SOUTHERN RHODESIA CONSTITUTION (INTERIM PROVISIONS) ORDER 1979

HC Deb 12 December 1979 vol 975 cc1485-97 12.20 am

The Lord Privy Seal (Sir Ian Gilmour)

I beg to move, That the Southern Rhodesia Constitution (Interim Provisions) Order 1979, a copy of which was laid before this House on 4 December, be approved. The order is subject to affirmative resolution of both Houses within 28 days. Articles 1 and 3 of the order came into operation on 4 December. The remainder of the order was brought into effect today by a notice signed by my right hon. and noble Friend the Foreign and Commonwealth Secretary.

The purpose of the order, as its title clearly indicates, is to make temporary provision for the government of Southern Rhodesia. It does so in terms which have been agreed by all the parties at the constitutional conference, and were spelt out in the document on the pre-independence arrangements.

The order creates the offices of Governor and Deputy Governor of Southern Rhodesia. As the House has already been informed, my right hon. and noble Friend Lord Soames has been appointed by Her Majesty to be the Governor of Southern Rhodesia. The Deputy Governor is Sir Antony Duff, deputy to the permanent secretary in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, who has played a leading part in the negotiations at the constitutional conference.

The order confers full legislative powers in Southern Rhodesia on the Governor. He will be able to make laws by ordinance. He will also have the power to continue existing laws with such modifications as he thinks fit, and to validate transactions entered into during the period since 11 November 1965. The Governor's first ordinance, which sets out in greater detail how he will exercise his powers, will be published shortly in Salisbury. So also will a second ordinance, setting out the functions of the election commissioner and his staff and establishing the Election Council, in accordance with the arrangements agreed at the conference for the pre-independence elections. I shall arrange for copies of these ordinances to be placed in the Library of the House. While the legislative power conferred upon the Governor is very extensive, my right honourable and noble Friend the Foreign and Commonwealth Secretary has made clear at the constitutional conference that the power will not be used to make changes in Rhodesia which are properly the business of an elected Government. The Governor's role will be to organise elections and maintain the administration of the country on a caretaker basis.

The order also confers upon the Governor full executive authority in Southern Rhodesia, and requires all officers and authorities in Rhodesia to obey his instructions. Bishop Muzorewa and his colleagues will not exercise ministerial powers during the Governor's period of office. This provision is crucial to the implementation of the pre-independence arrangements agreed at the constitutional conference. It will give the Governor the authority with which to ensure the impartial administration of the country during the elections and the implementation of the ceasefire. At the same time, it recognises that he will have to work through the existing administration and police.

As the House knows, the Government have taken the view—and this has been accepted by the parties at the conference—that there is no practical alternative in this brief period to using the existing services. It will be for the Government of independent Zimbabwe to decide on the future structure of the services of the State.

The order also vests in the Governor the prerogative of mercy. During the pre-independence period no sentences of death can be carried out unless it be confirmed by the Governor. It would not be in accord with the policy of Her Majesty's Government that executions should take place.

Finally, the order provides that the rights and liabilities of the Government of Southern Rhodesia, including the pre-UDI debts and liabilities, remain enforceable.

I shall not detain the House at this late hour by repeating the reasons which have led the Government to decide to appoint a Governor for Southern Rhodesia. These were set out fully during the debate on the Southern Rhodesia Act, in subsequent statements and again in my speech on the Second Reading of the Zimbabwe Bill today. The constitutional responsibility for bringing Rhodesia to independence rests with Britain. It has been agreed by the parties and by the Commonwealth that there should be elections under our authority. To ensure that all parties can take part on an equal footing, that authority must extend not only to the elections but also over the whole administration of the country. This order confers the powers which enable a British Governor to carry out the responsibilities laid upon him under the agreements reached at the constitutional conference. I therefore commend the order to the House.

