The Unilateral Declaration of Independence ( UDI ) is a statement adopted by the Rhodesia Cabinet on November 11, 1965, announcing that Rhodesia, a British territory in South Africa that has ruled itself. since 1923, now considers itself an independent sovereign state. The culmination of a protracted dispute between the British and Rhodesian governments over the provisions in which the latter can be entirely independent, it was the first unilateral separation of Britain by one of its colonies since the Declaration of Independence of the United States nearly two centuries earlier.. Britain, the Commonwealth and the United Nations all consider the Rhodesia UDI illegal, and economic sanctions, the first in the history of the United Nations, to apply to a breakaway colony. In the midst of near-complete international isolation, Rhodesia continues as an unknown country with the help of South Africa and Portugal.
The government of Rhodesia, composed mostly of white minority members in the country of about 5%, was outraged when, amid decolonization and Wind of Change, the less developed northern African colonies with no comparable experience of self-government quickly advanced to independence during the early 1960s while Rhodesia was denied sovereignty under the newly rising principle of "no independence before majority rule" ("NIBMAR"). Most of the whites of the Rhodesians felt that they were independence following four decades of self-rule, and that the British government betrayed them by holding them back. This combined with the reluctance of the colonial government to surrender power to black nationalists - a manifestation of racial tensions, Cold War anti-Communism and the fears that might be caused by the Congo-style dystopia - to create the impression that if Britain did not grant independence, Rhodesia might be justified take it unilaterally.
An impasse broke out between the British and Rhodesian prime ministers, Harold Wilson and Ian Smith, between 1964 and 1965. The dispute largely surrounds the conditions of Britain that the conditions for independence must be acceptable "to the people of the country as a whole"; Smith argues that this is fulfilled, while the British and the black nationalist leaders in Rhodesia argue that it is not. After Wilson proposed in late October 1965 that Britain might protect the future black representation in the Rhodesia parliament by withdrawing some of the powers of the colonial devolution government, then presenting the requirements for the Royal Commission of Inquiry which the Rhodesians regarded as unacceptable, Smith and his cabinet declared independence. Calling this betrayal, British colonial governor Sir Humphrey Gibbs officially dismissed Smith and his government, but they ignored him and appointed "Government Administration Officers" to replace him.
Although no country recognized UDI, the Rhodesian High Court regarded post-UDI rule as legal and de jure in 1968. The Smith administration initially declared its continuing loyalty to Queen Elizabeth II, but ignored it in 1970 when declare a republic in a failed attempt to win alien recognition. The Rhodesian Bush War, a guerrilla conflict between the government and two communist-backed black nationalist groups, began in earnest two years later, and after several attempts to end the war, Smith approved the Internal Settlement with non-militant nationalists in 1978. the terms this country was rearranged under black rule as Zimbabwe Rhodesia in June 1979, but the new order was rejected by the guerrillas and the international community. The Bush War continued until Zimbabwe Rhodesia withdrew its UDI as part of the Lancaster House Agreement in December 1979. After a brief period of direct British rule, the country was granted internationally recognized independence under the name Zimbabwe in 1980.
Video Rhodesia's Unilateral Declaration of Independence
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Rhodesia territory in southern Africa, formally Southern Rhodesia, is a unique case in the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth - although a named colony, it internally regulates itself and is constitutionally unlike a territory. This situation originated in 1923, when it was given the government responsible within the Empire as a self-governing colony, after three decades of administration and development by the British South Africa Company. Britain had intended the integration of Southern Rhodesia to the South African Union as a new province, but this had been rejected by registered voters in a government referendum in 1922, the territory was formed into a prospective territory instead. He is empowered to run his own affairs in almost everything, including defense.
Whitehall's power over Southern Rhodesia under the 1923 constitution, on paper, is quite large; The British Empire is theoretically able to annul any bill passed within a year, or change the constitution as it wishes. This protected power was intended to protect black Africans from discriminatory laws and to protect British commercial interests in the colony, but when Claire Palley commented on the constitutional history of his country, it would be very difficult for Whitehall to enforce such an act, to do so might lead to a crisis. In the event, they were never implemented. Cooperative relationships generally developed between Whitehall and the colonial government and civil servants in Salisbury, and disputes were rare.
The 1923 Constitution was drafted in non-racial terms, and the electoral system he designed was equally open, at least in theory. The qualification of voting on personal income, education and property, similar to that of Cape Qualified Franchise, is applied equally to all, but since most blacks do not meet established standards, both the voter register and the colonial parliament are predominantly of the white minority. about 5%. The result is that black interests are rarely represented if at all, something that mostly white colonies shows little interest in altering; they claim that most blacks are not interested in Western-style political processes and that they will not rule properly if they take over. Laws such as the 1930 Land Tenure Act, which allocates about half of the country to white ownership and residence while dividing the remainder into black purchases, tribal beliefs and national territories, various biases against white minorities. White settlers and their descendants provide most of the administrative, industrial, scientific and agricultural skills of the colony, and build a relatively balanced market economy, some industries, with strong agricultural and manufacturing sectors, iron and steel industry and modern mining companies. Daily life is characterized by discrimination ranging from ordering jobs to whites to small trains, post office queues and the like. Whites have most of the best farmland, and have far superior education, wages and homes, but schools, health care, infrastructure and salaries are available to the black Rhodesia population remains very good by African standards.
