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136405 MDHOAN 8885
MKD 24319
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FM FCO
TO IMMEDIATE HONG KONG
TELNO 812
OF 10190OZ APRIL 89
+
INFO IMMEDIATE HANOI, UKMIS GENEVA
HANOI PLEASE PASS TO LORD GLENARTHUR'S PARTY
VIETNAMESE BOAT PEOPLE IN HONG KONG
1.
TOP COPY Q DIST?
RTHK JOURNALIST SALLY BLYTH TELEPHONED HEAD OF INDO CHINA SECTION IN SEAD ON 10 APRIL TO ASK ABOUT LORD GLENARTHUR'S VISIT TO VIETNAM. SHE FOCUSED ON LINKAGE BETWEEN AID AND MANDATORY REPATRIATION AND ASKED WHETHER LORD GLENARTHUR WOULD BE MAKING A SPECIFIC OFFER OF AID IN RETURN FOR A VIETNAMESE COMMITMENT TO TAKE BACK ALL BOAT PEOPLE WHO ARE SCREENED OUT. GODSON REPLIED THAT THE MINISTER WOULD NOT BE MAKING ANY SPECIFIC PROPOSALS
CONCERNING AID.
2. IN RESPONSE TO A SERIES OF SUPPLEMENTARY QUESTIONS, GODSON SAID THAT: OUR BILATERAL TALKS WITH VIETNAM WERE COMPLEMENTARY TO PREPARATIONS FOR THE ICIR: WE WERE NOT CONSIDERING MANDATORY REPATRIATION AT THIS STAGE BUT IT REMAINED OUR VIEW THAT ALL THOSE SCREENED OUT MUST EVENTUALLY RETURN TO VIETNAM: UNHCR WAS THE CORRECT CHANNEL FOR REINTEGRATION ASSISTANCE: HMG WAS NOT PRESSING FOR A BILATERAL AGREEMENT WITH VIETNAM ON MANDATORY REPATRIATION BUT WE WERE WORKING WITH THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY FOR A COMPREHENSIVE SOLUTION. MS BLYTH PRESSED HARD ON THE QUESTION OF VIETNAM MAKING AID A QUID PRO QUO FOR MANDATORY REPATRIATION. GODSON REPEATED THAT WE WERE PREPARED TO CONSIDER REQUESTS FOR REINTEGRATION ASSISTANCE IN THE CONTEXT OF A SPECIFIC REPATRIATION PROGRAMME, THAT UNHCR WAS THE PROPER CHANNEL, AND THAT WE WERE NOT PRESSING FOR MANDATORY REPATRIATION AT THIS STAGE.
3.
DESPITE THESE CLEAR ANSWERS, THE BBC WORLD SERVICE HAS PICKED UP A REPORT ATTRIBUTED TO MS BLYTH (IT IS NOT CLEAR WHETHER IT
HAS BEEN BROADCAST) THAT LORD GLENARTHUR IS ABOUT TO ANNOUNCE AN AID
PACKAGE FOR VIETNAM IN RETURN
FOR AGREEMENT ON MANDATORY REPATRIATION.
WE HAVE SET THE RECORD STRAIGHT FOR THE BBC.
HOWE
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