Shultz Says Hanoi Reneges on Political Captives

Secretary of State George P. Shultz accused Vietnam on Tuesday of “backing off” from a promise to release political prisoners for resettlement in the United States and said Washington remains ready to offer haven to all the prisoners and their families, about 10,000 people.

The United States is prepared for “bilateral talks with the Vietnamese on our humanitarian initiative to resettle the former and present ‘reeducation camp’ prisoners,” Shultz told the Senate Judiciary subcommittee on refugee policy.

A year ago, the United States offered to accept, over a two-year period, all released political prisoners and all Amerasian children fathered by U.S. servicemen during the Vietnam War. Hanoi had said it would be happy to see both groups go.

Now, Shultz said, “we have had success in nearly doubling the number of Amerasians released by the Vietnamese--almost 4,000 children and family members this year, compared to 2,200 in fiscal year 1984. We are, however, greatly disappointed that the Vietnamese have not as yet responded positively to our proposal for the ‘reeducation camp’ prisoners.”

U.S. to Admit 48,500

Nevertheless, he said, the United States expects to admit about 48,500 refugees from Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia out of a worldwide quota of 70,000 refugees during the current fiscal year. Last year, he said, about 52,000 of a total of 71,000 refugees were from Indochina.

Sen. Alan K. Simpson (R-Wyo.), the subcommittee chairman, complained that the Vietnamese are using U.S. refugee policy to “expel people they wanted to expel for some time, not the wretched boat people.”

Shultz conceded that only 42% of the refugees from Vietnam were on the list of persons of “special concern” to the United States--U.S. citizens, spouses and children of U.S. citizens or residents, former U.S. government employees in Vietnam and their children, and former reeducation camp prisoners. But he said the other 58% also were “fully qualified for refugee status.”

Defends Denial Policy

In response to questions from Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.), Shultz defended the Reagan Administration’s policy of denying refugee status to people fleeing unrest and political violence in El Salvador.

“We think the situation in El Salvador has changed dramatically and people can return there without fear for their lives,” he said.

Kennedy argued that, despite some recent improvements in El Salvador, the level of political violence and right-wing death squad activities remains high. The situation is even worse in Guatemala, he said. Shultz did not mention Guatemala in his reply.

“I understand that as of the last report, we’ve admitted 57 (refugees from Central America and the Caribbean) this year,” Kennedy said. “Canada has admitted 3,000, including 690 directly from the United States; Australia 1,100. We’re 57, and all of them are Cubans. . . . You couldn’t find a single person (eligible for admission from El Salvador or Guatemala)?”