Still more Hain
Sir: As a Transvaal Executive Member of the Liberal party until I left South Africa in 1964 I must comment on Mr Lazarus's 'Ham again ' letter (Januaryl). I have known the Hains for many years; it seems a Mr Fraser-Harris "exposed the communist affiliations of the Hain family "; what utter rubbish. I do not intend to and did not read Mr Fraser-Harris's " exposure" to know that they are nonsense or planned mischief.
There is no need to study books in order to find out where the allegiance of South African Liberals lies: the preamble to our Constitution stated that the Liberal party of South Africa was "opposed to all forms of totalitarianism such as fascism, communism and apartheid."
How the Rivonia trials could suggest anything else is hard to un derstand. No Liberals were among the accused; some of them were Communists, other were not; Alan Paton, then President of the Liberal party, gave evidence about the ideology of terrorism in accordance with the party's constitution; Mr Lazarus seems to see something sinister in all this, I can't see what, though.
I am not quite sure what Messrs Lazarus and Fraser-Harris are up to; applying their own queer sort of logic, happily unencumbered by the knowledge of easily ascertainable facts, they have managed to make the Hain family out to be fellow-travellers. If one wanted to stoop so low one could apply the same kind of childish argument and could find that Fraser-Harris and Lazarus are Vorster fans; maybe they are?
I do not wish to knock Communism, especially not in the company of Vorster, Lazarus and FraserHarris, but it should be made quite clear to your readers in Britain that the South African white government's interpretation of Communism applies to anybody who is opposed to apartheid; when a friend of mine was arrested under the 'Suppression of Communism Act,' she asked how this Act could apply when she was, in fact, an anti-Communist; she got this classic reply from the arresting officer: " I don't care what kind of a communist you are, Madam."
Mr Lazarus implies that the Hains had no sympathy for the victims of the Harris bomb outrage: what bloody impertinence. It shows that Mr Lazarus know absolutely nothing about the Hains whose personal and political integrity is utterly beyond doubt to all who know them well.
Gerhard Cohn 4 Heath Street, London NW3
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