12.25 am

Mr. Peter Shore (Stepney and Poplar)

I shall be brief. This order gives power to the Governor in Salisbury, and now that the Salisbury Parliament has dissolved itself and Rhodesia has returned to the status of a colony it is inevitable that the Governor must be equipped with the necessary powers to govern the country in the period up to the elections and the formation of the new Government. That is why he is given legislative and wide executive powers, such as the prerogative of mercy and control over the armed forces, which is specifically mentioned in article 5 (4) of the order. All these things are necessary, and the only questions that come to mind are those of the circumstances in which these powers should be exercised and when they should be assumed by the Governor in Salisbury.

In our view there is a missing component in the arrangements, and that is the ceasefire. We now have a situation in which the Governor controls the whole State apparatus of Rhodesia. At the same time there are men at arms throughout that country. About 90 per cent. of it is under martial law and there are substantial concentrations of men at arms near the frontiers of Mozambique and Zambia. These men will continue operations until they receive instructions from their leaders to operate a ceasefire.

The House must face the fact that a clash between the Rhodesian armed forces and the guerrilla army is a real and present danger. If that clash were to take place on any scale, Britain, through the Governor who is the Commander-in- Chief, would be directly involved in the civil war.

Yesterday we tried to drive home the implications of that to the Lord Privy Seal and the Prime Minister. We were right to do so before the Governor departed. I do not want to go over that again, if only because the Governor has already arrived in Rhodesia. I find it a matter for great criticism that this order, giving the Governor these powers, should have been put down for debate not before his departure but after his arrival. If ever there was a case of locking the stable door after the horse had bolted, this is it. I carefully read the reports of yesterday's exchanges both in this House and in the other place. I understand all the various factors in the Government's mind and how they operated upon them in coming to their decision to send Lord Soames to Salisbury yesterday.

The announcement, made, I think, by the Under-Secretary of State, that the supply of maize to Zambia is being resumed is an immediate and welcome development following the Governor's arrival there, as is the information—if I gleaned it rightly—that the martial courts are being suspended.

We must acknowledge that all this is indeed a gamble. We think that there are very grave risks. However, it may well be—indeed, I hope that it will be—that the Government are on a winning streak in their present gambling mood, that the ceasefire agreement will be quickly announced and that our anxieties will be shown to have been unjustified.

There is nothing more that I can say to the rear of the already departed horse.

12.32 am

Mr. Peter Bottomley (Woolwich, West)

It is important to recognise that the Government—and presumably the Governor—intend to make as few changes as possible, and only those that will lead towards free and fair elections. It is right that there should be as many confidence-building measures as possible, because what happens between now, the elections and the achievement of full independence will affect the chances of a coup, counter-coup or stability after independence has been achieved.

I hope that the Governor, using these powers, will do what he can to respond to the unprecedented appeal by the International Red Cross about the relief work and rebuilding necessary to help those who have suffered from a particularly wanton and persistently cruel war.

I am delighted to hear that the Governor has already started the maize transfers to Zambia, but food relief within Rhodesia is just as important. I hope that the people of Rhodesia directly under his care will find the risk of famine receding as the weeks go by with him in office.

The Governor will need to give attention under these powers to the problems of refugees both inside the country—those who flocked to the urban areas, many of whom have a miserable existence in the squatter settlements in and around the cities—and those in refugee camps outside the country's borders. I hope that during the election period and the time leading up to it operations will take place to enable people to return to their homes. It may be necessary for some of the protected villages to remain, but I hope that as many people in them as possible will be able to return home if they wish to do so. I trust that those who continue to live in them will be able to go about their business outside the camps, which they have not been able to do in the recent past.

I should like the Governor to give attention to the question of the detainees. I am delighted to hear that the military tribunals and hangings will cease, but there is still the question of the conservative estimate of 18,000 detainees. Perhaps the Government or the Governor can pay attention to that. I appeal to the Patriotic Front to release any people who are at present unwillingly within its custody and care. Perhaps at some stage the Government, or the Governor, will make a statement on the question of people who were deported or who are persona non grata in Rhodesia and say whether those who have not been able to return to Salisbury from outside the country in the recent past will be able to do so if they are not openly or understandably recognised as subversive.

