FOR PRESS:~ PM. No. 123/ 1966
THE RHODESIAN SITUATION
Comment by the -Prime Minister, Mr. Harold Holt
Fromthe outset, the Australian Government has held the
view that the resolving of the problems which have arisen between the United
Kingdom and Rhodesia was primarily the responsibility of the Government of
the United Kingdom. Although constitutionally Rhodesia has been and
remains at law a colony of the United Kingdom, there had been a special
relationship between them. Rhodesia had, in practice, enjoyed a large
measure of self-government in the conduct of its affairs. Indeed, for many
years the then Prime Minister of Rhodesia had attended regularly conferences
of Prime Ministers. It is understandable, therefore, that Rhodesia should
have sought independence in a period when many parts of the British Empire
with much less experience of handling their own affairs had moved into that
status. The crucial difference between Rhodesia and most other
African territories is the racial composition of the population. As is well
known, Rhodesia is composed of a comparatively small white minority of
about 225, CCC a considerable number of whom are of British stock and
some four million Africans, many of whom are not native to Rhodesia but have
been attracted to residence there by the employment opportunities offered by
a growing and prospering economy.
Protracted negotiations for a mutually acceptable basis for
independence were unsuccessful. An outcome was the declaration by the then
Government of Rhodesia, led by Mr. Smith as Prime Minister, of the UDI
( Unilateral Declaration of Independence). This action was agreed by the
United Kingdom and other Commonwealth Governments to be illegal, and the
Smith regime has since been regarded as an illegal regime with no
constitutional status recognised by the United Kingdom, and the course of
action followed by that regime from that time onwards has been branded by
the Government of the United Kingdom as a rebellion. No Commonwealth
country has " recognised" the Smith regime; indeed no country in the world
has recognised it. When the United Kingdom Government, in an attempt to
restore a situation of legality, imposed economic sanctions on Rhodesia and
requested other Commonwealth countries to do so also, they unanimously
joined in that process. Successive Conferences of Prime Ministers have condemned
the illegality and have considered courses of action which would assure the
democratic rights and opportunities of the African majority in the country.
At the most recent of these Conferences, held in September of this year, it
was agreed that should further negotiations fail to produce an acceptable
solution, an approach should be made by the United Kingdom to the United
Nations for the application of selected mandatory sanctions.
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Mr. Wilson made
a final attempt at negotiation when at his invitation Mr. Smith met him on
board HMS " Tiger". A document embodying a basis of settlement which
Mr. Smith initialled was taken by Mr. Smith and Mr. W.-ilson to their
respective colleagues for their consideration. The United Kingdom Government
gave prompt approval, but the terms were rejected by the Smith regime. / 2
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As I understand the -position. from public-statements made by
Mr. Smith, the-Rhodes ian regim-e was prepared to accept constitutional
arrangements which embodied the " six principles".
The United Kingdom Government has consistently and firmly
asserted that acceptance of these principles is essential and fundamental
to a grant of independence by the Parliament of the United Kingdom. On
Mr. Smith's assertion, what proved unacceptable were the terms proposed
for what has been described as " the return to legality" But these, in the eyes
of the British Government, are critically import ant in themselves owing to
the need for a free and fair test of Rhodesian opinion about the future
constitution. The Australan G overnment was deeply disappointed that the
negotiations did not produce a mutually acceptable solution, but acceptance
ibtys eblof. t h sMidre. s Wofl ials ocno, nswtihtou thioanda ol ubtlaisreis d wthoeu ldc obned iat iosnusb sotaf nat iraelt uarcnh ietov elmegeanlti tyi. n
to Commonwealth Prime Ministers, felt bound, of course, to adhere to the
substance of these. Any significant departure from them would represent,
in his eyes, a breach of his Ludertakings to his Commonwealth colleagues.
He could only do so, In good faith, with their concurrence.
The United Kingdom Government, understandably, as part of
the process of return to legality, requires the Rhodesian regime to submit
to the Governor and makes conditi ons regarding the legal basis for control
of the armed forces. It requires also a broadening of the representation
in any Government subsequently appointed. Mr. Smith is reported as finding
grave objections of principle in these courses.
