Rhodesia

HC Deb 07 July 1976 vol 914 cc1340-4

2. Mr. Brocklebank-Fowler

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a further statement on Rhodesia.

8. Mr. Lane

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he will make a further statement on recent developments in Rhodesia.

12. Mr. Luce

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the situation in Rhodesia.

The Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Mr. Edward Rowlands)

I would refer the hon. Members to the answer my right hon. Friend gave to the hon. Member for Epping Forest (Mr. Biggs-Davison) on 16th June.

As my right hon. Friend has told the House, Her Majesty's Government cannot consider a new British initiative over Rhodesia which is not within the framework described by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 22nd March. We are, of course, exploring ways of bringing the white majority to accept the realities of the situation.

Mr. Brocklebank-Fowler

Will the Minister reconsider that reply in the light of the recent meeting between Dr. Kissinger and Mr. Vorster, from which it was clear that they felt that a new British initiative would now be timely? Will he also consider publishing the discussion paper which was prepared by his office in discussion with the ANC prior to the negotiations between the ANC and Mr. Smith? Will he further comment on the reports on the radio today that the American Under-Secretary of State is touring Africa with proposals for compensation and guarantees for minorities?

Mr. Rowlands

What we desperately need is to avoid taking initiatives which again will fail. We have had a succession of initiatives taken by Governments of both major parties over a number of years. We must frankly confess that none has succeeded. Each time there is a failure, it enhances tension and increases the likelihood of a military build-up. That is what is behind our consideration and our belief that the statement of 22nd March laid down the very principles that would have to be agreed before we could get an effective initiative going. That does not preclude us from exploring other ways of bringing this home to the white minority régime in Rhodesia.

In regard to the American official who is to tour African capitals—and the hon. Gentleman is right about conversations between Dr. Kissinger and Mr. Vorster—the hon. Gentleman should not think that everything he hears on the radio or reads in the Press is true. This is a usual and normal follow-up of the prospect and an explanation of the meeting between Dr. Kissinger and Mr. Vorster.

Mr. Speaker

I appeal to hon. Members to try to make their supplementary question only one question. That is only fair to the rest of the House, and it will also enable the Minister to give a brief reply.

Mr. MacFarquhar

Will my hon. Friend go a little further than he did in his last reply on the subject of the American official? Is it true that the official is touring Africa with a view to securing possibilities of resettlement of white Rhodesians, if necessary? Was this agreed with the British Government, if it is true, and should we not be doing it anyway?

Mr. Rowlands

I certainly wish to be as brief as possible, Mr. Speaker. I cannot comment on the people that Mr. Schaufele will be seing in African capitals. It is the British Government's policy that the whole emphasis should be to try to keep the whites in Rhodesia after majority rule.

Mr. Lane

As it is clear that while Rhodesia remains primarily a British responsibility the whole international community is increasingly worried by the drift towards disaster in Rhodesia, will the Government at least start to reopen their minds, as my hon. Friend the Member for Norfolk, North-West (Mr. Brocklebank-Fowler) suggested, to the desirability of a new British initiative, on a wider basis than hitherto, for getting going talks that might involve other interested countries in Europe, Africa and North America?

Mr. Rowlands

I think I have already answered that point when I commented that an intiative which proved to be a failure or a disaster, or was merely a dramatic gesture, would create the very tension and problems that we are all trying to avoid. Unless we can get the fundamental principles agreed beforehand, we do not see an initiative of this kind working.

Mr. Robert Hughes

Have not the Tanzanian Government submitted to the Commonwealth Secretariat a paper on resettlement of whites from Rhodesia? While obviously welcoming any prospect of their remaining there to build a multiracial society, may I ask how the discussions on that paper are proceeding?

Mr. Rowlands

The Tanzanian Government have circulated a paper as my hon. Friend describes, but, as I have said, the whole emphasis of our policy ought to be to try to create a situation which will allow the whites in Rhodesia to stay there in peace and help and work with the new Government and the new society.

Mr. Luce

Does the Minister accept that there are a great number of Europeans and Africans in Rhodesia who feel that a deteriorating war of attrition will not only lead to chaos as far as they are concerned but will provide a foothold for the Soviet Union and Cuba to exploit? Since that is a situation which is extremely grave, will the Minister and the Government at least make it clear that if only both sides were to compromise we in the West are prepared to give every assistance possible?

Mr. Rowlands

The hon. Gentleman must realise that the simplest and easiest, and also the most effective, way of preventing the bloodshed which he and many people are forecasting is if Mr. Smith and his régime were to accept the principles of majority rule so that we can get on with the job of rebuilding the new society.

Mr. Whitehead

Concerning recent events in Rhodesia, would my hon. Friend care to comment on the allegations which have been made about alleged sanctions-busting in Rhodesia by British Leyland and BP, organisations with which the British Government have very considerable interest?

Mr. Rowlands

As we have said repeatedly, if we get any substantive evidence of any form of sanction-busting or sanction-breaking we shall investigate the matter fully. We have always taken up proper cases and there have been heavy fines for some companies which have broken sanctions.

Mr. Maudling

Is the only precondition to a further British initiative the acceptance by Mr. Smith of the principle of majority rule?

Mr. Rowlands

The points laid down on 22nd March, with which the right hon. Gentleman is familiar, are the preconditions we would lay down and the principles with which a framework of negotiations could succeed.

16. Mr. Blaker

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has for an initiative to resolve the constitutional problem in Rhodesia.

Mr. Rowlands

I would refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave earlier today to the hon. Member for Norfolk, North-West (Mr. BrocklebankFowler).

Mr. Blaker

Will the hon. Gentleman take account of the fact that we are asking the white population of Rhodesia to change the attitudes and policies in which they have believed, sometimes passionately, for a good many years? Will he represent to his colleagues, whether in the Government or outside, that it is possible that it does not help for them to abuse and adopt a hectoring tone towards those white people? Is it not possible that instead of abuse it would be more effective if we were to offer them encouragement by making an effort to look after their interests in any settlement?

Mr. Rowlands

I think that I answered this question at considerable length in reply to an earlier supplementary question. The best way to solve the problem is to recognise the need for rapid change. I accept the first part of the hon. Gentleman's supplementary question, but I believe it is necessary for the white population to change its ways quickly so that we can get down to planning a multi-racial society in Rhodesia.

Mr. Lipton

In resolving the problems of Rhodesia, will my hon. Friend give an assurance that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office will fully co-operate with the Director of Public Prosecutions and the other people concerned—the police—in investigating the activities of some of the shady people associated with Lonrho and their activities in Rhodesia?

Mr. Rowlands

May I say first that there is no relationship between "Tiny" Rowland and myself. There is no "s" in Mr. Rowland's name and we are rather different in size. Of course, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office always co-operates with the police and the Director of Public Prosecutions.