Rhodesia
Unilateral Declaration of Independence
11th November 1965
Whereas in the course of human affairs history has shown that it may become necessary for a people to resolve the political affiliations which have connected them with another people and to assume amongst other nations the separate and equal status to which they are entitled:
And whereas in such event a respect for the opinions of mankind requires them to declare to other nations the causes which impel them to assume full responsibility for their own affairs:
Now therefore, we, the Government of Rhodesia, do hereby declare:
That it is an indisputable and accepted historic fact that since 1923 the Government of Rhodesia have exercised the powers of self-government and have been responsible for the progress, development and welfare of their people;
That the people of Rhodesia having demonstrated their loyalty to the Crown and to their kith and kin in the United Kingdom and elsewhere through two world wars, and having been prepared to shed their blood and give of their substance in what they believed to be the mutual interests of freedom-loving people, now see all that they have cherished about to be shattered on the rocks of expediency;
That the people of Rhodesia have witnessed a process which is destructive of those very precepts upon which civilization in a primitive country has been built, they have seen the principles of Western democracy, responsible government and moral standards crumble elsewhere, nevertheless they have remained steadfast;
That the people of Rhodesia fully support the requests of their government for sovereign independence but have witnessed the consistent refusal of the Government of the United Kingdom to accede to their entreaties;
That the government of the United Kingdom have thus demonstrated that they are not prepared to grant sovereign independence to Rhodesia on terms acceptable to the people of Rhodesia, thereby persisting in maintaining an unwarrantable jurisdiction over Rhodesia, obstructing laws and treaties with other states and the conduct of affairs with other nations and refusing assent to laws necessary for the public good, all this to the detriment of the future peace, prosperity and good government of Rhodesia;
That the Government of Rhodesia have for a long period patiently and in good faith negotiated with the Government of the United Kingdom for the removal of the remaining limitations placed upon them and for the grant of sovereign independence;
That in the belief that procrastination and delay strike at and injure the very life of the nation, the Government of Rhodesia consider it essential that Rhodesia should attain, without delay, sovereign independence, the justice of which is beyond question;
Now therefore, we the Government of Rhodesia, in humble submission to Almighty God who controls the destinies of nations, conscious that the people of Rhodesia have always shown unswerving loyalty and devotion to Her Majesty the Queen and earnestly praying that we and the people of Rhodesia will not be hindered in our determination to continue exercising our undoubted right to demonstrate the same loyalty and devotion, and seeking to promote the common good so that the dignity and freedom of all men may be assured, do, by this proclamation, adopt enact and give to the people of Rhodesia the constitution annexed hereto;
God Save The Queen.
Given under Our Hand at Salisbury this eleventh day of November in the Year of Our Lord one thousand nine hundred and sixty five.
(Signed by Prime Minister Ian Smith, Deputy Prime Minister Clifford Dupont, and the other Ministers of the Government of Rhodesia)
Boadicea's Chariot 
Rhodesia had served Britain well in two world wars and still maintained loyalty to the Queen. The country was served very poorly by British and American politicians. Included in the conditions whereby the US loaned arms and supplies to Britain during the war, was the demand that Britain surrender her colonies. US hypocrisy is overwhelming when one considers how the original 13 states, despite their anti-colonial stand, went on to colonise the rest of the country and committed acts of genocide against its indigenous people. Not only that the US stole California and other states from Mexico. Kipling’s poem, the White Man’s Burden, was aimed at the US upon their colonisation of the Philippines.
Under Rhodesian government, the population of the country grew from 450,000 in 1890 to 9 million in 1980. Whereas the indigenous people flourished and prospered in Africa, in America and Australia they were all but exterminated. Yet who is it who tries to lay claim to the moral high ground?
This document clearly illustrates the frustrations that the Rhodesian people were experiencing with the British.
I’m reminded of the loudest cheer that I have ever heard at a rugby stadium…
I was sitting at Loftus opposite the Presidents suite (24 May,1986) prior to the Cavaliers Test and Ian Smith was introduced to the crowd as he took his seat, a standing ovation of note.
I have to say, Sipu that I understand your feelings. The British government (or should that be plural?) have behaved shamefully with regard to Rhodesia.
Yes indeed, the US hypocrisy of demanding that others give up their colonies is quite incredible. Unfortunately, they do not see that the acquisition of the ‘rest of the country’ as colonisation. What I also find appalling is how often the wishes of those colonies were ignored because of American self-interest.
Hi Soutie, I met IDS about a year before he died. He was in a retirement home in St James, here in the Cape, right next door in fact to the cottage where Rhodes himself had kicked the bucket. On the evening of his death at about 19.45, I was with a friend on our way to have a drink at a nearby pub. I pointed to the window the nursing home and explained that it was Smith’s bedroom. Through the lighted window, we could see people moving about. The next day I read that he had died a few minutes earlier.
Boa, America, outwardly via Hollywood and inwardly via parochialism, has managed to sell the idea that the US is God’s chosen country, the rest of the world’s knight in shining armour or perhaps white hatted cowboy. Those few Americans who do travel abroad are often horrified by the reality of US behaviour versus the perception back home. America always has been entirely self-interested. One might say good for America, but at least have the decency to admit it, as the Chinese do.
There is a lovely line of Churchill who when visiting the US was asked by an anti British heckler how the Indians were getting on. He wondered if she meant the Indians of Asia, who under British rule were prospering, or the Indians of America, who under US rule had been all but exterminated.
I watched part of an interview of George Bush last night. He was asked about ‘water boarding’ and other such stuff. His answer was quite simple: “It was my job to look after America – and I did”. Brutal honesty.
Many years ago I visited Disney World. It was fascinating – and quite frightening. Broad sweeps of history, but once the ‘time-line’ reached the establishment of America the rest of the world was over-looked and forgotten. It was as if the rest of the world had ceased to exist. Brought up on such a diet, it is hardly surprising that when an Bearsy told an American policeman that he lived in Australia, the copper replied “What State is that in?”
Yes, re George Bush, I agree with you regarding his honesty in that respect. I am not so sure, however, that he was honest with regards to his motives for invading Iraq in the first place, but then neither was Blair. I always felt, though, that it was Cheyney and Rumsfeld who were the real evil pair in that US triumvirate.
Some friends of mine were asked if Zimbabwe was near Dallas!
Doesn’t surprise me.
However, we are straying from the point! I’m sure that there are those who would disagree with me (and you!) that Rhodesia and its peoples were not well-served by the British.
I wonder how the British Government would react if the leaders of Zimbabwe started a vigourous policy of ethnic cleansing and started to kill all the whites?
Very interesting Sipu, I’m learning more.
OMG – and you think they haven’t? It may not be an explicit policy, but I dread to think how many white Rhodesians have been killed, or forced to leave.
boa
That is precisely the point I am making, it is a disgrace how they have just stood back and let these bastar*s get away with it.
I’m afraid the root cause of this apathy is the fact that Big Business shows no interest in the region.
Janus – absolutely right. We kid ourselves that our elected governments rule – they don’t, Big Business has a strangle-hold on governments all round the world. If it is not in their (economic) interests to do something – nothing gets done.
Rhodesia was scurrilously treated by HM Government of the day, with the result we see today and which was foreseen at the time. Timely reminder, Sipu.
Now that they have discovered diamonds there, potentially the biggest find anywhere in the world, big business, in the form of China, is suddenly taking an interest. Diamonds fly out and weapons and cash fly in. With gold being so expensive, the huge jewellery market in India is switching interest away from gold more towards diamonds. There is money to be made.
http://allafrica.com/stories/201009220056.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jul/23/zimbabwe-blood-diamonds