Bhutto lashes ’racist' whites

Press, 13 June 1977, Page 8

Bhutto lashes ’racist' whites

[NZPA-Reuter Islamabad Pakistan’s Prime Minister '(Mr Bhutto) has said that the .Commonwealth is dominated Iby racist Anglo-Saxons, and i urged its African members to [leave it. ! The African Comtuon- ■ jwealth members should take ■ a consistent and clear-cut position if they were serious about independence and the fight against racialism, he told the National Assembly in Islamabad. He was speaking in a de-1 ’bate about American efforts ;to get Pakistan to abandon’ a deal with France for the; purchase of a nuclear repro-l cessing plant. Mr Bhutto said that the; Anglo-Saxons were not sin-; • cere in their professions! about apartheid, if they had! ’applied the sanctions against I the South African and Rho-I [desian white minority Gov-1 ’emments effectively, they! [would not have been able to! • persist in their policies, he; [said. I Pakistan withdrew from) Ithe Commonwealth in 1972.’ Mr Bhutto said that what; [he called America’s discrim-1 inatory attitude towards' [Pakistan would force hint to! [reconsider his country’s [membership of the Central [Treaty Organisation. > He referred to American pressure against the purlchase of the reprocessing [plant, Washington’s refusal Ito sell Pakistan its A-U [strike aircraft, and an earlier [arms embargo against Pakistan. He said that if being a member of Cento meant this! [sort of treatment, he saw no I point in taking part.