Faced with the tragic consequences which must flow from a
continuing and rigorous application of sanctions by members of the United
Nations, we would still hope that solutions could be found as to the procedures
to apply over an interim period. The whole future of Rhodesia and its people
is at stake. The welfare, the happiness and prosperity of nearly four and
a half million people are directly involvwd. If the economy of Rhodesia is
shatt ered, over four million Africans suffer grave hardship as well as the
white minority. The burden of economic rec-onstruction will fall heavily on
the United Kingdom, in particular, and, in varying degree, on those Commonwealth
countries willing and able to lend assistance. No one can foretell the
disastrous extent of the consequences nor the ramifications, poisoning and
embittering African relations and damaging indefinitely as to time and degree,
the future of the whole of Southern Africa.
The Australian Government has been gravely troubled by these
developments. Wie have given our support to the United Kirqdom Government
in its determined efforts to find a just solution. Restrictions operate over
virtually all of our imports from Rhodesia, and our trade with that country
is currently limited almost entirely to foodstuffs necessary for the African
majority as well as the largely European minority. We have already been
applying voluntarily the sanctions now made mandatory by the Security
Council, Nie have been kept fully informed by the United Kingdom Government
of the various developments as they have occurred. / 3
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ro11owlnghe rejection of proposal-s emanating from the HMS
" Tiger" discussions, 1I-meceived ashort-cable purporting to come from Mr.
Howman, who is described by-the-Smith regime as " Minister for Information,
in which he made an explanation from the Rhodesian side of the failure of the
" Tiger" talks and went on to say that Mr. Smith would be ready to meet me at
any time and any place for discussiLon. In keeping with the consistent attitude
of non-recognition which the Australian Government has maintained during the
relevant period of office of my predecessor, Sir Robert Menzies, and throughoit.
my own time as Prime Minister, I made no acknowledgment of this message.
There were, however, references to it in a section of the Australian press
which appear to have been dervied from the self-styled " Rhodesian Information
Service" in Australia. I made the contents of this cable known to the British
High Commissioner in Australia for transmission to his Prime Minister.
On 14th December, I received a cable in code purporting to come
from Mr. Smith himself, in which he invited me to send a fact-finding mission
to Rhodesia to report to me on the position in that country. The substance of
this was also conveyed by me to the British High Commissioner after consideration
had been given to both cables by the Australian Cabinet.
Press reports emanating from Salisbury over the weekend are to
the effect that Mr. Smith has cabled the Australian and New Zealand Prime
Ministers inviting them to nominate members to a commission to test Rhodesian
public opinion on constitutional proposals. The same reports state that Mr.
Smith's Cabinet had announced it could accept the proposed changes, but not
the British demands for the manner of implementing them.
At the Prime Ministers' Conference, I had stated my resErvation
on the proposal than an application should be made to the United Nations. I
then expressed the view that this matter should be capable of solution inside the
Commonwealth of Nations, and that we should pursue means of achieving this.
However, in the event of failure of negotiations, I concurred on behalf of
Australia in supporting a move to the Security Council for mandatory selective
sanctions. My Government regards the proposal that Australia and New Zealand
should join in a commission which, on the face of it, is confined to those two
countries, as disturbingly unrealistic. Any finding from such a restricted
Commonwealth representation would be most unlikely to find acceptance from
the Commonwealth as a whole, and, in any event, we could not contemplace such
a course without the full knowledge and approval of the Government of the United
Kingdom. The terms of reference of any commission would also need careful
thought. But we must not lose sight of the fact that sanctions are not an end
in themselves. They have been imposed with a purpose, and that purpose is
to lead the Rhodesians to come to terms with the United Kingdom so as to open
the way to constitutional advance towards majority rule with full guarantee
for both the majority and minority communites.
Australia will remain in constant touch with the Governments of the
United Kingdom and other Commonwealth co-intries in the hope that a solution
can still be found.
CANBERRA, 2Cth December, 1966