478. Telegram From the Department of State to the Embassy in the United Kingdom1
1790. For Kaiser from Acting Secretary. In light of most recent communication from Prime Minister to President re Southern Rhodesia,2 you are requested to seek an immediate appointment with Prime Minister Smith in order deliver following message. Message is to be delivered orally by your reading from verbatim text and with no additional comment other than that you are delivering it upon instructions of your government.
Begin Verbatim Text:
In view of the highly important discussions now underway between HMG and GSR, the USG wishes to make clear its position and concern with this problem.
The course of events in Southern Rhodesia in recent years has given increasing concern to the Government of the United States. As you know from the official public statements of US officials and from numerous bilateral talks between officials of GSR and USG, the United States has consistently supported the efforts of Her Majesty’s Government to arrive at a solution to the question of Rhodesia’s future satisfactory to the population of Southern Rhodesia as a whole.
The pronouncements of Rhodesian officials threatening a unilateral declaration of independence under certain conditions have caused grave concern in the United States. For many years ties between Southern Rhodesia and the United States have been very close and friendly through war and peace. It would indeed be tragic if these ties were to be severed by an ill-considered and irrevocable unilateral action on the part of your Government.
The United States considers that a political solution acceptable only to the minority in Southern Rhodesia and unresponsive to the interests and rights of the vast majority of the population would be a grievous error. My Government could not condone such a solution.
The GSR will recall United Sates public support for Prime Minister Wilson’s October 27, 1964 warning of the disastrous consequences of a unilateral declaration of independence. As you know, the USG supported the Prime Minister’s public reiteration of that warning on April 29, 1965. The United States Government does not intend to deviate from [Page 820] its course of strong support for Her Majesty’s Government’s position now and—if it occurs—after a unilateral declaration of independence.
At the same time, you are assured that, should your Government and Her Majesty’s Government achieve a constitutional solution that is satisfactory to the population of Southern Rhodesia as a whole, the Government of the United States would be prepared to support such a solution through diplomatic channels in international bodies and with other governments.
End Verbatim Text.
Please advise HMG of appointment. Bentley called in to receive similar message here.3
- Source: Department of State, Central Files, POL 19 RHOD. Confidential; Immediate. Drafted by Kinsey, Springsteen, and Special Assistant to Ball Jacob Myerson; cleared by Fredericks, Leddy, and Komer; and approved by Ball. Repeated to Salisbury and USUN.↩
- See Document 473.↩
- In telegram 1526 from London, October 7, Kaiser reported that he had delivered the oral message to Prime Minister Smith that morning. Smith responded that the United States did not understand the situation and argued that independence under the present constitution was acceptable to the majority of Rhodesians. He declared that, if all else failed, Rhodesians would have no choice but to take their independence; this was a matter of “life and death.” The Prime Minister also referred bitterly to the British “crawling” to the United States for assistance, and compared the present Rhodesian situation to the American one in 1776. (Department of State, Central Files, POL 19 RHOD)↩