§ 4. Mr. Michael Brownasked the Lord Privy Seal if he plans to visit Rhodesia.
§ The Lord Privy Seal (Sir Ian Gilmour)I have no plans to do so.
§ Mr. BrownI hope that it will not be long before my right hon. Friend can visit Rhodesia, but what pressure are the Government putting on the Patriotic Front during the negotiations to end the civil war in Rhodesia, bearing in mind the tremendous concessions made by our Government and the Government of Bishop Muzorewa?
§ Sir I. GilmourWe are not putting pressure on anybody. We are negotiating with the Patriotic Front and with Bishop Muzorewa's delegation. It is our wish that the violence should be ended as soon as possible, and at the beginning of the conference we appealed to both parties to end violence. Bishop Muzorewa's delegation agreed to a ceasefire. Unfortunately, the Patriotic Front did not. If at the conference we gain an agreement, as we hope that we shall, it will mean an end to the violence.
§ Mr. Alexander W. LyonWill the right hon. Gentleman accept that the British Government have not made any concession whatsoever in the entire eight weeks of negotiations? Will he also accept that the document on the constitution to which the Patriotic Front was asked to give a "Yes" or "No" answer within a few days was the same as that tabled at the beginning of the negotiations? In the discussions on the transitional stage, the Patriotic Front has been equally adamant in not negotiating on any point.
§ Sir I. GilmourThe hon. Gentleman's intervention is no more helpful than it was last week. He may know the difficulties of negotiating with two parties. It is much easier with one. In both cases our original proposals were a compromise. If the hon. Gentleman looks at the original proposals and at the final answer to the constitution, he will find that what he said is not true.
§ Mr. SpeakerOrder. This matter will come up later and a number of questions will be answered together.