Central African Talks Adjourned

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29391, 19 December 1960, Page 17

Central African Talks Adjourned

(Rec. 10 p.m.) LONDON, December 17. The boycott-hampered London conference on the future of the Central African Federation adjourned today until the New Year with all but two of the 14 “walk-out” African nationalists present at the closing session.

The conference of about 70 delegates from five governments and political parties heard sum-ming-up speeches by the British Prime Minister, Mr Macmillan, the Commonwealth Relations Secretary, Mr Duncan Sandys, and the Prime Minister of the Federation of Northern and Southern Rhodesia and Nyasaland, Sir Roy Welensky. Nothing has been decided about the constitutional issues affecting the destiny of the half-million square mile federation and its eight million people. The African nationalists want to break up the federation and abolish its white-controlled governments. The daily sessions which began on December 5 have been devoted to delegates’ speeches on their positions. At the final session today, the Nyasaland African nationalist leader, Dr. Hastings Banda, ended his five-day boycott of the talks. He led his Malawi Congress Party delegates back into the conference this morning. With them came Mr Kenneth Kaunda, the Northern Rhodesian nationalist leader, who had lifted his boycott yesterday, and a number of African chiefs, who had joined

in the nationalist walk-out last Monday. The only nationalist absentees from today’s session were Mr Joshua Nkomo and the Rev, M. Sithole, of Southern Rhodesia’s National Democratic Party, who had been excluded from the official Southern Rhodesian delegation for participating in the boycott. Dr. Banda declined to give reporters his reasons for ending the boycott, but he said that he was leaving for Nyasaland soon. Mr Kaunda said his own decision to return to the conference was based on “a careful study of the position at home.” The delay in starting the related talks on the constitution of Northern Rhodesia, which were due to open last Tuesday, but which were postponed after the boycott “would lead to very serious disturbances at home, which I was very anxious to avoid.” A communique later said the 'inference would be reconvened at a date in the New Year to be decided bv the five governments ■n the light of the progress made at the talks on the constitutions of Northern and Southern Rhodesia The Colonial Office announced that the Northern Rhodesian talks would begin in London on Monday. v>