HC Deb 14 February 1979 vol 962 cc548-9W
13. Mr. Gow

asked the Secretary or State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he will now establish a permanent British mission in Salisbury, Rhodesia; and whether he will make a statement about the Government's policy towards the interim Government, following the referendum held in Rhodesia on 30 January.

Mr. Rowlands

There is a small residual mission in Salisbury, but as my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister told the right hon. Member for Roxburgh, Selkirk and Peebles (Mr. Steel) on 17 January—[Vol. 960, c. 1715.1—we would be prepared to consider sending further emissaries to the area in certain circumstances.

The outcome of the recent referendum is no measure of the acceptability of the regime's constitutional proposals to the people of Rhodesia as a whole. We do not believe that elections on the basis of the internal agreement will bring peace to Rhodesia. We shall continue to work for a wider solution which could end the war, satisfy the fifth principle, and gain the acceptance of the international community.

15. Mr. William Shelton

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he will make a statement on the progress of the Anglo-American proposals for a peaceful settlement in Rhodesia.

17. Mr. Blaker

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

18. Mr. Brotherton

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

19. Mr. Rifkind

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

33. Mr. Molloy

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

Mr. Michael Latham

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Common-wealth Affairs whether he will make a further statement on Rhodesia.

Mr. Rowlands

I refer the hon. Members to the reply I gave earlier today to my hon. Friend the Member for West Stirlingshire (Mr. Canavan).

28. Mr. Grocott

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is his latest estimate of the number of people killed in Southern Rhodesia since the signing of the internal settlement.

Mr. Rowlands

Figures released by the regime show that some 5,000 people died as a result of the conflict in Rhodesia between 3 March and 31 December 1978. No independent statistics are available.