Global Panel Wants U.S. to Shelter Refugees

An international commission today urged nations that oppose the forced repatriation of Vietnamese boat people to establish and finance refugee centers on their own soil.

One delegate said the call was aimed at countries like the United States, which has condemned Hong Kong for sending back Vietnamese refugees.

Thailand and Malaysia sponsored the statement, which was released at the opening session of a conference of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees committee on Indochinese refugees.

The statement was endorsed by all delegations except the United States and Norway, which expressed reservations, conference sources said.

U.S. and Norwegian representatives believe that the statement should have accentuated positive developments, like a decrease in the numbers leaving Vietnam, said Herman Laurel, a member of the Philippine delegation.

“This is mostly directed at the U.S. and Vietnam,” he said, adding that Asian nations “took the initiative out of their frustration on the continuing problem” of Indochinese who leave for economic and not political reasons.

On Wednesday, the British government announced that it had suggested that the United States take 9,000 Vietnamese boat people from Hong Kong and house them in a special camp, possibly on the American island of Guam.

In the statement, so-called “countries of temporary refuge”--those where boat people land first--urged Vietnam to take effective measures to prevent its people from leaving their homeland illegally.

The statement said the repatriation of those not considered political refugees was needed to prevent Asian nations from being flooded with Indochinese who do not qualify for settlement in the United States or other third countries.

“There is an obligation on any country which opposes the repatriation of non-refugees who do not volunteer (to return home) to offer an effective intermediate solution, such as the setting up and financing on its own territory a regional holding center for all non-refugees,” the statement said.