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unique blessing, one not earned, in
the final analysis, even by the stint
of their own efforts. They have been
the recipients, strange as it may
seem, of the birthright blessings
conferred upon them by a distant
bíblica! ancestor - the patriarch
Abraham. (To understand this all–
important subject, write for our free
booklet
The United States and the
British Commonwealth in Prophecy .
l t will open your eyes as to the real
reason why the English-speaking
world is having its troubles today.)
Rhodesia's blacks have - to the
limits of their own cultural back–
grounds - benefited from this birth–
right blessing as well. The proof of
this is the greater standard of living
they have enjoyed in comparison
with the inhabitants of most of Af–
rica's black-ruled states.
Majority Rule - No Such Thing
In this light, it is sheer folly to think
that conditions will be any better for
the black man under a "majority–
rule" government - simply because
the term "majority rule" in the Afri–
can context is also sheer folly.
Dr. Ernest Lefever, a Senior Fel–
low at the Brookings lnstitution in
Washington D.C and the author of
severa! books on Africa, wrote in the
Wa/1 S1reet Journal
on June 2, 1976:
"Despite screaming headlines to
the contrary, we persist in our illu–
sions about what is politically
possible in tropical Africa. Dr. Kiss–
inger implies that somehow Rho–
desia could move quickly from
'min_ority rule' to 'majority rule' and
that after this transition 'minority
rights' would be respected. The rec–
ord of the last 15 years does not
sustain this hope."
The record? According to the
1976 Freedom House worldwide
survey of political freedom, of the
37 black African states, three (Bot–
swana , Gambia and Mauritius)
have democratic política! and civil
rights , while 11 are "partly free"
and 23 are "not free," that is, they
enjoy virtually no political or civil
rights.
The popular base of the ruling
elites of many of these states is often
far smaller
than that of the ruling
minority in Rhodesia - often com–
prising a mere handful of men of
one tribe or sub-tribal group. But
10
such
black
mino·rity regimes are not
condemned by either the politicians
oc
the news media of the Western
world.
Dr. Lefever perhaps exposes a
raw nerve when he adds:
' 'The Rhodesian government is
not condemned beca use it rests on a
narrow base - all other African re–
gimes do - but bedtuse that base is
predominantly white in an over–
whelmingly black country.
It
makes
little difference whether the Rhode–
sian regime is more democratic, rep–
resentative. and humane than many
black regimes or that it operates by
the rule of law. permits and re–
sponds to opposition groups, has a
relatively free press, is constrained
by its limited electorate, and is at–
tempting to broaden political parti–
cipation - auributes rarely present
in black African countries.
It
even
makes little difference whether there
are grea ter ed ucationa l and eco–
no
mi
e opportunities than in sorne
black countries. What matters is
race, as though the colour of skin
had sorne intriosic relationship to
basic human rights."
Youcan
understand
prophecy
Events now shaping up will
affect every living person on
earth. Discover what proph–
ecy says about modern na–
tions . Read tomorrow ' s
headlines today! Request
your free copy ot
The United
States and the British Gom–
monwealth in Prophecy.
Wr ite to
The Plain Truth.
(See addresses on ins ide
tront cover.)
THE UNITID STATtS
...
aatTISII COMMONWWTH
lo'PM~
Uncertain Future
Rhodesians deserve a chance to
work out their own solutions, free of
communist-supported "liberators"
and misguided pronouncements
from the West. Prime Minister
Smith has committed himself to ma–
jority rule - "responsible" majority
rule. There is no turning back now.
If t he self-a ppointed na tionalist
leaders can' t agree on a future
course of action, Smith is ready, he
says, to work with other representa–
tives of Rhodesia 's black peoples
willing to cooperate in constructing
a peaceable future for the country.
Smith also claims that he had
been assured by both Henry Kiss–
inger and South Africa's Prime
Minister John Vorster that his coun–
try would receive outside aid if the
Geneva talks broke down "because
of the fault of the black politi–
cians ... and definitely not the fault
of myself and my government."
He did not elaborate on what the
aid would be. but apparently re–
ferred to, as a mínimum, the lifting
of international sanctions against
Rhodesia. Greater access to West–
ern arms was also a vei led implica–
tion. since he emphasized that
Rhodesia with but a little help could
still handle the badly split guerrillas
- providing there is no all-out
Russo-Cuban intervention.
The Rhodesian crisis won' t go
away quietly.
lt
is destined to re–
main front-page news for quite
some time. At this moment , there is
no peaceful light at the end of the
tunnel.
At this juncture the Geneva con–
ference appears to be a total failure,
leaving, at least for now. only the
crucible of war. The impact upon
the United States, Great Britain -
and perhaps more importantly.
neighboring South Africa - of in–
tensified guerrilla aeti vi ty supported
by Soviet arms remains to be seen.
Nevertheless, it is an extremely dan–
gerous situation.
All ofwhich is a pity, for Rhodesia
is one of the most pleasant - and
despite the current difficulties -
peaceful countries to live in anywhere
in the world ; a country in which there
remains a tremendous reservoir of
good will and cooperation between
blacks and whites.
lt
would be a
shametoseeit allend indisaster. o
The
PLAIN TRUTH February 1977