO IMMEDIATE HONG KONG, HANOI, WASHINGTON, BANGKOK, KUALA LUMPUR

MY TELNO 420 AND HONG KONG TELNO 2218: VIETNAMESE BOAT PEOPLE: REPATRIATION

SUMMARY

1. HOCKE REJECTS UNHCR INVOLEMENT IN MONITORING AND REINTEGRATION

ASSISTANCE FOR REPATRIATION ON A NON-VOLUNTARY BASIS.

DETAIL

2. VIEIRA DE MELLO (UNHCR) DISCUSSED WITH HOCKE ON 4 JULY POSSIBLE.

UNHCR INVOLVEMENT IN MONITORING AND REINTEGRATION ASSISTANCE FOR NON-VOLUNTEERS FROM HONG KONG TO VIETNAM, ON THE LINES OF PARA 3 OF FIRST TUR.

3. HOCKE REACTED VERY NEGATIVELY. HE SAID THAT, AT THE PREPARATORY MEETING IN KUALA LUMPUR IN MARCH, IT HAD BEEN AGREED TO PROCEED BY STAGES, USING VOLUNTARY REPATRIATION IN THE FIRST INSTANCE. THE COORDINATING COMMITTEE HAD AGREED THAT THERE COULD BE NO QUESTION OF CONSIDERING OR ADOPTING ''OTHER MEASURES'' UNTIL OCTOBER 1989. THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN OF ACTION HAD BEEN SUBSEQUENTLY ENDORSED AT THE ICIR IN GENEVA ON 13/14 JUNE. HOCKE REFERRED TO HIS OPENING STATEMENT AT THE ICIR IN WHICH HE HAD EMPHASISED THAT RETURN IN THE FIRST INSTANCE HAD TO BE ON A VOLUNTARY BASIS. HE DREW SPECIFIC ATTENTION TO HIS COMMENT THAT ''ANY OTHER, LESS HUMANE OR LESS PRINCIPLED APPROACH WILL CALL INTO QUESTION AND INDEED RENDER IMPOSSIBLE THE PARTICIPATION OF UNHCR (LAST SENTENCE OF PARAGRAPH 3 ON PAGE 4 OF THE ENGLISH VERSION). HE COULD NOT, THEREFORE, ENDORSE A PARALLEL TRACK AT THIS STAGE, ESTABLISHED ON A BILATERAL BASIS BETWEEN A FIRST ASYLUM COUNTRY AND VIETNAM. THERE COULD BE NO QUESTION OF UNHCR PARTICIPATION.

4. HOCKE WAS DEAF TO VIEIRA DE MELLO'S ATTEMPT TO DRAW AN ANALOGY WITH UNHCR'S INVOLEMENT WITH LAOTIAN RETURNEES, IN WHICH UNHCR IS FULLY INVOLVED COUR TELNO 399). VIEIRA DE MELLO REMINDED HOCKE THAT LAST MONTH, OUT OF A TOTAL OF 150 LAOTIAN RETURNEES, ONLY 108 HAD VOLUNTEERED: THE REST HAD BEEN SCREENED-OUT CASES WHO HAD REFUSED TO

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