In the wider context of the Empire, Southern Rhodesia occupies its own category because of the "special quasi-independent status" it holds. The Dominions Office, formed in 1925 to deal with British relations with the powers of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Newfoundland, South Africa and the Irish Free State, also deals with Southern Rhodesia, and Imperial Conferences including the Prime Minister of Southern Rhodesia along with the dominance of 1932 This unique arrangement continued following the emergence of the Prime Minister's Commonwealth Conference in 1944. The South Rhodes community of all races fought for Britain in the Second World War, and the colonial government gradually accepted more autonomy on external affairs. During the postwar years, Southern Rhodesia politicians generally think that they are as good as independent as they are, and that full autonomy in the form of dominance will make little difference to them. Post-war immigration to Southern Rhodesia, mainly from England, Ireland and South Africa, caused the white community to swell from 68,954 in 1941 to 221,504 in 1961. The black population grew from 1,400,000 to 3,550,000 during the same period.
Federation and Wind Changes
Believing full mastery status to be effective symbolic and "there to ask", Prime Minister Godfrey Huggins (in office from 1933 to 1953) twice ignored the British offer that signaled dominance, and instead pursued an initially semi-independent Federation with Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland, two colonies managed directly from London. He hoped this could move the formation of a united kingdom in south-central Africa, mimicking the Federation of Australia half a century earlier. The Rhodesia and Nyasaland Federations, defined in their constitution as inseparable, began in 1953, mandated by the results of a largely white referendum, with Southern Rhodesia, the most developed of the three regions, in his head, Huggins as Prime Minister of the Federal and Salisbury as the capital of the Federal.
Coming at the beginning of the decolonization period, the self-governing Southern Rhodesian Federation with two directly ruled British protectorates was later described by the English historian Robert Blake as "a historical aberration - a strange deviation from the inevitable event".. The project faced black opposition from the start, and ultimately failed because of changing international attitudes and increased black nationalist ambitions in the late 1950s and early 1960s, often collectively called the Wind of Change. Britain, France and Belgium accelerated their withdrawal from Africa during this period, believing colonial rule was no longer sustainable geopolitically or ethically. The notion of "no independence before the rule of the majority", commonly abbreviated as "NIBMAR", received much consideration among British politics. When Huggins (who was recently honored as Lord Malvern) asked Britain to establish the Federation of powers in 1956, he was rebuffed. The opposition Dominion Party responded by repeatedly calling for a declaration of unilateral Federal independence (UDI) over the next few years. After Lord Malvern's retirement in late 1956, his successor, Sir Roy Welensky, contemplated such a move on at least three occasions.
Seeking to advance the case for Southern Rhodesian independence, especially in the event of Federal dissolution, South Rhodes Prime Minister Sir Edgar Whitehead brokered the 1961 constitution with Britain, which he said would erase all British reservation powers on bills and actions from Southern Rhodesia, and put the country on the verge of full sovereignty. Although it contains no guarantee of independence, Whitehead, Welensky and other supporters of this constitution present it to the Southern Rhodesian electorate as a "constitution of independence" in which Southern Rhodesia will become the Commonwealth domain equivalent to Australia, Canada and New Zealand if the Federation is dissolved. White dissidents include Ian Smith, MP for Gwanda and Head of Whip for the Federal Unity Party (UFP) who ruled in the Federal Assembly, which took exception to the abolition of the constitution from the promise of explicit independence Southern Rhodesian in the event of the dissolution of the Federal, and finally resigned from his post as protest. A largely white voting referendum approved the new constitution with a majority of 65% on July 26, 1961. The final version of the constitution includes some additional provisions inserted by the British, one of which - Section 111 - reserves the full power of the Crown to alter, certain parts of the Southern Rhodesian constitution by Order within the Council at the request of the British government. This effectively negated the release of British rule described elsewhere in the document, but the inhabitants of Southern Rhodes at first did not realize it.
The black nationalist movement in Southern Rhodesia, founded and organized by the city's black elite during the late 1950s, was repeatedly banned by the colonial government for political violence, industrial sabotage and intimidation of potential black voters who characterized its campaign. The main nationalist group, led by members of the Bulawayo trade union, Joshua Nkomo, changed its name to post-banning reorganization, and in early 1962 it was called Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU). Trying to win black political support, Whitehead proposed a number of reforms for racially discriminatory laws, including the Land Apportionment Act, and promised to apply them if his UFP wins the next South Rhodesia election. But intimidation by the ZAPU against black prospective voters hinders UFP's efforts to win their support, and many white communities see Whitehead too radical, and soft on what they see as black extremism. In the elections of the Southern Elections in December 1962, the UFP was defeated by Rhodesia Front (RF), a newly formed conservative vote alliance led by Winston Field and Ian Smith, widely regarded as a surprising result. Field became Prime Minister, with Smith as his deputy.
Federal dissolution; root of distrust
Meanwhile, a black separatist nationalist party won an electoral victory in Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland, and Conservative Harold Macmillan's government in England moved towards the split of the Federation, ruling that it became untenable. In February 1962, the British Commonwealth Secretary for Commonwealth Relations Duncan Sandys quietly informed nationalist leader Nyasaland Hastings Banda that secession would be permitted. A few days later, he horrified Welensky by telling him that "our English has lost the desire to rule". "But we have not," replied Julian Greenfield, Minister of Law Welensky. Deputy Prime Minister Macmillan and First State Minister RAA Butler, who led British oversight of the Federation, formally declared Nyasaland's right to secede in December 1962. Four months later, he told three regions that he would hold a conference to determine the period ahead of the Federation.