The next points that I wish to make are on education and hospitals. Many schools, hospitals and clinics have had to close during the past few years. One of the confidence-building measures that can be taken during the next two months is to reopen them. It is estimated that 400,000 children have lost their education in the past few years. It would be confidence-building to them and to their parents if they could get back to school and start receiving the education that will be necessary for an independent Zimbabwe.

As a final point, I ask the Governor to ensure that the Zimbabwe-Rhodesian Broadcasting Corporation starts using the world service of the BBC for its international news instead of using the South African news service. It is not that I have anything in particular against South African broadcasting, but, having fought to preserve the external and world services of the BBC, I think that that would be regarded as impartial both inside and outside Rhodesia.

12.36 am

Mr. Phillip Whitehead (Derby, North)

I want to follow immediately the last point made by the hon. Member for Woolwich, West (Mr. Bottomley)—a point with which I agree. All of us tonight would wish to speed Lord Soames on his way with our fervent good wishes for his success and perhaps not quibble too much about the day or two days too early or too late that he might have gone. If he succeeds, no one will reflect whether he might have waited another day or two days and, if he fails, whether any amount of delay might have altered that course. We must all hope that he succeeds.

The point that I wish to make concerns the executive powers of Lord Soames under article 5 of the statutory instrument with regard to the control of the public services in Rhodesia. We are told by the Lord Privy Seal that the Governor will issue ordinances consequent upon this statutory instrument. Those ordinances will not come before the House, so this is our only opportunity to raise points which we have attempted to bring up at Question Time and on other occasions recently.

I wish to press the Lord Privy Seal on a matter that I raised with him at Question Time recently and which has been touched on by the hon. Member for Woolwich, West, namely, the control of the Rhodesian broadcasting services in the run-up to the independence election.

The public services taken over by Lord Soames in his capacity as Governor fall into two distinct functions: some purely administrative, and others that are in a sense mediatory. The administrative functions go on as before. There may be a tug of loyalties and problems, but most public servants in Rhodesia will continue in their jobs. That goes for policemen, too. They will be doing what they were doing before. But for those who are in charge of the information services there is a different and more complex problem. That problem arises from the massive change in function that they must now undergo.

Those of us who have been subject, as most hon. Members have over the years, to Rhodesian propaganda emanating from Salisbury know the nature and style of that material. They have been used to being—and so have the Rhodesian broadcasting services—a mouthpiece for the Smith Government and then for the internal settlement. They are now being asked to provide an even-handed service between their former Government—no longer their Government—and an organisation that for many years they have been accustomed to describe as, and no doubt believed to be, bloodthirsty terrorists.

In the circumstances, it seems extremely unlikely that the Rhodesian broadcasting services, left to themselves, could, even if the best will in the world obtained, which I doubt, provide the kind of services necessary to get over in this deeply divided country anything like a proper balance of views and opinions. I am thinking much more of radio and of the vernacular services in the Shona and Matabele languages than of the comparatively few people who watch television or listen to English language relays. I hope that, as the hon. Member for Woolwich, West said, the service provided externally to Rhodesia will be not the South African but the BBC service. The BBC's overseas services were formerly relayed through Francis town to Rhodesia, so it should be technically possible, before the election, to have the overseas services relayed there again.

The Lord Privy Seal, in answer to me in the House recently, said that the House could rest assured that there would be fair coverage provided by the Rhodesian broadcasting services. However, he did not say how, and there have been extensive press reports that the Government have turned down proposals to send BBC or other experts from Britain to oversee the broadcasting services during the election period.

I suggest that the right hon. Gentleman should think again on this matter Mr. Garfield Todd and others in Rhodesia have made strong representations about the nature of the broadcasting services which the Rhodesians enjoy—if that is the right word—at the moment, and the need to change them. Although Mr. Todd used to be the subject of some derision on the Conservative Benches, he has been clearly vindicated by events.

