300 still detained in Rhodesia

Press, Volume CXIII, Issue 33407, 13 December 1973, Page 18

300 still detained in Rhodesia

Almost 300 people, all Africans except for her husband, the former Prime Minister, Mr Garfield Todd, remain in detention in Rhodesia, says Mrs Grace Todd in a letter to friends in New Zealand.

She adds that it is difficult to see any improvement in the affairs of Rhoidesia in the near future. White Rhodesians are parI ticularly upset at the rnountting toll of injuries and death resulting from guerrilla war-

fare. She says another sober-] ing stastic is the drop in thej number of immigrants to that country and the rise in emigration from Rhodesia. In spite of the “short term agony” of the situation, Mrs Todd says she and her husband approach their fortieth Rhodesian Christmas with hope. ‘That hope is based on what we have seen happen in the lives of the African people in the years we have known them. In spite of the frustrations of the present situation, the people grow in strength and mature in ability.” Mrs Todd says the International Red Cross once or twice a year sends a team of officers to visit people in de- i tention. The officers are not! allowed to see prisoners or! those awaiting trial.