Since Southern Rhodesia had become a British legislative partner in the formation of the Federation in 1953, it was impossible (or at least very difficult) for the British to dissolve the union without the cooperation of Southern Rhodesia. Therefore, the field has the potential to paralyze the UK by refusing to attend the conference until they promise to give their country full independence. According to Field, Smith and other RF politicians, Butler made some such assurances verbally to ensure their cooperation at the conference, but repeatedly refused to give anything on paper. The Southern Rhodesians claim that Butler justified his refusal to give a written appointment by saying that tying Whitehall to a document rather than his words would counter Commonwealth's "spirit of trust" - the argument that Field finally accepted. "Let us remember the belief you stress," Smith warned, according to Field's report rattling his finger at Butler; "if you violate it you will live to regret it." Southern Rhodesia attended the conference, held in Victoria Falls for a week starting from June 28, 1963, and among others approved to liquidate the Federation at the end of the year. In the House of Commons thereafter, Butler flatly denied the suggestion that he had "greased the wheel" of the Federal dissolution by secret promises to the people of South Rhodes.
Government Field was struck by the British announcement in October 1963 that Nyasaland would become fully independent on 6 July 1964. Although no date was set for the Northern Rhodesian state, it was generally expected that it would follow soon. Smith was immediately sent to London, where he held an unconvincing round of infamous Southern Rhodesian talks with the new British Prime Minister, Sir Alec Douglas-Home. Around the same time, the presence and significance of Section 111 of the 1961 constitution appearing in Southern Rhodesia, fueling political speculation that the future British government may, if it so wishes, contradict the earlier convention by instituting Salisbury without his consent. , withdrawing the power of devolution or altering the South Rhodesian constitution. Worried about what the Labor Party would do if winning the next British election (projected for late 1964), the Southerniansians stepped up their efforts, hoping to win independence before the British went to the polls, and preferably not after Nyasaland. The Federation disbanded as scheduled in late 1963.
Maps Rhodesia's Unilateral Declaration of Independence
Position and motivation
British government attitude
The British government's refusal to grant independence to Southern Rhodesia under the 1961 constitution is largely a result of the geopolitical and moral shifts associated with the Wind of Change, coupled with Britain's desire to avoid opostbrium and loss of prestige at the United Nations. and the Commonwealth. This issue gained international attention in Africa and around the world as a flashpoint for decolonization and racism questions. In the early 1960s, the general consensus in the post-colonial UN - in particular the General Assembly, in which the communist bloc and the Afro-Asian lobby were collectively very strong - firmly condemned all forms of colonialism, and supported the communist-backed blacks. insurgency in South Africa, regarded them as a racial liberation movement. In the middle of the Cold War, Britain opposed the spread of Soviet and Chinese influence to Africa, but knew it would become an international pariah if it openly objected or retreated to NIBMAR in the question of Southern Rhodesia. After the topic of Southern Rhodesia came to the surface in the United Nations and other bodies, particularly the Organization of African Unity (OAU), even maintaining the status quo was regarded as unacceptable internationally, causing the British government a great deal of embarrassment.
In the Commonwealth context, too, the British knew that simply giving independence to Southern Rhodesia was impossible since many Afro-Asian countries were also members of the Commonwealth. Being a non-majority state of Salisbury would break the Commonwealth and possibly cause it to break, a bad prospect for British foreign policy. The Commonwealth has repeatedly called on Britain to intervene directly if South Rhodia's insurgency continues, while liberals in Britain fear that it is impossible for Salisbury to drift towards South African-style apartheid. Wanting to avoid choosing between Southern Rhodesia and the Commonwealth, Whitehall attempted to negotiate a middle ground between the two, but ultimately placed international considerations first, considered it more important.
At the party level, the Labor Party, in opposition until October 1964, openly opposed Southern Rhodesian independence under the 1961 constitution and supported the black nationalist movement on an ideological and moral basis. The Liberal Party, which holds several parliamentary seats, takes the same stance. The Conservatives, while also following the policy of decolonization, are more sympathetic to the position of the South Rhodes government, and include members who openly support it.
South Rhodesian government view
The Southern Rhodesian government finds it odd that Britain created an independent state of Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland, a less developed region with little self-governing experience, while holding the sovereign state of Southern Rhodesia, a senior partner of the Federation, who had become himself. ruled for four decades and which is one of the most prosperous and advanced countries in Africa. The principle of majority rule, the basis of this inconsistency, is considered irrelevant by the people of South Rhodes. They thought that in the event of their Federal dissolution would be the first in the line of independence without major adjustment to the 1961 constitution, an impression confirmed to them by previous intergovernmental correspondence, in particular the oral promises they claimed to have received from Butler. When not proven to come they feel cheated. Salisbury argues that the white-dominated legislature is more deserving of independence than untried black nationalist leaders because it has proven its ability for decades of self-government.
RF claims that bloody civil war, military coup and other disasters that hit newly-ruled North African countries in the north, many have become corrupt, autocratic or communist of one-party countries soon after independence, suggesting that black nationalist leaders not ready to govern. Strongly influenced by white refugees fleeing south from the Congo, it presents a chaotic apocalyptic scenario of what the black nationalist rule of Southern Rhodesia could apply to the white community. RF advocates stand to downplay black nationalist complaints about land ownership and segregation, and argue that despite racial imbalances in domestic politics - whites comprise 5% of the population, but more than 90% of registered voters - electoral systems are not racist as franchises based on qualifications finance and education rather than ethnicity. They emphasized the proud record of the colony's war on behalf of Britain, and expressed a desire in the context of the Cold War to form a pro-Western, anti-communist front in Africa with South Africa and Portugal.
These factors combined with what politicians and RF supporters see as English decadence, dishonesty and betrayal to create their case put forward that UDI, while dubiously legitimate and inclined to provoke international uproar, may still be buried and necessary for the good of the country and region if accommodation can not be found with Whitehall.
Road to UDI
First step, under Field
The failure of the field to gain independence along with the end of the Federation led to the Cabinet's support for him to waver during late 1963 and early 1964. The RF caucus in January 1964 expressed widespread dissatisfaction with him on the grounds that Britain appeared to outrank it. The Prime Minister was under great pressure to win the independence of the colony. Field traveled to England later that month to suppress Douglas-Home and Sandys for independence, and increased the likelihood of UDI on several occasions, but returned empty-handed on 2 February.