Will the Lord Privy Seal tell us whether it is envisaged that Lord Soames' entourage will include people who will take over the administration of the Rhodesian broadcasting and information services? Unless that happens I do not believe that there can be anything like proper provision of even-handed coverage, particularly in the vernacular languages, for the people of Rhodesia. They will need that in the run-up to the election bearing in mind what is being asked of both sides who will be fighting it.

Mr. Peter Bottomley

Earlier today we were told that an official from the Central Office of Information would be going out. Does the hon. Member agree that we want to hear that there has been a request from the Governor or from the Central Office of Information official that BBC personnel should be seconded to provide in Rhodesia the same kind of balance as we have here?

Mr. Whitehead

That is precisely the point. I am talking both of technical personnel and reporters, those who will keep the ring in the broadcast service. It will include interviews with the leaders of the various parties. It is highly unlikely that this will be anything like a British election. I have seen some naive documents suggesting that election round-up programmes should be introduced with "It is your line to Robert Mugabe" as the chief enticement to the housewives of Salisbury. That is not the kind of programmes that we are talking about. I am referring to the opportunity being provided for all the various factions in the election to put their points of view, and for that to be mediated fairly by the professional broadcasters.

I hope that the Lord Privy Seal will be able to tell us that experts from this country, or from elsewhere in the Commonwealth, will go out, at the Government's request, to provide that service.

12.43 a.m.

Mr. Robert Hughes (Aberdeen, North)

I wish to make a general comment about the order and the Lord Privy Seal's method of presenting it. He should speak not of the power of the Governor but of his authority. The two things must not be confused. The Governor has the authority. Whether he has the power we have to wait and see.

I am glad that the hon. Member for Woolwich, West (Mr. Bottomley) raised the issue of the return of refugees from outside the country. It is important that they should be able to return at the earliest possible stage. I have not had a figure confirmed, but there may be as many as 250,000 voters outside Rhodesia. If that is so, it could make a substantial difference to the result of the election.

I hope that they will be able to return and that it will be possible for the protected villages to be disbanded so that people can go about their business in as normal a way as possible. It would be too much to expect that within a matter of days a country that has been strife-torn for seven years can suddenly return to normality. It will be a very long time before the country does return to normality—probably it will be long after the election. The process of conciliation and reconciliation will take some time to become fully effective. I hope that it will begin as quickly as possible.

The points raised by my hon. Friend the Member for Derby, North (Mr. Whitehead) about the way in which the media will deal with events should be taken very seriously. There is certainly evidence in this country that our reporting of events in Rhodesia leaves a lot to be desired. I have written today to ITN on the basis of a complaint raised with me about ITN's coverage from Salisbury of the announcement that a ceasefire had been agreed in principle. The ITN reporter went out on to the streets of Salisbury and purported to seek the views of the people of Rhodesia on the outcome of the ceasefire. It is incredible that he sought the views only of white people, who are outnumbered by seven to one.

Mr. Peter Bottomley

Twenty-seven to one.

Mr. Hughes

It is late, but I am always glad to be corrected. The hon. Gentleman reinforces the point that I am making. It is incredible that not one black person on the streets of Salisbury was asked to express a view on the ceasefire. If that kind of biased reporting is transmitted to this country, how can we expect that balanced reporting and a balance of information will be made available within Rhodesia in the period leading up to the elections? I hope that every possible step will be taken to remedy that situation.

I hope that the Governor will take on board that an attempt to get free and fair elections is not simply a question of holding the ring between opposing forces in terms of military forces. It is not a matter of sitting back and passively waiting to see whether any technical breaches of the constitutional arrangements or irregularities in procedure occur. There are serious problems, some of which have been mentioned, such as the difficulty of obtaining committee rooms. If it is accepted that communications are important, it should be remembered that telephones are a matter of our electoral life that we take for granted.

If we explain to the Post Office that we have a committee room in a particular street, it is only a matter of hours before a telephone is installed. Do we imagine that if the Patriotic Front says that it wants a telephone in a remote area those in charge of installing telephones in Rhodesia will go out of their way to see that such a request is met quickly? If this election is to be run fairly, the Governor must make sure that communications are provided. I believe I am correct in saying that the Government have agreed to make radio sets available to the Patriotic Front in order to communicate orders about the ceasefire. Perhaps the provision of telephones should be considered in a similar way.

