Nyasaland (State of Emergency)

Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 3 March 1959.

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Photo of Mr Tony Benn Mr Tony Benn , Bristol South East 12:00, 3 March 1959

The hon. Gentleman is quite right that, when Sir Roy Welensky is over here, he makes those sort of speeches. When he is back in Central Africa—[Interruption.] I am very much obliged to the hon. Gentleman, because he has absolutely pointed the dilemma. Because of the Constitution of Central Africa, Sir Roy Welensky is responsible to a primarily European electorate. It is impossible for him to concede what is bound to come in the end, which is that the majority in Central Africa will govern.

This is the basic dilemma of the settlers in Central Africa. My hon. Friend the Member for Wednesbury (Mr. Stone-house) was the occasion for pinpointing it. We do not know the text of his speech. What we do know is that the Declaration of Human Rights would be a subversive document in the Central African Federation. So would be the Sermon on the Mount and quite a lot of other things as well. Therefore, it is the dilemma of the settlers in Central Africa that concerns us today. This is a very serious problem just because of the fact that, in the ultimate analysis, there is a conflict of interests between the white settlers and the Africans, unless it can be resolved by peaceful means. We have the hideous parallel of the Algerian war, which is a much closer parallel to this situation than the parallels given of Ghana, Cyprus or Malta.

What we are discussing today is not whether the Africans ultimately enter into their inheritance in Central Africa. That is decided by history. What we are discussing is how they will enter into their inheritance in Central Africa; whether it is to be by peaceful means, conceded by Parliament and by the settlers, or whether it is ultimately to be the way of violence.

Violence takes place if there is no peaceful alternative. The history of Parliament, this very institution in which we sit and work today, is the history of a revolutionary instrument that lay to the hands of the people of Britain and saved them from the necessity, except on occasions, of resorting to force. Is a developing African community in Central Africa to be denied the same instruments of peaceful progress that lay to the hands of the British people? Even when we in Britain were poor, ignorant, illiterate backwoodsmen and natives, we still had this instrument. We used it. That is why when we go to the House of Lords on the opening of Parliament we see an essentially feudal assembly on the surface but underneath the sinewy strength and popular support of the modern democratic state.

This is the only way to solve the problem in Africa. We cannot be impartial in this House on African freedom, because if we do not give freedom to Africa our denial of freedom in Africa will ultimately enslave us and kill the freedom that we enjoy in this country. The events of 13th May in France last year showed that, far from Algeria being controlled by France, France was controlled by Algeria. If we go on in the future trying to pursue a policy of repression in Central Africa we shall ourselves fall victims to the methods that we ourselves use.

Like many of the younger Members of the House I look forward to the end of this century, not just as a period for our children and grandchildren to enjoy, but as a period of my own working life, and I deeply resent the fact that the name of Britain should be associated, because of the policy of the right hon. Gentleman and his right hon. and hon. Friends, with repression, force and violence—all over the world. [Interruption.] When I read the announcement that we are to spend another £1½ million on propaganda to convince the uncommitted areas of the world that we stand for freedom, I thought of a much cheaper way of convincing them. If we do stand for freedom, let us reverse our policy on this and similar issues.

The Opposition tonight, not for the first time, are speaking with the true voice of Britain—[Interruption.] If there is to be friendship between the British peoples—