DR. MALAN’S POLICY IN S. AFRICA BITTERLY ASSAILED BY NEWSPAPER

Wanganui Chronicle, 21 June 1949, Page 5

DR. MALAN’S POLICY IN S. AFRICA BITTERLY ASSAILED BY NEWSPAPER

LONDON June 20 (Rec. 6 pm).— Under a heading “South African Fascism,” the weekly “New Statesman and Nation,” says: “When he was in London for the recent Commonwealth Conference, Dr. Malan was on his best behaviour. He even managed to persuade some influential members of the Government that he and his Nationalist colleagues were decent democrats who have been the victims of vicious misrepresentation. Whatever Dr. Malan may have said in London, he and his colleagues, with their policy of ‘Apartheid’ and white supremacy, repudiate the principles of liberty, equality and fraternity with all earnestness, and much the same sort of theological claptrap as the Dixiecrats of the United States. But whereas the Dixiecrats are fighting against still undefeated American liberalism, Dr. Malan is in power and the strength of the extremists behind him, headed by such men as the ardently pro-Nazi, Doctor Pirow, is steadily increasing. "Now, in his new South African Citizenship Bill, Dr. Malan has found a convenient way of disfranchising a large number of potential political opponents. This Bill prevents anyone who immigrated to South Africa during the past two years from voting until 1952. As the Manchester "Guardian” rightly observed: ‘lt transforms British subjects from other parts of the Commonwealth into aliens.’ What this means can best be understood by rereading the draft Republican Constitution which was published with Dr. Malan’s full consent, as far back as 1942. This extraordinary document, which proposes to make the President 'directly and only responsible to God.’ rules out Parliamentary responsibility and divides the inhabitants of the Union into two classes—burghers and subjects Negroes and Indians, of course, remain subjects. White people, however, are recognised as burghers. 'lt can be expected they will act as builders-up of the nation.’

“It is clear enough, therefore, that having disfranchised all recent immigrants, Dr. Malan intends to subject them to a loyalty test which will exclude from the polling booths anyone who opposes openly the Nazi designs of the present Government. If Dr. Malan has his way, South Africa will be reshaped as a four-class State. The base of the pyramid will be formed by millions of completely disfranchised and compulsorily illiterate negroes, the next layer by disfranchised Indians, the next by disfranchised whites, and at the top will stand a compact Herrenvolk of reliable Fascist-minded burghers.”— (Special N.Z.P.A. Correspondent).