Rhodesia to deport bishop

Press, 26 February 1977, Page 6

Rhodesia to deport bishop

NZPA Salisbury The Trish-bom Roman Catholic Bishop of Umtali, the Rt Rev. Donal Lamont, sentenced to a year’s imprisonment for failing to inform on black nationalist guerrillas, will be stripped of his Rhodesian citizenship and deported, it has been announced in Salisbury. Four hours after the Appeal Court reduced Lamont’s 10-year prison sentence to 12 months, the Government announced that the 65-year-old Bishop would not be imprisoned. The Justice and Law and Order Minister (Mr Hilary Squires) told the white-dom-inated legislature that the Government did not want to allow the prelate a spectacular position in prison where

he might become a martyr. I Bishop Lamont, who was | injured recently in a car accident, will be confined to a I hospital until legal measures; are taken to strip nim of his < citizenship and formally ex- | pel him. A source close to the Gov-| ernment said that it could j be a month before proce- I dures were completed to for- i malise the deportation. Deportees are allowed the' right of appeal once the) mechanics of removing their I citizenship have been com- j pleted. the source said. i In Dublin. Bishop Lamont’s j brother, Andrew, said that his! brother would resist the de- j portation moves. In Washington, Mr Andrew | Young, the United States Am- j bassador to tht United Na-J tions, has said that chaos 1

(will erupt in Rhodesia, (neighbouring black African .countries, and South Africa lif the U.S. Congress fails to ’reimpose an embargo on imjports of Rhodesian chrome. This, he said, would endanger not only supplies of i chrome but also of eight (other important minerals Ifrom southern Africa. i Mr Young was testifying in 'Congress on a bill that would (repeal the so-called Byrd j Amendment. The House of (Representatives international (relations sub-committee on l Africa passed a House verI sion of the repeal bill after 'hearing Mr Young. The Carter Administration (is strongly backing the repeal (bill and prospects are good Ithat the measure will be approved by Congress.