40. Mr. Fletch-Cookeasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he will identify the public officer or agency in whose hands the government of Rhodesia now lies.
§ Mr. FoleyI have nothing to add to the reply given on 1st July by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer to the hon. Member for Torquay (Sir F. Bennett).—[Vol. 786, c. 68–9.]
§ 53. Dame Irene Wardasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will give an assurance that, in the interest of British subjects, no further pressure will be brought to bear on other countries to withdraw their consuls from Southern Rhodesia.
§ Mr. FoleyNo. Her Majesty's Government have drawn the attention of other countries to this aspect of United Nations Resolution No. 253 and we believe it to be right to do so.
§ Mr. Juddasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action he has taken following the decision of the illegal régime in Rhodesia to move the Tangwena tribe from its traditional homeland.
§ Mr. FoleyThe illegal régime's decision to over-ride the Rhodesian courts, and to compel the tribe to leave their homeland, confirms us in the views which my right hon. Friend expressed i n the United Nations General Assembly on 22nd September. In the present circumstances, however, there is no effective action that Her Majesty's Government can take to protect the Africans in Rhodesia from this kind of injustice.
§ Mr. Biggs-Davisonasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth 4W Affairs what reassessment he has made of the effectiveness of sanctions against Rhodesia since the latest budget in Salisbury.
§ Mr. FoleySome improvement in Rhodesia's export earnings is likely as a result of this year's exceptionally good harvests. But while sanctions continue the long-term problems for the Rhodesian economy will remain.
§ Mr. Biggs-Davisonasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many passports or other travel documents for British subjects in Rhodesia have been handled by Her Britannic Majesty's Embassy in Pretoria since the closing of the United Residual Mission in Salisbury; in how many such cases the British subject concerned was required to present himself in Pretoria; what was the average time of completion of the formalities; what were the compassionate cases, and how were they dealt with; what alternative facilities are offered by British missions in Portuguese or other territories adjacent to Rhodesia; how many complaints have been received against the existing arrangements; and whether he will make a statement.
§ Mr. FoleyMore than 3,300 applications for passport facilities from United Kingdom citizens in Rhodesia have been handled by the Embassy in Pretoria since the United Kingdom Residual Mission was closed in July. In addition, 2,000 inquiries and requests for application forms have been received. A substantial proportion of these applications and inquiries have involved further, sometimes protracted, correspondence with the applicant. Since July 2,800 passports have been finally prepared; in all except compassionate cases people have been asked to collect their passports in Pretoria.
Seven hundred and forty cases have been given priority on compassionate grounds and their passports returned by post. The main categories of compassionate cases have been:—
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- (a) people requiring medical treatment outside Rhodesia;
- (b) people wanting to make urgent visits to elderly or sick relatives; and
- (c) students and elderly people clearly unable to afford the journey to Pretoria.
Any Rhodesian resident who can show that he is eligible for a United Kingdom passport can obtain one by calling at any passport issuing office, but postal applications from Rhodesia are handled in Pretoria.
The average time for completing the formalities, including correspondence to obtain additional information, has been three months for non-priority cases. For priority cases it has been very much less. The delays in issuing United Kingdom passports to Rhodesian residents have been due to the unprecedented number of applications for United Kingdom passports just before and after the closing of the Residual Mission and to administrative complications connected with the transfer of the passport work to Pretoria. When the arrangements made to dispose of the backlog are fully effective the processing time for non-priority applications will be normal.
Since July the Consular Section of Her Majesty's Embassy Pretoria has received some 500 telegrams and letters inquiring about applications, and it has also had up to 50 inquiries in person a day. My Department has also received nine letters of complaint about the arrangements.
§ Mr. Biggs-Davisonasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he will make a statement on Rhodesia with special reference to his proposals, through the United Nations and otherwise, to make mandatory sanctions against Rhodesia more effective.
§ Mr. FoleyI would refer the hon. Member to my right hon. Friend's speech at the United Nations General Assembly on 22nd September and to the press communiqué issued by the Commonwealth Sanctions Committee on 24th September, copies of which are available in the Library of the House.