TNAG-0721-FCO40-919-Capital-punishment-in-the-Dependent-Territories-1978 — Page 160

Registry

No.

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION

Top Secret,

Secret.

Confidential.

Restricted.

Unclassified.

PRIVACY MARKING

DRAFT

To:-

DSR11

Type 1 +

From

Secretary of State

Telephone No. Ext.

Department

..........In Confidence

Mr Green удобы This is a draft reply to the

Second half

With regard to the resolution's condemnation of the

Government's "failure to take action to prevent the illegal

execution of British Subjects by the Rhodesian regime",

although I deeply deplore such acts, we must face the fact

that lacking any official representation in Salisbury, our

power to influence the illegal regime is very limited. On the

advice of her Ministers, Her Majesty The Queen exercised the

Royal Prerogative of Mercy in favour of three Africans in 1968,

but this action did not prevent their execution.

Rhodesia was declared a "republic" and it is even more unlikely

that the regime would now feel themselves bound by the Royal

of the resolutionths Prerogative of Mercy. Ms Little wrote about

Seffor

Fletcher

6/2/76 Rhodesia Deft

In 1970

I believe that the surest way to bring an end to these

executions, or to the other tragedies of the war in Rhodesia,

is to pursue a peaceful negotiated settlement, on the basis of

the Anglo/US proposals.

Dd 108087 400M S&K 1/77