Rhodesia (Hansard, 14 February 1979)

§ 1. Mr. Canavan
asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he will make a further statement about Rhodesia.

§ The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Mr. Edward Rowlands)
May I also add my words of grief about the death of Reggie Maudling? His loss will be felt in the affairs of Southern Africa to which he regularly contributed from a long and deep knowledge of the situation. We shall all miss his wise counsels and his contributions to such debates.
My right hon. Friend held discussions on Rhodesia with Mr. Vance in Washington 10 days ago. They agreed that the United Nations supervised elections, following a ceasefire and the establishment of a neutral transitional administration as provided for in the Anglo-American proposals, remain essential for a viable settlement. Tragic recent events make it even more necessary to continue to work to improve the prospects for negotiation through contacts with the parties and with all the Governments concerned.

§ Mr. Canavan
Although Members on both sides of the House have rightly deplored the killing of 59 people in the recent airliner incident, does my hon. Friend agree that Smith's public promise of retaliation can only escalate the Rhodesian war? Will he remind those Conservatives who are virtually encouraging a rebel like Smith to invade Zambia—a member of the Commonwealth—that such incitements may mean that in the resultant violence some of the blood may be on their hands?

§ Mr. Rowlands
I appreciate that the extension of the conflict and the response—if there is a response which could lead to further escalation of the violence—is one of the dangerous consequences of the act of barbarism that occurred yester- 1112 day. The right hon. Member for Cambridgeshire (Mr. Pym) said yesterday that acts of provocation, from whichever quarter at this stage, could only make a settlement that much more difficult to achieve.

§ Mr. Pym
On behalf of my right hon. and hon. Friends, may I add to your words, Mr. Speaker, and say what an immense sense of loss we feel in this House at the death of the Right Hon. Reginald Maudling? We feel that his death constitutes a grievous loss to our country, a very real loss to Parliament, a particular loss to the Conservative Party and, above all, a great loss to his family. I thank the Minister of State for his kind words.
Reginald Maudling was once Secretary of State for the Colonies. I was privileged to be his Parliamentary Private Secretary for a part of that time and he did, indeed, take a deep interest in all colonial affairs. In recent years he has taken part in every debate on Southern Africa. He would certainly have been with us this afternoon had he been spared. He would have taken a very acute interest in the elections that are about to be held.
Has the Minister received an invitation to send observers to that election? If so, what response has he given?

§ Mr. Rowlands
I do not believe that we have received a formal invitation. We have had announcements that the internal settlement leaders in Salisbury would wish us to send observers. The Government have no plans to do so. We do not think that observers are any substitute for internationally-supervised free and fair elections, but of course it will be for the House to decide how it wishes to respond.

§ Mr. Steel
May I, on behalf of my colleagues, say how much we, too, miss both the wisdom and friendliness of Reggie Maudling in this House?
Following the report made by the right hon. Member for Anglesey (Mr. Hughes), although no all-party conference will take place, will the Minister assure us that the Government are maintaining contact with the internal settlement leaders and those outside the country in a continuing effort to secure a settlement?

§ Mr. Rowlands
We shall endeavour to do so. Following the meeting between 1113 my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary and Secretary of State Vance in Washington on 3 February, further approaches will be made to the parties in an effort to get agreement on such essential elements as the United Nations supervised elections and ceasefire. Such approaches are, by their very nature, undramatic and confidential, but we certainly shall pursue them.

§ Mr. Robert Hughes
What is democratic about consulting only whites about the kind of constitution in Rhodesia and the black population of Rhodesia simply has to accept what is laid down by the internal settlement? Until the people of Rhodesia are given a proper opportunity to decide freely for themselves their own future there will be no peace in Rhodesia.

§ Mr. Rowlands
I agree with my hon. Friend. Certainly the referendum cannot be a test of acceptability of any proposal. There must be a test of opinion of the whole of Rhodesia in conditions which allow free and fair elections to take place.

§ Mr. Blaker
Does the Minister agree that the elections are designed to test whether the fifth principle has been observed? Does he realise that if the Government refuse to send observers they will appear once again to be discrediting the men of peace and favouring the men of violence?

§ Mr. Rowlands
That is not so. We have pointed out, rightly, that in the situation in Rhodesia at present, where 90 per cent. of the country is under martial law, where radio and the media are censored and where all parties are not allowed to participate in the internationally supervised elections, we do not believe that this is a basis for testing public opinion or acceptability in Rhodesia.

Several Hon. Members
rose—

§ Mr. Speaker
Order. We must move on. This matter comes up again.