Article 6 deals with the prerogative of mercy. I am glad to hear that the martial law courts have been suspended. That is the kind of action for which we have been looking to get things moving. I am also glad to hear that hangings are to cease. May we assume that the prerogative of mercy will be exercised by the Governor for those who have been sentenced by these courts in the past and that they will be released from whatever the circumstances in which they have been imprisoned?

Sir Ian Gilmour indicated assent.

Mr. Hughes

Those are the kinds at matters that justify sending the Governor in advance. Had we been told in advance that that was the sort of action that was likely to be taken, some of our fears might have been taken care of earlier.

I wish to raise one specific point about which I have spoken privately to the Lord Privy Seal and about which I have now written to him. A constituent of mine in Salisbury prison was sentenced for making available, through his banking job, information about how the Rhodesians were able to keep finance flowing throughout the world. I do not know whether he would be included among those for release under the terms of the amnesty provisions in the Southern Rhodesia Act.

An added complication is that he was also charged with moving money illegally from the country, which I understand is a criminal, and not a political, offence. He may therefore not appear as a political prisoner, but the Governor could exercise the prerogative of mercy for my constituent who has served six years of a 15-year sentence. We hope that he can be released and returned safely to his family.

12.50 am

The Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Mr. Richard Luce)

I owe it to the House, even at this late hour, to respond briefly to one or two matters raised by hon. Members.

The hon. Member for Aberdeen, North (Mr. Hughes) mentioned Rhodesian refugees in Zambia, Mozambique and Botswana. The Governor will do his utmost, as quickly as possible, to enable those who wish to return to vote to be able to do so and, in the longer term, to be able to settle in Zimbabwe. He will have at his disposal international agencies and United Nations bodies to assist him in that process.

I am grateful for the remarks of my hon. Friend the Member for Woolwich, West (Mr. Bottomley). I am sure that the Governor will note many of my hon. Friend's suggestions. My hon. Friend referred to detainees, and another advantage of the presence of the Governor is that he will undertake an immediate review—though I hope that he will get a good night's sleep after his overnight flight—of the cases of all detained persons in Rhodesia, with the object of securing freedom of those whose release would not constitute a threat to public safety and order. Anyone detained on political grounds will be released. That applies to both sides. The Governor has a right to ask for a list of those detained by the Patriotic Front in Mozambique or anywhere else and to review their position.

The hon. Member for Derby, North (Mr. Whitehead) and a number of other hon. Members referred to the media. I responded to that matter on Second Reading, and I reiterate that it is the task of the Governor, supported by the Election Commissioner, whose task is to secure free and fair elections, to ensure that all the political parties have free, equal and proper access to the media, including the broadcasting authorities.

I understand the point raised by the hon. Member for Derby, North about the advice available to the Governor and the Election Commissioner to ensure that that access is granted. The Governor has at his disposal an adviser on these matters. They flew out together.

We must not tie the hands of the Governor, but if he feels that it is necessary to seek further advice from this country in order to ensure that the criteria on access to the media can be satisfied, it will be up to him to do so. However, we must give him a little time to settle in and discuss the matter with the Election Commissioner and other authorities.

I thank the right hon. Member for Stepney and Poplar (Mr. Shore) for his remarks about the order and the appointment of the Governor. The right hon. Gentleman highlighted the dangers, which we all acknowledge. For the reasons that have been deployed, we still feel strongly that the arrival of the Governor today will assist in the process of bringing about a speedy resumption of legality. the holding of free and fair elections and the bringing about of peace. We appreciate the good wishes that the right hon. Gentleman has given to the Governor, and I am sure that the Governor will appreciate them even more on his first evening in Rhodesia.

Question put and agreed to.

Resolved,

That the Southern Rhodesia Constitution (Interim Provisions) Order 1979, a copy of which was laid before this House on 4 December, be approved.