RF united behind Field after Sandys wrote to him a brief letter warning him of a possible Commonwealth reaction to the declaration of independence, but the Prime Minister subsequently lost the trust of his party by failing to pursue a possible route for at least the de facto independence designed by Desmond Lardner-Burke, a lawyer and RF MP for Gwelo. During March 1964, the Legislative Assembly in Salisbury considered and passed Lardner-Burke's motion that the Governor, Sir Humphrey Gibbs, had to petition the Queen to request a change of Section 111 of the 1961 constitution so that the Royal Assent described there would be carried out. at the request of the South Rhodesian government not from its British counterpart. This would eliminate the possibility of British legislative interference and pave the way for the assumption of independence by the Order in the Council.
The RF intention was partly to test whether the UK would seek to block this bill after Gibbs had given Royal Assent to it, but the matter never came to the head because Sandys persuaded Field not to forward it to Gibbs for ratification on the grounds that it had not been unanimously endorsed. Lord Salisbury, one of the main supporters of Southern Rhodesia in Britain, despaired at Field's lack of action, told Welensky that when he saw it "a simple time to declare independence, whether true or false, will happen when the Federation ends." The RF hierarchy interpreted this latest backtrack by Field as evidence that he would not seriously challenge Britain on independence, and impose his resignation on 13 April 1964. Smith accepted the cabinet's nomination to replace him.
Smith_replaces_Field.3B_talks_with_Douglas-Home "> Smith replaces Field; talk to Douglas-Home
Smith, a farmer from the town of Selukwe in the Midlands who was severely wounded while serving in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War, was the original Prime Minister of Southern Rhodesia. Considered in British politics as "raw colonial" - when he took over, Smith's personal experience in England comprised four brief visits - he promised a tougher line than Field in the independence talks. His replacement RF Field drew criticism from the British Labor Party, whose leader Harold Wilson called him "brutal", while Nkomo described Smith's new Cabinet as "a suicide squad... not interested in the welfare of everyone but only on their own". Smith says he is pursuing a middle course between a black nationalist government and apartheid so there will still be "a place for whites" in Southern Rhodesia; this will benefit blacks as well, he said. He argued that the government should be based "on achievement, not on color or nationalism", and insisted that there would be "no African nationalist government here in my life".
Salisbury's dull refusal to become part of the Wind of Change caused traditional British and South American suppliers from the Rhodesia military to impose an informal embargo, and encouraged Whitehall and Washington to stop sending South Finnish financial aid at the same time. In June 1964, Douglas-Home informed Smith that Southern Rhodesia would not be represented at the Prime Minister's Commonwealth Conference this year, although the record of Salisbury's presence would return to 1932, since changes in policy only included representatives of fully independent countries. This decision, taken by Britain to precede the possibility of open confrontation with Asian African leaders and blacks at the conference, was highly offensive to Smith. Lord Malvern likened England's elimination from the seat of Southern Rhodesia conference by "kicking us out of the Commonwealth", while Welensky expressed horror on what he described as "the arrogant treatment of a state that has, since its creation, been firmly supported, in every possible way. UK and Commonwealth ".
At 10 Downing Street in early September 1964, the deadlock developed between Douglas-Home and Smith over the best way to measure black public opinion in Southern Rhodesia. A key board of British Southern Rhodesian policy is that the conditions for independence must be "accepted by the people of the country as a whole" - agreeing with this, Smith suggests that black and white and urban opinions can be measured through a public referendum. voters are registered, and that rural black views can be obtained at the national indaba (tribal conferences) of heads and chieftains. Douglas-Home told Smith that although this proposal satisfied him personally, he could not accept it because he did not believe the Commonwealth, United Nations or Labor Party would also do so. He stressed that the move toward accommodation with Smith would probably hurt the Conservatives' chances in the British election next month, and suggested that there might be Smith's interest to wait until after the election to resume negotiations. Smith accepted this argument. Douglas-Home assured Smith that the Conservative government would live with it and grant independence within a year.
