Cooperation With Commonwealth

Northern Advocate, 5 June 1948, Page 5

Cooperation With Commonwealth

Malan's Government Will Gladly Continue

PRETORIA, Fri. (11.30 a.m.). —South Africa would “gladly continue” her good relations with Britain and the other Commonwealth countries if there was no prejudice to her status as a sovereign state, declared Dr Malan in his first broadcast as Prime Minister, which was made soon after the Cabinet was sworn in.

“We fully acknowledge our partnership in the community of nations,, and therefore, by no means, stand for an isolationist policy. “We wish it to be clearly understood that we, like our predecessor, undertook membership of the United Nations on the clear understanding that there would be no interference from outside in our domestic affairs, or breaches of our sovereignty.

“We shall build on this foundation and utterly refuse to allow our destiny to be limited by any country, power or organisation except ourselves.” Dr Malan said his Government fully acknowledged the particularly friendly relations in which South Africa stood with the United Kingdom and other lands of the British Commonwealth.

“We must emphasise, however, that cooperation for common ends will be possible only if there is no prejudice to our status, and if there are no attempts of outside interference in our domestic affairs.” Dr Malan added that, with the recent admission to the Commonwealth of new members, with equal rights, and especially in view of South Africa’s experiences at Lake Success, the danger of this interference was by no means imaginary.

“Those good relations we shall, as far as we are concerned, gladly continue,” he said.

The question must inevitably be put, therefore, whether the good cooperation which everybody desired could be achieved better by independent contacts between individual members of the Commonwealth than by a discussion at general, and all-embracing conferences.

Dr Malan said that many Englishspeaking people supported him at the general election.