‘Half refugees die’

Press, 23 April 1979, Page 8

‘Half refugees die’

INZPA Perth Half of all refugees leaving Vietnam drowned or died in other circumstances, giving a death toll of between 100,000 and 200,000 over the last four years, the Australian Minister for ImI migration and Ethnic Affairs | (Mr Michael MacKellar) has said. T K 1 Speaking at a Liberal Party conference in Perth, Mr MacKellar said that at the moment there were some 220,000 Indo-Asian refugees in camps in the Association of South-East Nations area, and they were literally ‘‘full ito bursting.” Recent events in Laos, Kampuchea, and Vietnam had meant continuing pressure on people of Chinese, origin within those countries to escape. “What I am essentially saying is that the outflow of the people is unlikely to diminish in the near future,” Mr MacKellar said. ~ Mr MacKellar said there had been about 2000 unauthorised arrivals on the Australian coastline since 1975, compared with a peak arrival per month in Malavsia of 15.000 A small boat carrying 67

Vietnamese has beached near Changi, on the eastern tip of Singapore Island, and those aboard are being held there, a police official has said. Singapore, in common with other countries in the region, refuses permission to let Vietnamese enter if their vessels are seaworthy. Hong Kong, however, on, Friday agreed on human-[ itarian grounds to allow 571 ■ Vietnamese refugees on board the Ha Lung to go; ashore. The ship sailed into Hong| Kong waters eight days .ago) in defiance of police warn-; ings.

Meanwhile. the Hanoi] Government is expected to] send a high-level delegation] to attend an international! conference in Jakarta next', month to discuss the setting up of an island processing centre for Vietnamese refugees, Indonesian Government sources have said. They said it was not yet known who would head the] Vietnamese delegation to the] multi-nation conference on] May 15 and 16 but it was! expected to be a term em-i oowered to commit Hanoi to full co-operation in inter-! national attempts to solve 1

IHhe refugee problem. i The conference next I! month will discuss lull donesia’s proposal to the | United Nations High Cornemission for Refugees to (make available one and pos- | sibly two of its islands to I set up a temporary centre 'for processing Indo-China 'refugees before they find 'permanent new homes in I third countries. The Foreign Minister (Mr Mochtar) has said that the proposed Rempang Island (centre could hold up to I 10.000 refugees but that the 'capacity could easily be 'doubled should the ' need ■ arise. i Indonesia expects the jU.N.H.C.R. to pay the total | cost of setting up and maintaining the centre, using money provided by countries committed to eventually permanently accept the refugees such as Australia. the United States, Canada. France, or West Germany. Indonesia wants firm commitments from third countries that they will eventually accept all Indo-Chi-i nese refugees temporarily ; sheltered there, so that the (island processing centre can Ibe closed down after a max--1 tmum period of five years.