Trying to form a decent white opposition against the Rhodesian Front, the UFP raised itself around Welensky, naming himself the Rhodesia Party, and entering the elections of Arundel and Avondale who had been called for 1 October 1964. Feeling annoyed by the prospect of having to face Welensky heavyweight politics in parliament at the head of the opposition, RF poured enormous resources to win both UFP former safe seats, and lowered Clifford Dupont, Smith's deputy, against Welensky in Arundel. RF won both seats comfortably, and the Rhodesia Party soon faded. Encouraged by this success, Smith organized the indaba for October 22, and called for a general independence referendum for November 5, 1964. Meanwhile, Wilson wrote a number of letters to Southern Rhodesian black nationalists, assuring them that " totally opposed the granting of independence to Southern Rhodesia as long as the country's government remained under the control of a white minority. "
Wilson Labor Government; Test Salisbury's opinion
The Labor Party defeated the Conservatives with four seats in the British elections on October 15, 1964, and formed the government the following day. Both Labor and Conservative parties told Smith that the positive results in While the chief conferred, Northern Rhodesia became independent Zambia on 24 October 1964, imitating Nyasaland, who had attained Malawi status three months earlier. With the excuse that it no longer needs to call itself "South" without the presence of the northern counterpart, Southern Rhodesia begins to call itself only Rhodesia. On the same day, the commander of the Rhodesia Army, Major General John "Jock" Anderson, resigned, publicly announcing that he was doing so because of his opposition to UDI, which he said he could not follow because of his oath. loyalty to the Queen. Interpreting this as a sign that Smith intended to declare independence if the majority supported him in the referendum, Wilson wrote a stiff letter to Smith on October 25, warning him of the consequences of UDI, and demanded "categorical guarantees with no effort on a unilateral declaration of independence on your part to be made ". Smith expressed confusion about what he had done to provoke this, and ignored it. When it ended on October 26, tribal chiefs and chiefs returned a unanimous decision to support the government's establishment for independence under the 1961 constitution, proving in their report that "those who live far away do not understand the problem our country ". This ruling was rejected by the nationalist movement on the grounds that leaders received government salaries; the leaders denied that black lawmakers in parliamentary opposition also received such salaries, but are still against the government. Malvern, being annoyed by RF actions, dismisses this as "fraud", insists that leaders no longer have real power; the English ignore the practice. On October 27, Wilson released a stern statement about Britain's response to UDI, warning that the economic and political relations of Rhodesia with Britain, the Commonwealth and most of the world would soon be cut off amid a sanctions campaign if the Smith government went ahead with UDI. This was intended to prevent white Rhodesians from voting for independence in a referendum, where the RF campaign slogan was "Yes means Unity, not UDI". Wilson was delighted when Douglas-Home, his main opponent in the House of Commons, praised the statement as "rude but true". On November 5, 1964, most of the Rhodesian white voters voted "yes" for independence under the 1961 constitution by 89%, which prompted Smith to state that the conditions of British acceptance of the people as a whole had been met. The deadlock progressed between Smith and Wilson
Smith wrote Wilson a day after the referendum, asking him to send Bottomley to Salisbury for negotiations. Wilson replied that Smith should have come to London. The British and Rhodians exchanged confrontational letters for the next few months. Alluding to Britain's promised financial aid to Salisbury as part of a Federal disbanding arrangement, Wilson's High Commissioner in Salisbury, JÃ,B Johnston, wrote to Rhodesian Cabinet Secretary GeraldÃ, B Clarke on Dec. 23 that "the talk of unilateral declaration of independence is bound to cast a shadow uncertainty about future financial relations between the two governments ". Smith was furious, saw this as extortion, and on January 13, 1965 wrote to Wilson: "I am very angry at the lines of your High Commissioner's letter that I reply directly to you... It seems that every effort given by the British Government is worthless. such immoral behavior on the part of the British government makes it impossible for me to continue to negotiate with you in the belief that our standards of fair play, honesty and decency will prevail. "
The two prime ministers were personally brought together in late January 1965, when Smith went to London to attend the funeral of Sir Winston Churchill. After an episode about Smith's absence to lunch at Buckingham Palace after the funeral - noticing the Rhodesian's absence, the Queen sent a royal equerry to the Smith hotel to retrieve it, reportedly causing Wilson much resentment - the two Prime Ministers debated chronically. at 10 Downing Street. They differ in many ways, but approve a visit to Rhodesia next month by Bottomley and Lord Chancellor, Lord Gardiner, to gauge public opinion and meet with political and commercial figures. Bottomley and Gardiner visited Rhodesia from February 22 to March 3, collecting various opinions, including some from black nationalists, and upon returning to England to report to the House of Commons that they "were not without hope of finding a way to a solution that would win the support of all communities and leads to independence and prosperity for all Rhodes citizens ". Bottomley also condemned political violence in black, and rejected the idea of ​​introducing majority rule through military force.
RF called a new general election for May 1965 and, campaigning on the promise of independence elections, won all 50 seats "A" -roll (mostly white voters). Josiah Gondo, leader of the American People's Party, became Rhodesia's first opposition Leader. Opening parliament on June 9, Gibbs told the Legislative Assembly that the vast majority of RF is "mandated to lead the country towards full independence", and announced that the new government has informed him of his intention to open his own diplomatic mission in Lisbon, apart from the British embassy there. Britain and Rhodesia argued about this unilateral action by Salisbury, described by historian JÃ, RÃ, T Wood as "straw in the wind", in addition to the issue of independence until Portugal received the mission at the end of September, much of the British anger and pleasure of Rhodesia. Hoping to bring Smith to his heels by fortifying him, the Wilson ministers deliberately delayed and frustrated the Rhodesian government in negotiations. Rhodesia was once again excommunicated from the Conference of the Commonwealth of the Commonwealth in 1965. The rejection of British aid, the Lisbon mission, the informal arms embargo, and other issues combined with this led to a deepening sense of alienation from the British and Iraqi Commonwealth. In his memoirs, Smith accused Britain of "turning to the politics of comfort and easing." Wilson, meanwhile, became irritated by what he saw as the Rhodesian infinity, describing the gap between the two governments as "between different worlds and different centuries".
Last step to UDI
Amid new rumors from the upcoming Rhodesian UDI, Smith traveled to meet Wilson in London in early October 1965, told the press that he intended to solve the independence problem once and for all. Both the English and the residents of Rhodes were shocked by the large number of Englishmen who came out to support Smith during his visit. Smith accepted an invitation from the BBC to appear on the Twenty-Four Hours night news and program of his current affairs, but Downing Street blocked this at the last minute. After talks largely failed with Wilson, the Rhodesian Prime Minister flew home on 12 October. Desperate to avoid UDI, Wilson traveled to Salisbury two weeks later to resume negotiations.
