Rhodesia
Sir: The affair of the jailed journalist, While somewhat deplorable in itself, has aroused passions in the Labour Party on a scale rarely seen in recent Years, and has allowed them, once 21°re, to display their paranoiac hatred of the whites in Southern Africa. While one should never condone injustice of any kind, one cannot fail to notice how selective that someWhat dubious party is in its protests, and one has yet to hear the same cries ,Of outrage when a white Rhodesian family is slaughtered by a band of ter!urists whom the Labour Party laughIrshflY describe as 'freedom fighters.' `-" course, this may be explained have by the fact that these groups nave the moral backing, and, possibly., financial help from these worthy Idealists, and one can only faintly imagine the mental suffering they "lust have endured when the Appeal 1zitirt over-ruled the sentence. It must have been galling for them to have to admit that the Rhodesians were not the two-headed monsters that Labour Would have us to believe—but I wonder how many of them honestly thought that Mr Niesewand would have served his sentence in full, rather than, al a short period of time, have been released and expelled from the country. t had that impression right from the
start, but then, 1 have not got the devious mind of a socialist, thank heavens.
It should not be allowed to pass without comment that, at the time these virtuous people were displaying their moral principles, and indulging in histrionics, a group of Pakistani wives were shown on television trying to draw attention to the plight of 90,000 prisoners-of-war being illegally held by India, about which the cries of outrage from these freedom-loving people were strangely muted. Little nations, as well as great ones, often make mistakes, and, if Ian Smith has over-reacted in this case, it must be remembered that his country is in a War situation far more than is generally realised. And has anyone forgotten the ' D ' notices? Mr Niesewand may be the fearless, hard-hitting writer that he is purported to be, and worthy of our concern, but he also appears to be a very tactless young man. He is alleged to have made some impertinent remarks to Mr Smith concerning a relatively small sum of money being spent on the official residence, and anyone capable of such rudeness is also capable of overstepping the mark in other directions.
I do wish the Labour Party (who are not my favourite people) would cease their phoney posturings, for, when one considers their somewhat contemptible handling of the Rhodesian affair when in office, their present moralistic stance impresses nobody but themselves.
F. W. Wharton Flat 11, The Broadway, Kingston Road, Staines, Middlesex Sir: In order to prevent a Vietnam-like war in Rhodesia, that may last for years and spread elsewhere, should we not re-possess Rhodesia?
Gerald A. Ellis 78 Priory Road, London NW6
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