TNAG-1907-FCO40-2711-Hong-Kong-Vietnamese-refugees-voluntary-and-mandatory-repat-1989 — Page 189

CONFIDENTIAL

COPY

ON

UNHCR 278

file.

007467

MDHOAN 4596

CONFIDENTIAL

FM FCO

TO IMMEDIATE WASHINGTON

TELNO 1798

OF 2916OOZ SEPTEMBER 89

HKB

243 la

TOP COPY Q DIST?

INFO IMMEDIATE NEW YORK, UKMIS GENEVA, HONG KONG

237

OUR TELNO 1784 VIETNAMESE BOAT PEOPLE : UNHCR ROLE

1

WOODS, MINISTER AT THE US EMBASSY, AND ROGERS CALLED ON GILLMORE 11.30 TODAY. COLVIN AND HASWELL WERE ALSO PRESENT.

GILLMORE OPENED BY REFERRING TO THE US DEMARCHE

TO HOCKE, A COPY OF WHICH HAD BEEN HANDED TO US ON 25

SEPTEMBER. WE WERE GRATEFUL FOR US EFFORTS TO PERSUADE THE UNHCR TO PROMOTE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE VOLUNTARY RETURN PROGRAMME.

GILLMORE AND EAGLEBURGER HAD AGREED IN AUGUST THAT THIS WOULD BE

AN IMPORTANT MEANS OF ENSURING THAT THE TERMS OF THE CPA WERE

IMPLEMENTED. HOWEVER THERE WERE SOME THINGS IN THE DEMARCHE

WHICH CAUSED US UNEASE.

2. FIRST OF ALL, IT WAS IMPLICIT IN THE NOTE THAT HMG AND THE

HONG KONG GOVERNMENT HAD NOT BEEN DOING AS MUCH AS THEY MIGHT TO

PROMOTE THE VOLUNTARY PROGRAMME. WE REFUTED THIS. GILLMORE

HANDED WOODS A NOTE DETAILING OUR EFFORTS (COPY OF FINAL VERSION ALREADY FAXED TO YOU, UKMIS GENEVA AND HONG KONG). HE HOPED THIS NOTE WOULD SET THE RECORD STRAIGHT, SO THAT WE COULD AVOID ANY MISUNDERSTANDING.

3. SECONDLY, WE WERE CONCERNED ABOUT QUOTE CIRCUMVENT THE UNHCR/SRV MEMORANDUM UNQUOTE IN THE SECOND PARAGRAPH OF THE DEMARCHE.

GILLMORE MADE IT CLEAR THAT WE WOULD NOT REGARD ANY BILATERAL

AGREEMENT WITH THE VIETNAMESE ON NON-VOLUNTARY RETURN AS EITHER UNDERMINING OR REPLACING THE VOLUNTARY PROGRAMME. IT HAD BECOME

CLEAR THAT THE VOLUNTARY PROGRAMME ALONE COULD NOT DEAL WITH THE

WHOLE PROBLEM IN HONG KONG. A PROGRAMME OF NON-VOLUNTARY RETURN WOULD SUPPLEMENT THE VOLUNTARY CHANNEL. WE WERE CONCERNED THAT THE USE OF WORDS LIKE QUOTE CIRCUMVENT UNQUOTE WOULD RAISE THE TEMPERATURE AND MAKE IT MORE DIFFICULT FOR US AND THE UNITED STATES TO CONTAIN OUR DIFFERENCES. THIS WAS CONTRARY TO THE SPIRIT OF WHAT HAD BEEN AGREED BETWEEN GILLMORE AND EAGLEBURGER IN WASHINGTON.

THIRDLY, WE WERE PARTICULARLY CONCERNED AT THE ASSERTION IN

THE US DEMARCHE THAT UNILATERAL ACTION TO IMPLEMENT MANDATORY

RETURN MIGHT AFFECT US RESETTLEMENT OBLIGATIONS. GILLMORE ALSO

DREW WOODS ATTENTION TO THE US STATEMENT AT THE SECOND

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