No Choice, Says Vorster

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 32313, 3 June 1970, Page 17

No Choice, Says Vorster

(N.Z.P.A.-Reuter— Copyright.)

JOHANNESBURG, June 2. The South African Prime Minister (Mr Vorster) said last night: “If South Africa faced a choice between taking part in international sport and our way of life . . . the majority of our people will say that we have no choice.”

In a broadcast interview on Republic Day, Mr Vorster did not elaborate but, speaking about the cancellation of the South African cricket tour of England, he said that South Africa should realise exactly what she was up against. “What is happening at the moment is that Communists and the Afro-Asians are blackmailing various countries to refuse to play with us, and, of course, they are not moti-

vated by sport,” Mr Vorster

said. “What they really want to do is to exert physical pressure on us through sport “If the choice is between taking part in international sport and our way of life—which we have developed in this country over generations —then naturally the majority of our people will say that we have no choice in the matter whatsoever.” Mr Vorster went on to criticise strongly what he described as the permissive society in some other countries, and the failure of leaders of the free world to realise the importance of safeguarding the sea route round the Cape. “There is a world-wide assault on Western youth,” he said. “We have got to guard against the influence of the permissive society which we see in many countries in Europe, and outside Europe, because that, perhaps, can be more destructive than the actual physical assault upon South Africa.

“In other words, we have got to strengthen the moral fibre of all our people, and especially of our youth.” South Africa’s main task, he said, was to keep her part of the globe safe for the free world, and free from communism, particularly with regard to the Cape sea route.

It was of the utmost importance to South Africa to keep that sea route open, and he thought it was even more important to Europe and the free world. “Once the tip of Africa is controlled by Communists,” Mr Vorster said, “you can readily appreciate what the world situation would be with Suez closed.

“I fail to understand why leaders of the free world don’t realise it as much as we realise it Taking into account the encroachment of the Communists in the Indian Ocean, and the bridgehead that they have established in the Sudan and in Tanzania, it makes one become afraid of the future.”