Stand Fast
B y 1 . I2 . NI .
CREIGHTON THE discussions and decisions which have been going on privately between British and Federal government representatives about Northern Rhodesia will prove at least as fateful for Britain,' Africa and the Commonwealth--;- perhaps even the peace of the world—as those of the Prime Ministers' Conference. If the British Government yields to the intense pressure put upon it to change its Northern Rhodesian proposals, or to adopt an alternative plan sub- mitted by Sir Roy Welensky, it will be a breach of solemn promises that the Federal Govern- ment will never be allowed to influence northern political advance. And if such a breach takes place, the already precarious situation in the Protectorate is bound to deteriorate; Britain will be in danger of blundering into an Algerian situation in Central Africa, allied to the wrong side and supporting the wrong values.
The weakness of the Federal Government's case is demonstrated by the feebleness of its reasoning and the frequent stridency of its tone. It is almost unbelievable that Mr. Greenfield. the Federal ,Minister of Law. should have insulted our intelligence by !claiming, as he did in a letter to the Tinie,s last week. that adoption of the 1961 White Paper on Northern Rhodesia will 'inevit- ably lead . . to the domination of Northern Rhodesia's legislature by immature and extreme racialists whose objective is the antithesis of partnership.' Such a description of Kenneth Kaunda of the United National Independence Party, or Harry Nkumbuta of Congress, could only be given by someone wholly out of touch with African political movements. Mr. Kaunda, the more strongly supported of the two leaders, is pledged to non-violence and co-operation with Europeans; he won general admiration during the recent negotiations for his moderation— while the United Federal Party was demonstrat- ing its intransigence by boycotting them. Any- how, as far as can be foreseen the Macleod proposals will not place control in African hands at all; but they will remove it—and this is what Sir Roy cannot abide—from the United Federal Party. This is as it should be: the UFP is re- sented and disliked by an overwhelming majority of the African population for whose political advancement Britain, and Britain alone, is responsible.
Britain's greatest asset in Central Africa is the confidence of Northern Rhodesian Africans, and Welensky is dissipating it at an alarming rate. Originally they were prepared to accept, or at least 'to discuss further, the Macleod plan, in spite of the fact that it gave them very much less influence over their government and control over their futures than they wanted and had a right to expect. Now they believe, and it appears very likely that they are right, that Sir Roy in- structed the territorial Federal Party to boycott further discussions of these proposals unless he could wring secret concessions from the British Government which will facilitate the continua- tion of its rule. Federal Party willingness, in fact, to negotiate further will be taken by Africans as a sign that they have been sold out by Britain behind their backs unless it is made clear that this is not the case.
The Government here, in fact, has been pressed to depart from the proposals of the 1961 White Paper not for the sake of peace in Northern Rhodesia—which will be menaced only if she does—but to ensure the continuance there of a Welenskyite pro-Federal government. But to con- struct a constitution and franchise to ensure a given political result which is rejected by 95 per cent. of the population is a travesty. Federation has been in existence for seven and a half years and whatever benefit the Africans may have received, it has not been enough to remove their dislike of it. For Messrs. Kaunda, Banda and Nkomo do represent African opinion. They do not reject every form of Federation. but they cannot accept one that is run by Sir Roy Welen- sky, on the existing terms.
To describe the Macleod constitution as racialist, as Federal Party members are now doing, is hypocritical. The fact is that power in the Federation is at present in the hands of a group of European extremists, whose objective is the antithesis of the only real kind of racial partnership—partnership between people as equals. The aim of the Federal Government is to offer small numbers of Africans the vote on terms which ensure that they cannot sway or signifi- cantly influence the outcome of an election. and to secure by psephological legerdemain the elec- tion of unrepresentative Africans who will sup- port white supremacy. This is not political partnership; but any extension of the franchise which the Federal Party will agree to will attempt to preserve these conditions, however skilfully they are concealed.
The deadlock is complete unless Britain asserts her power to break it by proceeding, if necessary, without Federal Party approval. To do so will not remove power from the hands of 'civilised and responsible people,' as the Federal Party argues. There is nothing civilised or responsible in seek- ing to restrict effective political power to 300,000 Europeans and to exclude seven million Africans from direct control over their destinies. It is simply a means of attempting to ensure a white supremacy which cannot possibly be maintained.
The electors of Nigeria, who have sent Sir Abubakar to Westminster, those of Tanganyika who have chosen Julius Nyerere, would not appear to be less civilised and responsible than those represented by Sir Roy Welensky, but they are Africans of exactly the same calibre as those in the Federation. The only difference is that they do not live in settler-dominated countries.
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