§ 10. Miss Lestorasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will publish the dossier prepared by Mr. Ian Smith on the allegations of violence and intimidation when the Pearce Commission was in Southern Rhodesia.
§ Sir Alec Douglas-HomeNo, Sir. The dossier was presented to the Pearce Commission and not to me and it is for the Commission to consider it.
§ Miss LestorBearing in mind that unless information such as this dossier is said to contain is made publicly available very little credibility can be attached to it, and also bearing in mind the Foreign Secretary's knowledge of the intimidation, the assaults, the imprisonment and the detention which have taken 1035 place concerning people who were campaigning against the terms of the settlement, may I ask the right hon. Gentleman to make available to the House the most detailed information possible about what took place when the Pearce Commission was in Rhodesia?
§ Sir Alec Douglas-HomeI shall consider the matter, but I should prefer to see the Pearce Report first. The hon. Member will remember that Lord Pearce particularly asked for two extra commissioners to deal with this question of intimidation, so I should like to see his report first.
§ Mr. Nigel FisherAlthough there was a certain amount of intimidation or direct pressure both ways, would my right hon. Friend agree that the degree and extent of it was not really as great as to invalidate the findings of the Pearce Commission, whatever they may be?
§ Sir Alec Douglas-HomeLord Pearce considered this at one time in relation to whether his commission could stay in Rhodesia, and obviously he considered that he could carry on with his job. The situation was not such as to prevent his staying there. As regards the future, I should like to consider what my hon. Friend has said, but we must see Lord Pearce and his report.
§ Mr. CallaghanThe right hon. Gentleman has twice said that he wants to see Lord Pearce's report. Can he say what the present status is of that, when he hopes to receive it and when we are likely to hear a statement on it? Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that, in the absence of the publication of this document prepared by Mr. Smith, there is considerable concern that action may be taken against people on very tainted evidence?
§ Sir Alec Douglas-HomeI think I shall receive the report very shortly, in a matter of a few weeks—I hope at about the beginning of May. Thereafter we shall have to debate the matter, which will be a matter for discussion between the right hon. Gentleman, the usual channels and myself. It is a report to me and I should like to have time to consider it. The House, too, will want to consider all these matters. I shall bear in mind what the right hon. Gentle- 1036 man has said, particularly about detainees.
§ 12. Mr. Hugh Jenkinsasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, in view of the facts that an illegal tribunal has declared that the continued detention of Garfield and Judith Todd and Josiah and Ruth China-mano is necessary in the interests of public safety and order, and that the illegal régime is unwilling to try people in an open court of law, what action Her Majesty's Government will now take to free these British subjects from detention without trial.
§ Sir Alec Douglas-HomeAs the House knows, we have made representations about these detentions, but we have no power to secure release or open trial.
§ Mr. JenkinsWhat action is the right hon. Gentleman proposing to take to secure some power to reimpose the reality of British rule in Rhodesia and to secure the release of all those detained without trial by the usurping régime?
§ Sir Alec Douglas-HomeAs to reimposing the reality of power, the hon. Gentleman knows that his Government could not impose what he calls the reality of power. They tried once in relation to those Africans condemned to be hanged, and they failed. At least the position about detainees is better than it was two years ago. There are 67 now, where there were 133 before. No one is content with that, but at least the position is better.
§ Mr. JenkinsIn view of the unsatisfactory nature of that reply, I beg to give notice that I shall raised the matter on the Adjournment at the earliest possible opportunity.
§ 18. Mr. Clinton Davisasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Common wealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the latest developments with regard to the work of the Pearce Commission.
§ 19. Mr. Wallasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he is yet able to make a statement on the conclusions of the Pearce Commission, and on the United Kingdom's relations with the Rhodesian Government in the light of these conclusions.
§ 3. Mr. William Priceasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he can now give the date when he expects to receive Lord Pearce's report on the proposed settlement with Rhodesia.
§ Sir Alec Douglas-HomeThe Pearce Commission is still preparing its report. I hope to receive it fairly soon. As I told the House on 27th March, I shall then need some time to consider the report before making any further statement of policy.—[Vol. 834, c. 4.]
§ Mr. DavisWill the right hon. Gentleman explain the sort of back-door pressure which the illegal régime in Rhodesia is seeking to exercise upon him and upon the Pearce Commission? Further, will he say who the emissaries were who were received by his Department last week from that régime, what was the purpose of their visit and what was its outcome?
§ Sir Alec Douglas-HomeThe hon. Gentleman is mistaken if he thinks that I am inclined to give way to what he calls back-door pressure. That is not my habit. As regards the emissaries, the hon. Gentleman will know that we have a representative in Salisbury all the time. Mr. Smith wanted two of his close advisers to talk about possibilities for the future, and I thought that it was a sensible thing to do.
§ Mr. WallCan my right hon. Friend give some idea when he will be able to make a statement to the House—for example, whether it will be before the Whitsun Recess—and will he say how many officials we have representing our Government in the Rhodesian capital?
§ Sir Alec Douglas-HomeI imagine that my hon. Friend did not hear the earlier exchanges on that point. I hope to receive the report some time about the beginning of May. Thereafter it will be for me to study the report, and that I shall do. We shall then arrange through the usual channels for a statement and debate. My hon. Friend spoke of the Whitsun Recess. It is a matter which we shall have to consider through the usual channels; we shall try to make the timing convenient to the House.
§ Mr. David SteelCould the right hon. Gentleman clarify the answers which he has given? It is his intention, is it not, 1038 to publish the report after he has had time to study it?
§ Sir Alec Douglas-HomeYes, Sir of course.
§ Mr. PagetIs the right hon. Gentleman aware that the Empress Catharine once put a guard on a snowdrop, and it was found to be still there 200 years later? Is not our guard on the Mozambique Channel rapidly falling into the same category?
§ Sir Alec Douglas-HomeThe hon. and learned Gentleman's analogies are always amusing. While sanctions last, we have to maintain our obligations under them.
§ 26. Mr. William Hamiltonasked the-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the illegal Rhodesian régime concerning infringements of the undertakings given to him by Mr. Smith prior to the establishment of the Pearce Commission; and what reply he has received.
§ Sir Alec Douglas-HomeI would wish to see Lord Pearce's findings on this before I decide whether any action is called for.
§ Mr. HamiltonIs the right hon Gentleman aware that Mr. Smith is still pursuing viciously racialist policies, despite the undertakings that were given prior to the setting up of the Pearce Commission, notably about the razing to the ground, purely for racialist reasons, of the homes of black Rhodesians? What representations did the right hon. Gentleman make last week to the secret emissaries from the Smith régime?
§ Sir Alec Douglas-HomeI have told Mr. Smith on many occasions that we disagree with the action he has taken, that we deplore some of his actions in this respect and that these detentions are unjustified. However, I have no power to insist on what action Mr. Smith should take in Rhodesia. I would like to see Lord Pearce's findings on this matter before considering any further action I can usefully take.
§ Mr. Robert HughesWhy did the right hon. Gentleman think it proper for emissaries of the Smith régime to be received by his Department while the 1039 British Government thought it improper to have a meeting with Bishop Muzorewa on his recent visit?
§ Sir Alec Douglas-HomeI am always willing to see anybody from Rhodesia who wishes to see me if I think that such a meeting will contribute towards a solution of the present difficult problem. I do not think I was here when the Bishop was in London.