Suppression

Does the New Zealand Government not know that the Smith regime survives by violent suppression of the African people? It is not right and proper for the international community to seek the most effective means to end violent oppression in Rhodesia? Surely the degree of intransigence which is still characteristic of the Smith regime must be sufficient proof that the rebels have continued their defiance of world opinion and that their commitment to African suppression and ruination of Rhodesia's economy calls for immediate action to end their pretentions.

The state of the Rhodesian rebellion bears grave implications, the results of which, if it persists, will be the most extreme bloodshed. There is a pressing need for the United Nations to lend full weight to the legitimate aspirations of the African majority in Rhodesia (Zimbabwe).

It is for this and other expectations that Africa and Rhodesian Africans in particular view New Zealand's performance during the Security Council vote as a negative reaction to a positive resolution.

The New Zealand Government may suggest, as was the case during the Security Council debate, that there is need to find a pacific settlement to the Rhodesian crisis; but the character of the Smith clique and their record of racism condemns them to what they are: rebels and nothing else but rebels.