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yes my my zo Dear Governor/ Commissioner,
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
London SW1A 2AH
13 November 1979
SEMINAR ON THE FUTURE OF THE DEPENDENT TERRITORIES
1. Tony Clarke kept you informed of preparations for the Seminar on the Dependent Territories that was held at the Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, from 24 to 26 September.
2. Somewhat belatedly, we have now produced a summary of the discussions, and I now attach a copy together with a final list of participants.
3. As you will see from the summary, the discussions were somewhat diffuse, and it is not easy to draw conclusions. But three significant points did emerge:
i)
There was a strong belief, shared by virtually all the non-official participants, that we should be actively seeking to divest ourselves of our remaining colonies and just just be leaving it to them to decide whether or not they want to become independent;
ii) There was much concern about the effect on the
iii)
Caribbean region of the creation of a large number of independent micro-states; this was a particular preoccupation of those with direct connections with the region, such as Dr Grant and Lord Pitt, who both came back again and again to the need for regional consultation and cooperation;
There was a general suspicion among the non-officials that we were too hidebound in our attitudes towards small. territories - that we tended to see their problems as no more than scaled down versions of the problems of the bigger territories that we have already brought to independence; and that we therefore sought solutions which, though they might have worked for bigger terri- tories, were inappropriate to the ones we are now left with.
4. The first point is now being considered in the context of a Memorandum on policy towards the Dependent Territories which we are preparing for Ministers. It is unlikely that they will wish to consider the papers on this subject while they remain preoccupied with Rhodesia, but we expect to be able to send you guidance on the new Government's policy by about the end of the year.
15.