During these discussions, Smith referred to UDI's recent efforts on many occasions, although he said he hoped to find another way out of the confusion. He offered to increase the black legislative representation by extending voters along the lines of "one taxpayer, one vote" - who would vote about half a million, but still leave most of the country's voteless - in return for a grant of independence. Wilson says this is not enough, and denies that future blacks representatives might be better guarded by British withdrawal from the colonial government from the powers it has held since 1923 to determine the size and composition of its parliament. The people of Rhodes are horrified by this prospect, especially since Wilson's suggestion of it seems they have removed the failed alternative from maintaining the status quo . Before the British Prime Minister left Rhodesia on October 30, 1965, he proposed the Royal Commission to measure public opinion in the colony on independence under the 1961 constitution, possibly headed by Rhodesian Supreme Justice Sir Hugh Beadle, who would report his findings to both countries. British and Rhodes wardrobes. Wilson asserted in the House of Commons two days later that he intends to introduce British direct control over the structure of the Rhodesian parliament to ensure that progress is made toward majority rule.
Congestion is getting closer when the Rhodesia Cabinet decides that since Wilson has ruled out the maintenance of the status quo, his only remaining choice is to trust the Royal Commission or declare independence. When the terms of the commission visit were presented to Smith, he found that contrary to what had been discussed during the visit of the British Prime Minister, the Royal Commission would operate on the grounds that the 1961 constitution was unacceptable to the British government, and that Britain would not commit to receiving reports end. Smith says the condition is "no vote of confidence in [commissions] before they begin," and therefore rejects it. "The impression you went with us from a determined effort to solve our constitutional problems has been completely lost," he wrote to Wilson on Nov. 5. "Looks like you ended up closing the door that your public claim has been opened."
In the midst of a frantic effort by Beadle and others on both sides to revive the Royal Commission, the Rhodesia government has announced Gibbs an emergency on the same day on the grounds that black nationalist rebels are reported to enter the country. Smith denied that this predicted the declaration of independence, but the publication of his letter to Wilson in the press provoked a storm of speculation around the world that UDI was imminent. Smith wrote again to Wilson on November 8, asking him to appoint the Royal Commission under terms they had agreed on in Salisbury and to ask the British government to accept his decision, but Wilson did not respond immediately. On November 9th, the Rhodesia Cabinet sent a letter to Queen Elizabeth II, assuring him that Rhodesia would remain faithful to him personally "no matter what happened".
Draft, adoption, and login
The Rhodesian Minister for Justice and Law and Order Desmond Lardner-Burke handed over the rest of the Cabinet with a draft for a declaration of independence on November 5, 1965. When Jack Howman, the Minister of Tourism and Information, said that he also prepared the draft, the Cabinet decided to wait to see his version too. Ministers agree that if the proclamation of independence is issued, they will all sign it. On November 9, the Cabinet together compiled an outline for the document of the proclamation and the accompanying statements made by Smith. The latest version of the declaration of independence was prepared by a subcommittee of civil servants headed by Gerald Clarke, Cabinet Secretary, with the Declaration of Independence of the United States 1776, the only other proclamation ever issued by British colonials, is used as an example. Strongly touched the text of Thomas Jefferson throughout, the people of Rhodesia used one verbatim phrase - "respect for human opinion" - but no reference was made to the assertion that "all human beings are created equal", or on "consent of the governed," two negligence which is then emphasized by a number of commentators.
Attached to the declaration of independence is a 1961 Constitution copy that was amended for the circumstances, which became the 1965 constitution. In the eyes of the Smith administration, this document wiped out all remaining ties to Whitehall and rearranged Rhodesia as the Commonwealth domain. The new Constitution created the concept of loyalty to the "Rhodesia Constitution", forming a separate Rhodesian monarchy (making Elizabeth II "Queen of Rhodesia"), and introducing the position of Government Officials Officials, the authority figures to sign laws passed into law on behalf of the king if he not appoint a Governor-General.
The Rhodesian Cabinet awaits Wilson's reply for the rest of November 9 and the following day. After a brief encounter with Smith on November 10, Johnston warned Wilson that evening that the people of Rhodesia seemed ready to declare independence in the morning. The British Prime Minister repeatedly tried to call Smith, but was unsuccessful until Smith had presided over a Cabinet meeting on independence at around 8 am Central African Time (6am in London) on 11 November. Wilson attempted to speak of Smith's unilateral action by saying that his status quo could continue, and both argue inconclusively about the proposed Royal Commission. Back in his cabinet session, Smith reported the conversation to his ministers, and, after a brief debate, the Cabinet came to the conclusion that Wilson was just trying to buy more time and there was no sign of real progress. Smith asked if Rhodesia should declare his independence, and asked every cabinet minister to answer in turn. According to Smith's report, "each, quietly but firmly, without hesitation, says: 'Yes'."
At 11:00 local time on November 11, 1965, the Armistice Day, during the traditional two-minute silence to remember the fall of both World Wars, Smith declared free Rhodesia and signed the proclamation document, with Dupont and 10 other ministers from the next Cabinet. The time was intended to emphasize the sacrifices Rhodesia made to England in wartime. As Ken Flower said, "the rebellion was made as if it were not a rebellion". Smith and his ministers still promised allegiance to Queen Elizabeth II, whose official photos hung clearly behind them when they signed; declaration even ended "God Save The Queen". Four members of the Cabinet junior - Lance Smith, Ian Dillon, Andrew Dunlop and PÃ ¢ K van der Byl - did not sign, but were included in the official photo.
