Vietnam to accept boat people<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Vietnam yesterday pledged to prepare for the
\nreturn of the more than 8,000 Vietnamese boat people in
\nIndonesia, despite ongoing hunger strikes by some opposed to
\ntheir repatriation.<\/p>\n
The fate of the boat people, currently living in camps on
\nGalang Island in Riau, was discussed by President Soeharto and
\nVietnamese President Le Duc Anh during their meeting.<\/p>\n
Minister\/State Secretary Moerdiono, briefing reporters about
\nthe meeting, said the two agreed to settle the matter of the boat
\npeople on Galang as soon as possible.<\/p>\n
Vietnamese Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Manh Cam at a
\npress conference later was more forthcoming, saying his
\ngovernment will \"build facilities in Vietnam to facilitate the
\nrepatriation.\"<\/p>\n
Cam, who accompanied Anh during the current visit, stressed
\nthat the repatriation will be voluntary and will respect human
\ndignity. \"We have to install facilities to provide for them once
\nthey return,\" he explained.<\/p>\n
The island of Galang, located just south of Singapore, has
\nsheltered some 248,000 boat people since the establishment of a
\nrefugee camp in 1975.<\/p>\n
A mass hunger strike has emerged on Galang in protest of the
\nrepatriation talks. Over 500 people are said to be striking, with
\nreports of nearly 80 people already requiring medical attention
\ndue to dehydration.<\/p>\n
The issue of Galang, along with a boundary dispute in the
\nSouth China Sea were the critical bilateral issues discussed by
\nthe two presidents and their officials.<\/p>\n
Anh is currently on a four-day state visit accompanied by his
\nForeign Minister, Minister of Trade Le Van Triet and Minister of
\nFood and Agriculture Nguyen Cong Tan.<\/p>\n
Indonesia is eager to vacate the remaining boat people so it
\ncan develop the island as part of the Batam industrial zone.<\/p>\n
Many of the Vietnamese boat people have refused to leave the
\nisland since only a quarter of them will be resettled in \"third
\ncountries\" such as Canada, the United States and Australia. The
\nremaining majority will most likely be returned to Vietnam.<\/p>\n
The United Nations High Commissioner of Refugees (UNHCR) and
\ngovernment officials on Tuesday rushed to the island to deal with
\nthe crisis.<\/p>\n
From Batam, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' director of
\nSecurity, E.G. Rumayar, said the hunger strikes were carried out
\nby those who do not wish to return to Vietnam. He explained that
\nthey are demanding to be sent to third countries.<\/p>\n
A Comprehensive Plan of Action agreed on by Indonesia, Vietnam
\nand the UNHCR in 1989 set requirements the refugees must meet
\nbefore becoming eligible to be sent to a third country.<\/p>\n
\"We hope to empty the island by August 1995,\" Rumayar told
\nAntara yesterday.<\/p>\n
He went on to defend the fate of those on Galang island saying
\nthe world has acknowledged the Indonesian government's humane
\ntreatment of the boat people.<\/p>\n
In Jakarta, Moerdiono also boasted of the bright prospects for
\nthose refugees given the chance to go to recipient countries like
\nAmerica.<\/p>\n
\"I accidentally met a former refugee from Galang island during
\nmy recent visit to Seattle. He is now working as a cook at a
\nJapanese restaurant there,\" Moerdiono said.<\/p>\n
Boundary<\/p>\n
After the endless negotiations of the past twenty-years to
\ndemarcate a continental shelf boundary in the South China Sea,
\nofficials from both sides remained upbeat after yesterday's
\nmeeting.<\/p>\n
\"We can close this matter within a short period of time,\" said
\nCam confidently.<\/p>\n
He said both sides had agreed to accelerate the search of a
\nsolution in accordance with international law.<\/p>\n
The disputed territory, just north of Indonesia's Natuna
\nisland, is thought to contain vast mineral reserves.<\/p>\n
An important result of Anh's visit here was the first official
\npublic endorsement by President Soeharto of Vietnam's quest for
\ninclusion in the currently six-member Association of South East
\nAsian Nations (ASEAN).<\/p>\n
\"The President has expressed his support for Vietnam's wish to
\njoin ASEAN,\" Moerdiono announced.<\/p>\n
The ASEAN members are Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand,
\nSingapore, Brunei and the Philippines.<\/p>\n
At present Vietnam and Laos have observer status.<\/p>\n
\"I believe it will be sooner than people expect,\" Cam said of
\nVietnam's membership prospects.<\/p>\n
As part of Vietnam's ASEAN lobby here, Foreign Minister Cam
\nvisited Ajit Singh, the ASEAN Secretary General in Jakarta, to
\ndiscuss the membership issue yesterday afternoon.<\/p>\n
Anh is scheduled to leave for Bandung today to tour the state-
\nowned IPTN aircraft company and the Asia-Africa Museum.<\/p>\n
The 74-year old leader will spend a day on the holiday island
\nof Bali before returning to Hanoi on Friday. (07)<\/p>",
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