$US405m in refugee aid likely

Press, Issue 33842, 14 May 1975, Page 17

$US405m in refugee aid likely

(N.Z. Press Assn—Copyright) WASHINGTON, May 13.

The United States Senate Foreign Relations Committee has approved authorisation of SUS4OSm for the relief and resettlement of South Vietnamese and Cambodian refugees.

The legislation, similar to that being considered by the House of Representatives on Wednesday, will be ready for Senate action today, and could be before President Ford for signature by the end of this week.

I The SUS4OSm figure had (been set by a House appropriations sub.-committee. ! President Ford had asked for SUSSO7m to last until June •30. 1976.

' The Defence Department reports that a special Gov- [ ernment task force is con'l sidering whether to open more military bases for the [ ten porarv housing of refuigees: the three bases now

bemg used for the purpose are full, more than 39,000 refugees having been already housed. Thousands more are at American bases in the Pacific, or at sea en route to those bases.

According to the Pentagon’s latest figures, there are 2541 refugees at the Air Force base at Eglin; Camp Pendleton. California, has 18.646; and Fort Chafee, Arkansas. 17,896. The Pentagon says that a total of 115,235 Cambodian and South Vietnamese refugees are now en route, at various bases, or have “passed through the processing system.’’ The Commissioner of the United States Immigration Service, says that of the 55,000 refugees already checked, not one was excludable under immigration laws barring criminals and other undesirable entrants. The United Nations High Commissioner for refugees is; participating in efforts to per-; suade other countries to accept some South Vietnam-

ese refugees. Canada will! take about 10,000; Australia.; “ a substantial number” and! others may go to Great Britain. the Netherlands. New: Zealand, Korea, the Philip-: pines. Taiwan. Morocco, and; Gabon. But almost 130,000 of the' 150,000 Vietnamese and Cam-1 bodians requiring resettle-j ment will remain in the; United States. N.Z.P.A.-Reuter reports: |from Pusan. South Korea,, that 1364 refugees from, South Vietnam, nearly 10001 of them Vietnamese, arrived; there today after 17 days of; sailing aboard two South! Korean naval craft. The former South Viet-! namese Ambassador to South!’ Korea. Mr Pham Xuan Chieu,! and his wife were among! about 3000 people on hand at j the port, and were united' with their daughter. In Bangkok, demonstrators' calling for the expulsion of; all Vietnamese refugees from (Thailand gathered for the! (third day in the north-east'; Thailand town of Sakon; 'Nakhon. '

J Yesterday, 37 demonstrators were arrested for damaging shops belonging to the I Vietnamese. The Vietnamese are I among the 70,000 from North i Vietnam who fled to Thailand after the partition of their country in 19.54. The I local police say that remjnants of a mob of 2000 protesters continued to agitate (throughout the night. The Prime Minister (Mr Kukrit) told reporters todav (that the situation in the town (was under control and not ; serious. The question of repatriating the Vietnamese was a (matter to be negotiated when ! relations were established (between Vietnam and Thailand, although contacts had been made through the Red [Cross, he said. ; He recalled that repat-’a-ition had begun 14 years ago. 'but had been interrupted j indefinitely bv the American bombing of North Vietnam. The Thai Foreign Minister (Mr Chatichai Choonhavan) told renorters that the ’Provisional Revolutionary Gov-

-! eminent of South Vietnam -[has sent a cable to the Thai “[Foreign Ministry, asking it ito inform all South Vietnam s[ ships to return home. F Mr Chatichai, who said J that the matter would be dis([cussed when a P.R.G. delegation arrived in Bangkok on .[Friday, did not say how many .[ships had arrived in Thailand ; I with South Vietnamese [refugees, but he did indicate t [that they would be told to ‘[return home as requ- ted by ,|the new Saitrm re me. f: A Singac re ? mistry of [Defence st-terne-. l said today [that six of t’ e 57 vessels '[from South Vietnam which ’had sought temporary asylum Ji in Singapore left secretly ’[today to return to Saigon. The statement did not say “how many people were aboard qf-.a six vessels, but official [figures reporting numbers of -(refugees passing through J Singapore leave the fate of i 1036 refugees uncertain, i These are presumably the peonle now returning home r The Singapore authorities ) have decided to allow 110 - refugees to remain in the • country permanently. '