Bitter Harvest by Ian Smith

Author:Ian Smith
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781843582380
Publisher: John Blake Publishing
Published: 2011-04-30T04:00:00+00:00

17

The Internal Settlement

of 4 March 1978

Over the next few weeks, in early 1977, there were many discussions with my cabinet and the security chiefs. Regrettably, there were signs that our white community, for the first time, was beginning to have doubts about our future. It was sad that these wonderful people, who had shown such incredible strength and loyalty from the commencement of our constitutional problems with the British government, dating back to the early 1960s, were beginning to have doubts. Their doubts were not about the British, Americans, Europeans or the communist-inspired Commonwealth, whom we had known all along we could not trust. Instead, they were about the South Africans, whom we had believed would stand together with us.

Our joint position was a lonely one, as we strove to persevere with our Western civilisation on the southern corner of the African continent. Our philosophy and manner of dealing with the problem differed from that of the South Africans, and only time would tell who was right. But at least we understood Africa and its problems — we were after all Africans, albeit white Africans. Our history was interlocked, going back to 1890 when Cecil John Rhodes’s pioneer column set out from Mafeking. In 1914 our men had fought on the same side in the First World War. Once again in 1939, our men had stood together, fighting for freedom in the Second World War. There were other links which bound us closely together, such as a customs union under which we enjoyed preferential trading conditions, and many of the big companies drew no distinction between their operations on either side of the border, transferring people at will. In the field of sport we were virtually a fifth province, participating in all the major provincial competitions, with many Rhodesians gaining Springbok colours and representing South Africa in international competition.

A large number of Rhodesians had family contacts in South Africa. When Smuts, the South African Prime Minister and great wartime leader, was defeated in 1948 in the first post-war election, Rhodesians were greatly shocked. They consoled themselves by saying that the British electorate had done likewise to their great wartime leader and hero, Winston Churchill. It was part of the fluctuations of politics, which occasionally reached unpredictably irrational proportions.One had to live with these things, and ride the punches. The South African electorate would come to their senses in time, the Rhodesians believed.

In fact, things turned out quite the reverse. The National Party received more and more support with each election. There was no change in relations between our two countries, and things continued exactly the same as before — after all, the internal affairs of South Africa were their business, and Rhodesia had always strongly supported that founding principle of the UN which says: ‘Thou shalt not interfere in the internal affairs of other countries’. So we continued our normal lives, and our sadness over what happened to our old friend General Smuts was gradually lost in the mists of time.

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