TNAG-0559-FCO40-654-Resettlement-of-Vietnamese-refugees-from-Hong-Kong-into-othe-1975 — Page 133

FCO40 Hong Kong Department Records 聯邦事務部香港部檔案 All

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nationalist leaders who had been involved in the negotiations and, when it was known that he was one of those freed, to Daniel Madzimbamuto, an AI adoptee who had been detained without trial since 1959.

Regrettably, the Smith government's amnesty did not include all political detainees, and of the 80 believed to have been released, many had their freedom of movement restricted. Nor did the Lusaka agreement bring an effective end to the warfare in northeastern Rhodesia. Apparently for this reason, the Rhodesian authorities stated in early January 1975 that no more detainees would be freed until guerilla activities ceased. Since that time, the ANC has argued that no meaningful talks can be held until the remaining detainees are freed and the authorities stop executing captured guerrillas and other people sentenced to death for political offences. The only response of the Smith government has been to announce that details of future hangings will no longer be made available to the public.

In March 1975, the Reverend Ndabaningi Sithole, President of ZANU and a member of the executive of the enlarged ANC since his release from detention in December, was re-arrested and accused of plotting the assassination of a number of his political associates in the ANC. New regulations were hurriedly introduced establishing a special court-in reality, little more than a detention review tribunal. Reverend Sithole was further accused of ultimate responsibility for atrocities alleged to have been committed by ZANU guerrillas.

When Reverend Sithole appeared before the tribunal, no evidence was intro- duced to support the original assassination charge. An AI observer who was present, American lawyer E. Clinton Bamberger, described the proceedings as a "sham" and a blatant attempt on the part of the Smith government to create friction between ZANU and the rest of the ANC. Mr Bamberger went on to characterize the partcipation of Rhodesia's acting Chief Justice in the proceedings as "a prostitution of the judiciary”.

AI has more than 250 adopted prisoners in Rhodesia. During the year, several of these prisoners have obtained, with the assistance of their adoption groups, offers of educational places in Western Europe. It is hoped that some may soon be freed to take up these places.

AI operates a considerable relief and prisoner rehabilitation program in Rhodesia using funds made available to the International Secretariat by the Swedish Section and by means of individual group contributions.

Senegal

In April 1974 the Senegalese government announced an amnesty for political prisoners. This resulted in the release of some individuals who had been held for more than 10 years and in the subsequent claim by the Senegalese authorities that no political prisoners were held in their country.

In late December 1974, however, a new wave of arrests began in academic and professional circles, and by early January a total of 19 persons were being held. Nine were later released on bail, but the remaining 10 were kept in custody and ultimately charged in April 1975 with the publication of an illegal pamphlet Xare-Bi (The Struggle). The most prominent of those appearing in court was Landing Savané, a well-known Senegalese demographer of international standing,

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