Text declaration
While in the course of history human affairs has shown that it may be necessary for people to resolve political affiliations that have connected them with others and to consider among other states the separate and equal status to which they are entitled:
And in this respect, respect for human opinion requires them to proclaim to other nations the cause of which drives them to take full responsibility for their own affairs:
Now therefore, We, the Government of Rhodesia, Do Hereby Declare:
That it is an irrefutable and acceptable historical fact that since 1923 the Rhodesia Government has exercised its own power of government and is responsible for the progress, development and prosperity of their people;
That Rhodesian people have shown their loyalty to the Crown Prince and to their friends and relatives in the United Kingdom and elsewhere through two world wars, and are ready to pour their blood and give them substance in what they believe to be mutual the interests of those who love freedom, now see all that they value will be destroyed on the wisdom stones;
That the people of Rhodesia have witnessed a process that corrupts the doctrines upon which civilization in the primitive state has been built, they have seen the principles of Western democracy, responsible government and moral standards collapsed elsewhere, yet they remain firm;
That the people of Rhodesia fully support their government's request for sovereign independence but have witnessed the consistent rejection of the Royal Government of England to approve its petition;
Whereas the British Government has shown that they are not ready to grant independence to Rhodesia with the conditions acceptable to the people of Rhodesia, thereby persisting in defending the jurisdiction over Rhodesia, obstructing the law and agreement with other countries and conducting affairs with states and refuse to approve the law required for the public interest, all this detrimental to the future prosperity, prosperity and good governance of Rhodesia;
That the Rhodesia Government has a long time with patience and in good faith negotiate with the Royal Government of England to remove the remaining restrictions granted to them and for the granting of sovereignty independence;
That with the belief that procrastination and delay attack and harm the life of the nation, the Rhodesia Government considers it important that Rhodesia should achieve, without delay, independence of sovereignty, unquestioned justice;
Now therefore, We Government of Rhodesia, humbly submit to the Almighty God who controls the destiny of the nations, knowing that the people of Rhodesia always show steadfast devotion and devotion to His Majesty the Queen and earnestly pray that we and the people Rhodesia will not be hindered in our determination to continue our unreasonable right to demonstrate the same loyalty and loyalty, and endeavor to promote the common good so that the dignity and freedom of all can be assured, Do, With this Proclamation, adopt, impose and grant to These Rhodesia constituents annexed this;
Given under Our Hands at Salisbury, the eleventh day of November this year in the Year of our Lord one thousand nine hundred and sixty-five.
Announcements and reactions
Announcement
Requested by the government, Rhodesian Broadcasting Corporation told the public to get ready for an important announcement from the Prime Minister at 13:15 local time. Smith went first to the Government House to inform Gibbs that his Cabinet had declared independence, then to Pockets Hill Studios in eastern Salisbury to announce UDI to the nation. He read the proclamation aloud, then declared that independence had been declared because it had become "very clear that it is the policy of the British government to play with us without any real intention to arrive at a solution we can accept... I promise to the people of the country it is that I will continue to negotiate to the point of bitter blood and that I will not leave anything in my attempt to obtain a respectable and accepted settlement together, it now falls to me to let you know that the negotiations have come to an end. "
Smith said he believed that he would be negligent in his duties if he allowed Rhodesia to continue "drifting in conditions that are now crippling uncertainty," and that after the British left the Federation, his government decided that "the same would never happen. ". He claims that UDI does not mark the "diminishing opportunities that our Africans should progress and prosper in Rhodesia", describing the "racial harmony in Africa" ​​as part of its agenda and condemning black nationalist activities in an attempt to "blackmail the British government into... surrender the country to irresponsible rules ". He then attempted to assuage fears that economic sanctions could destroy the economy, and asked the Rhodes people to stand firm: "The pioneer coat has fallen on our shoulders... In the life of most countries there comes a time when a booth should be made for principles, whatever the consequences... Today it has arrived in Rhodesia... the first Western country in the last two decades to say 'so far and no farther'. "He concluded with the statement that the declaration of independence was a" blow to the preservation of justice, civilization and Christianity ".
Domestic reaction
By the time Smith and Dupont arrived at Government House to see Gibbs, Whitehall had instructed the Governor to officially fire Smith and his ministers for treason. Gibbs meets without hesitation. Smith and his ministers ignored this, stating that under the 1965 constitution, Gibbs "no longer has executive power in Rhodesia", and the power of its reserves to dismiss them no longer exists. The Rhodesian government hopes that Gibbs may resign with respect in regard to his impotent situation, but he does not; following orders from London, he remained at his post at Government House. Gibbs told the senior officers of the Rhodesian military, some of whom were troubled by the perceived choice between the Queen and the state, to remain in their post to maintain law and order. Wilson briefly flirted with the idea of ​​sending Lord Mountbatten to Rhodesia to support Gibbs as a direct representative of the Queen, but this was canceled after Gibbs asked someone "higher" in the royal family. "Impossible", replied Wilson.
The Rhodesia government accompanied UDI with emergency measures which it said was meant to prevent alarm, riot and runaway people and capital. Press censorship and gasoline rationing is in effect, import licenses are canceled and emigration allowances are cut to  £ 100. News on UDI is generally welcomed by local residents, despite several incidents separate from passing cars stoned in black cities outside Bulawayo. Several people allegedly disagreeing were arrested, the most famous Leo Baron, Nkomo's lawyer, whose relationship with black and communist nationalists was seen by the authorities as "subversive". Baron, the younger brother of scientist Jacob Bronowski, was arrested nine minutes after UDI was made.
Welensky, who opposes UDI, states that he feels it is "the obligation of every Rhodesian responsible for supporting the revolutionary government" because he believes the only alternative is down to anarchy. JoÃÆ' Â £ o de Freitas Cruz, the Portuguese consul general in Salisbury, reacted to the news with wild excitement; visiting Smith's later residence, he declared "Only Rhodes people can do this!" A statement by Jason Moyo of ZAPU, who was in London at the time, denounced UDI as an act of "betrayal and rebellion" and insisted that "the lives of mainly four million unarmed Africans are in danger". Davis M'Gabe of the Zimbabwe African National Society (ZANU) said that "For all those who value freedom and meaningful life, UDI has established an irreversible collision course. [It has] marked the turning point of the struggle for freedom. from the constitutional and political to the primarily military struggle. "Most of the Christian denominational leaders in the country openly rejected UDI and asserted that he defended Christianity, with the exception of the local Dutch Reform Church, stating that it was apolitical and then refraining from comment.
