U.S. MAY SOON STOP TAKING REFUGEES FROM THAI CAMPS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00965R000302630067-8
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: September 25, 2012
• Sequence Number: 67
• Publication Date: May 22, 1985
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

STAT
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/09/25: CIA-RDP90-00965R000302630067-8
VTri c L. ?
ON PAG (
NEW YORK TIMES
22 May 1985
"it is not acceptable to say we will
top processing on June 7," said a State
U.S. MAY SOON STOP sDepartment official who has been seek-
ing a change. "What will happen is that
the Thais will bulldoze the camp and
force all of the 25,000 to the border."
The United States is not the only
FROM THAI CAMPS cosauntd ttrtyw ta25k,:og reremfuaimeesng, bmutthoefficimalps
have been rejected by virtually all
By BERNARD GWERTZMAN other countries.
Special to The New York Times In addition to the 25,000 officially
WASHINGTON, May 21 ? State De- classified as refugees, there are 230,000
so-called border Cambodians who were
rtment officials said today that the
dri en fait() Thailand by recent Viet-
'
TAKING REFUGEES
United States would soon stop process-
ing Cambodian refugees in Thailand
for resettlement in this country.
Unless there is a change in plans, this
would mean the end of a program that
brought 120 000 Cambodians to the
namese military activities and are liv-
ing in camps on the border. Thailand
intends to induce them to return to the
Cambodian side of the border as soon
as the situation permits, State Depart-
has
ment officials said.
United States since Indochiuna became Since 1975, the United States has ad-
mitted 740,000 refugees from lndochi-
State Department officials said, in-
Communist in 1975.
The officials explained the cutoff by
saying that no more Cambodians in
Thailand were deemed eligible for ad-
, mission. Of the 25,000 in the main refu-
eluding 480,000 Vietnamese, 145,000
Laotians and 120,000 Cambodians. Alto-
gether 1.5 million Indochinese have
been resettled in third countries, in-
They are mainly Vietnamese boat
people who are allowed to leave Viet-
nam through a United Nations-mall-
aged program and have made it safely
to Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and
other Asian countries, and as well as
Cambodians and Laotians who are in
Thailand and have been processed for
admission to the United States.
The Thais have been refusing to
admit more Laotians, mainly Hmong
hill people, who have been trying to
cress the Mekong River, State Depart-
ment officials said.
gee camp, at Khao-i-Dang, all but , eluding the United States, the officials
have been processed and deemed ineli- said.
gible, the officials said. Although President Reagan and Mr.
Shultz favor continued aid, problems
have arisen because the Thais discour-
Some Linked to Communists
Those found ineligible are said to age the entry of more refugees and be-
have falsified their background, failed cause some within the Administration
to meet the criteria for admission, or and in Congress feel that most people
had a connection to the Khmer Rouge, entitled to be allowed entry into the
United States have been admitted.
the Communists who have been ac-
cused of genocide while they ruled
Cambodia from 1975 until they were
ousted by the present Vietnamese- I
backed Govenunent in 1979.
The remaining interviews are ex-
pected to be completed by June 7, off i-
. cials said, unless there is a decision to
I reopen the program and re-interview
those who have been previously turned
down.
There is another category of 4,300
Cambodians at Khao-i-Dang who were
not officially accepted by Thailand as
refugees but have been allowed to re-
main. With Thai permission, the
United States and other Western coun-
tries would also review their eligibility,
the State Department officials said.
Hmong With U.S. Connections
There is su ed to be a screenin
program ns artici-
tion to make sure that Hmon with
encan ties suc as ose w o
ou t in an arm o amz ?
entra ence enc ,
nn stIr7e,Y..11;nsaltn"rocess-
mg. ut oger inter, rector o the
711-fited States Committee for Refugees,
said today that this program was not
yet in effect.
The Thais contend that almost all the
Hmong now seeking refuge are "eco-
nomic migrants" with no valid claim to
refugee status. This view is shared by
some staff aides on Capitol Hill who in
the past favored the admission of In-
dochinese.
Mother problem involves Vietnam-
ese who do not leave by boat, but travel
overland through Cambodia. About
4,000 are in Thailand, and the Thais
have ruled them ineligible as refugees.
American officials would-also like an
opportunity to interview these Viet-
namese to make sure that those with
American connections may be admit-
ted.
Two Groups Are Exceptions
Among the exceptions are those held
by Vietnam in so-called re-education
camps and AMeTaSiall children, to
whom the United States has pledged
help.
The children have been coming to the
United States on a regular basis, but
Vietnam has apparently reneged on an
earlier offer to let the prisoners leave.
The United States is committed to re-
ceive 50,000 Indochinese refugees a
year through the 1985 fiscal year.
Some Might Be re-Examined
Selected cases among those rejected
may be re-examined if new informa-
tion is produced, officials said.
The impending cutoff has aroused
concern among some State Depart-
ment officials with experience in In-
dochinese affairs. A department offi-
cial said the problem had been brought
to the attention of Secretary of State
George P. Shultz, who is reviewing it.
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/09/25: CIA-RDP90-00965R000302630067-8