An insensitive tour

Press, 9 February 1983, Page 22

An insensitive tour

No formal reasons can be offered against the proposal by three Government members of Parliament to visit South Africa as guests of the South African Government. They break no laws by accepting. They do not breach the letter of the Gleneagles Agreement or, probably, 'its spirit. The right of any New Zealand citizens to travel where they wish, on any lawful business, needs to be maintained. For all that, the trio led by the member for Invercargill, Mr N., P. H. Jones, are showing a clumsy insensitivity to the opinions of many New Zealanders. None of the three may damage their own electoral prospects by making the visit. They could well do harm to their party, in spite of the firmly expressed distaste of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Cooper, for the expedition. Mr Jones is not noted forhis tact in such matters. On reflection, common sense may suggest to him that little purpose can be served by a so-called fact-finding tour of South Africa- unless those making the tour distance themselves clearly, in the eyes of the community, from the rulers of the country they visit. In recent times, New Zealanders prominent in public life have beaten their way to capitals as diverse as Pyongyang

and Pretoria, Saigon, and Sofia. To the extent that they have accepted the hospitality of their hosts, their findings must be suspect, no matter how scrupulously the visitors may have tried to act as impartial observers. A visit to South Africa, in search of on-the-spot impressions, paid for by the New Zealand Government, or the National Party, or the members of Parliament themselves, might serve some purpose. At least, the reports of the tourists would be treated with greater respect. South Africa, even more than other large, modern societies, is a complicated place. From its diversity, it can easily reinforce whatever preconceptions a visitor brings to it. To do more than skim the surface, Mr Jones and his travelling companions would need a fair knowledge of the history of southern Africa, detailed knowledge of the country’s racial and constitutional legislation, and a working knowledge of Afrikaans and at least one black African language. Otherwise, they may be off on a splendid holiday, but at the price of embarrassing their colleagues in Parliament and with little prospect of increasing the sum of New Zealanders’ understanding of South Africa.