A week after UDI, the Smith government announced that Dupont, the Deputy Prime Minister, had resigned from the Cabinet to accept the position of Government Organizer Officer created by the 1965 constitution. Smith requested the Queen by mail to appoint a Governor-General to replace Gibbs, recommending Dupont, but ignored. But Dupont effectively replaced the Governor. Smith's government assigned him the official residence of the Governor at Government House, but no attempt was made to move Gibbs and his entourage by force; the post-UDI government declared that Government Administration Officer would stay at the Governor's Cottage instead "until the Government House, currently occupied temporarily by Sir Humphrey Gibbs in private capacity, becomes available".
Rhodesian Parliament Speaker, AÃ, RÃ, W Stumbles, reassembled the Legislative Assembly on 25 November, ruled that if he would not have any chaos. He feared that Gibbs might dramatically enter the room in an attempt to stop the process, but Gibbs did not do such a thing. The parliamentary opposition opens the meeting by asking whether the assembly is legal. Ahrn Palley, the only white opposition lawmaker, announces that when he sees it, "certain Reverent Members in collusion have torn the Constitution in which it meets the Trial has no legal validity whatsoever". Triple denied this objection and two more distractions from Palley, and suggested that every member with reservations might go away. Palley continued his violent protest until he was forced out by Sergeant-in-Arms, shouting "This is an illegal meeting! God rescues Queen!" Gondo and eight other opposition lawmakers followed Palley out; all ten of them rejoined the Legislative Assembly in February 1966.
Gibbs received threatening letters from the people of Rhodesia, and on 26 November 1965 the Smith government cut off the phone at the Government Office, and moved the ceremonial attendants, the official car "and even the typewriter," notes Wood. But Gibbs refuses to step down or leave the Government House, issuing a statement that he will remain there "as the legitimate Governor of Rhodesia until the reinstatement of the constitutional government, which I hope will be soon." He stayed at his post, ignored by the post-UDI government, until the declaration of the republic in 1970.
English and international responses; sanctions
Wilson was surprised by Smith's actions, and found the timing of the declaration to coincide with the silence of the highly despicable Day of Truce. Describing Salisbury as "desperate to destroy himself illegally", the British Prime Minister, backed by the Commons by the Liberals and most Conservatives, asked the Rhodesians to ignore the post-UDI government. Within hours of UDI, the UN General Assembly passed a condemning resolution, by 107 to two - South Africa and Portugal opposed, and France abstained - denouncing Rhodesia's actions and calling on Britain to end "rebellion by unlawful parties in Salisbury". The UN Security Council adopted Resolution 216 on the following day, who denounced the declaration of independence as illegal and racist, and called on all states to deny recognition and assistance to the government of Rhodesia. Security Council Resolution 217, after November 20, condemned UDI as a "usurpation of power" by an illegal racist minority of settlers ", and called on states not to recognize what is considered" this illegal authority "or to entertain diplomatic or economic relations with it.These two steps were adopted by ten votes to none with the French abstaining.
Black nationalists in Rhodesia and their overseas supporters, OAU explicitly, shouted for England to remove the Smith administration by military invasion, but Britain refused this option due to various logistical problems, the risk of provoking a pre-emptive Rhodesian attack on Zambia, and the psychological problems that might accompany any confrontation between the British and Rhodesian forces in what Smith said would be a "civil war". Wilson instead decided to end the Rhodesia uprising through economic sanctions; this mainly consists of expulsion of Rhodesia from the Sterling area, the Rhodesian sugar import ban, tobacco, chrome and other goods, and Rhodesia oil boycott. As the Rhodesans continued to receive oil, Wilson sought to directly cut off their main supply lines, the Portuguese ports of Mozambique in Beira and LourenÃÆ'§o Marques, by posting the Royal Navy squadron to the Mozambique Strait in March 1966. This blockade, Beira Patrol, approved the following month by UN Security Council Resolution 221. The United Nations continues to institutionalize the first compulsory trade sanctions in its history with Security Council Resolution 232 (December 1966) and 253 (April 1968), which requires member states to stop all trade and economic relations with Rhodesia.
Wilson predicted in January 1966 that boycotts would force Smith to surrender "in weeks rather than months", but British and UN sanctions had little effect on Rhodesia, especially as South Africa and Portugal continued trading with breakaway people. colonies, providing them with oil and other key resources. The silent "sanctions-cessation" trade with other countries also continues, initially at a reduced rate, and the diminished presence of foreign competitors helps domestic industries to gradually mature and flourish. Rhodesia avoided the economic collapse predicted by Wilson and gradually became more independent. The government of Rhodesia formed a series of front parent companies in Switzerland, Luxembourg, and Liechtenstein to help keep trading open, with some success; goods that had previously been imported from England replaced by Japan, France and West Germany are equivalent. Even many OAU countries, while bombarding Rhodesia with vitriol, continue to import Rhodesia food and other products. The United States created a formal exemption in the embargo with the Byrd Amendment of 1971, in which the United States replaced chrome imports from the Soviet Union with Rhodesia chrome ore. This breach of UN sanctions, endorsed by the US Congress in the wake of anti-communist Cold War considerations, was warmly welcomed by white Southern supremacy; he helped the economy of Rhodesia until 1977, when President-elect Jimmy Carter succeeded in pushing Congress to withdraw it.
Recognition
Foreign
Official diplomatic recognition by other countries is key for Rhodesia as it is the only way to regain the international legitimacy that has been lost through UDI. Recognition by the UK itself through a bilateral settlement would be a "reward pe
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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