Ford Broadcasts, 1965-1966: 12237637

Read from the scan by GLM-OCR; expect the odd misread word.

MR. SPIVAK: Would your government allow an opposition party to be formed if it were Communist-dominated?

MR. MBOYA: Under our constitution there is entrenched the freedom of association, and that means that any group of people can in fact form another party. Although we have been a one-party state so far, it has been entirely voluntary.

MR. ROWAN: Mr. Mboya, you were quoted from London the other day as saying that it is time there was some action to bring down the Ian Smith regime in Rhodesia. Is this British military action that you are calling for?

MR. MBOYA: Yes.

MR. ROWAN: Do you think that if the Wilson Government gets a bigger majority in Parliament in the upcoming elections they may bring that military action?

MR. MBOYA: I do not know what they will do, but this I do know, that our government, and I believe most African governments, would like to see Britain deal more decisively with the rebellion in Rhodesia, including the use of force.

MR. ROWAN: I take it you think economic sanctions are not working, just as Mr. Smith says they are not?

MR. MBOYA: They are not working, and they have not produced the results, and especially since they are not mandatory.

MR. ROWAN: There has been some talk of the African States joining together to use force. I notice that the Premier of Malawi used some rather colorful language to say that this talk is nonsense. Is this realistic talk on the part of the African States? Will anything come of it?

MR. MBOYA: My position is that this is a responsibility of the British Government, and the British Government must take the necessary action, including the use of force.

MR. HOVEY: Doesn't this inevitably bring up the question of African unity, Mr. Mboya, and the recent deliberations in the Organization of African Unity have seemed to indicate anything but unity within that organization.

Do you think that it is possible to rebuild OAU unity so as to provide—to provide even the maximum pressure on Britain and others to take the kind of action in the southern third of Africa that you would like to see them take.

MR. MBOYA: I think African unity still exists, and I think that Africa can still exert the necessary pressure on Britain.

I don't believe that OAU should be judged by just the incidents at one particular conference. If we were to do so, bodies like the United Nations would have ceased existing long ago.

MR. HOVEY: I know, but I am not referring just to one, Mr. Mboya. I am referring to the response over the unanimous declaration of intent to break with Britain because Britain had not brought down this white rebel regime in Rhodesia by December 15th, and then I am referring too to this recent meeting in which there were walkouts over the question of the new regime in Ghana. This would indicate that not only are there no other issues on which the OAU can unite but that it is even divided on the tactics to be used on the one issue which up to now has provided the cement of unity, namely, the question of the liberation of the southern third of Africa.

MR. MBOYA: Yes, but I don't think there is any conflict or division as regards the need to liberate any part of Africa. There may be a difference in methods and in emphasis, but I don't find this particularly disturbing in the sense of the future unity of Africa. These are some of the issues which I have referred to as part of the crisis of confidence, but they are things that we can get over.

MR. HARSCH: At the recent meeting of that Organization of African Unity in Addis-Ababa, the Kenya delegation walked out when the delegation from the new government of Ghana was seated, but when the delegation from the new government of Nigeria was seated, the Kenya delegation did not walk out. Why this distinction? Why do you accept the new government of Nigeria but not the new government in Ghana?

MR. RASH: We have less than two minutes.

MR. MBOYA: The Kenya delegation did not walk out because the delegation of Ghana sat in the conference. The Kenya delegation was withdrawn because there was mounting confusion in Addis-Ababa, and we felt that the conference should be saved our OAU should be saved and that the conference, perhaps, should have been adjourned to give people more time to consider the issues.

MR. HARSCH: Do I understand that your government has no objection to the new turn of political events in Ghana?

MR. MBOYA: It is not for us to object to what government people in Ghana have. We recognize the state of Ghana, not the regimes.

MR. SPIVAK: Mr. Mboya, what is the explanation for the increasing number of military take-overs in the newly independent African States?

MR. MBOYA: In very simple words, I would say it is part of this crisis of confidence. It is a question of the expectations on the part of the people, problems of leadership, problems of institutions and some of the initial transitional problems in government.

MR. RASH: I am very sorry to interrupt, but our time is up. Thank you, Mr. Mboya, for being with us today on MEET THE PRESS.