Segregation Bill In Rhodesia

Press, Volume CVII, Issue 31519, 6 November 1967, Page 13

Segregation Bill In Rhodesia

(N.Z.P. A.-Reuter—Copyright) SALISBURY, November 5. The lan Smith regime plans to force a racial segregation bill through Parliament in spite of a ruling by the country’s Constitutional Council that it conflicts with Rhodesia’s Declaration of Rights.

The proposed bill would allow local authorities to establish separate public amenities, such as parks and

swimming pools, for people of different races, and to pass regulations to ensure that segregation was enforced. A motion set down on the Parliamentary order paper for next Tuesday shows that the Government plans to seek the two-thirds majority which will enable the bill to become law, in spite of the Constitutional Council’s report that it conflicts with a section of the Declaration of Rights which bars racial discrimination, and is therefore unconstitutional. This is the second time in a week that the Government has decided to over-rule the council.

A motion already down for debate seeks to force through a measure that will make anyone found in unauthorised possession of arms liable to a mandatory death sentence. With the overwhelming strength of the ruling Rhodesian Front Party in Parliament, the Smith Government will have no difficulty gaining the necessary majorities for both bills.