§ Q3. Mr. Winnickasked the Prime Minister what is the latest position with regard to talks between Great Britain and the illegal régime in Rhodesia.
§ The Prime MinisterI would ask my hon. Friend to await the statement which I shall be making before the House adjourns for the Summer Recess.
§ Mr. WinnickIs my right hon. Friend aware that there is a good deal of concern in the country that the present illegal régime in Rhodesia could be given legal independence? Could he now give a guarantee that the racialist politicians who rule Rhodesia will never be granted independence by a British Government?
§ The Prime MinisterI suggest that my hon. Friend awaits my statement next week. However, I have made clear on a number of occasions that it would not be the wish of the Government or of the House as a whole, I am certain, that we should legalise what was an illegal act. Any talks which go on continue on the basis of the six principles which both parties and both Governments have accepted.
§ Mr. WallWhy is there this further delay? The right hon. Gentleman promised that these talks would start last month. Will the Government make a specific suggestion to Mr. Smith?
§ The Prime MinisterThe right hon. Gentleman had better await my statement next week. The time has been well spent in the preparation of the next phase. I hope to say a little more next week, although perhaps not as much as I hope to say on a later occasion.
§ Mr. HeathWould the right hon. Gentleman say when he hopes to make a statement? He will recall that when I last raised this matter he said that he hoped to make it in time for the Opposition to debate it, if they so wished, before the House rose. This is becoming more and more difficult.
§ The Prime MinisterI hope to make the statement on Monday of next week.
§ Q7. Mr. Gwilym Robertsasked the Prime Minister what discussions have taken place with the South African 682 Government on the operation of sanctions against Rhodesia.
§ The Prime MinisterIt is contrary to practice to make public confidential diplomatic exchanges.
§ Mr. RobertsIs my right hon. Friend aware that there is very considerable feeling on this side of the House—we are very concerned—about the considerable help which has been given by the South African Government to Rhodesia in terms of oil and also, possibly, in terms of armaments?
§ The Prime MinisterI have previously explained to the House some of the problems in this respect. The South African Government have not accepted, as most other countries have, the oil sanction, the cut-off of oil to Rhodesia. Oil has been going through, although at a very high price and very costly to the régime. But the South African Government have explained that it is their policy to allow normal, but not abnormal, trade, whether in oil or anything else to Rhodesia.
§ Mr. FisherCan the right hon. Gentleman throw any light on the stories which are now circulating that large quantities of oil are being exported from South Africa to Rhodesia via Bechuanaland? If these stories are true, is it not a scandal in a British Colony over which we still have control? How can it be reconciled with Government policy?
§ The Prime MinisterWe have been watching this very carefully. Some of the figures and stories which I have seen have been vastly exaggerated compared with the relatively small amounts going through Bechuanaland. One of the big problems has been oil going through Lorenzo Marques, passing from there into South Africa and from there to Rhodesia. This is the biggest problem, but it would mean action by both Portugal or South Africa, or one of them, at any rate.
§ Q8. Mr. Gwilym Robertsasked the Prime Minister if he will give an assurance that there will be full consultation with African leaders in the area before the conclusion of a Rhodesian agreement.
§ The Prime MinisterHer Majesty's Government stand by the fifth principle 683 that any solution must be acceptable to the people of Rhodesia as a whole. They will need to be fully satisfied about African opinion and the means whereby it is ascertained.
§ Mr. RobertsI am grateful to my right hon. Friend for that statement. Is he aware that the feeling above all others, on this side of the House at any rate, is that any settlement reached in Rhodesia must be acceptable to the people of Rhodesia as a whole?
§ The Prime MinisterWhen I was in Salisbury I met all the leaders of the African nationalist parties and many other African political leaders. The talks which we have been having were designed to see with whom any negotiations should be conducted. The question of consulting African opinion is one of the key issues in those talks.
§ Q9. Mr. Wallasked the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the resumption of talks with Mr. Smith's Government.
§ The Prime MinisterI would ask the hon. Member to await the statement which I shall be making before the House adjourns for the summer Recess.