TNAG-0832-FCO40-1040-Future-of-the-Dependent-Territories-1979 — Page 141

2 CONFIDENTIAL

popular wishes should permit constitutional advance where desired and where we consider it reasonable to the stage of internal self-government. It should be our aim at that stage to establish a system which will enable the territory to proceed at a time and in a manner of its own choosing to independence in due course. We should avoid any rule of thumb

timetable (which caused us trouble, for example in the Solomon Islands).

5. I believe that only by this means can we expect local politicians and electorates to learn enough about Government to be able or willing to move in due course to independence.

6. One or two points of detail:

(a)

(b)

in paragraph 2, line 2, I suggest substituting

"but we shall not press territories to accept

independence, or association or integration with any other country, against their wishes."

last line of paragraph 2, line 18

Responsibility for internal security does, not "could", lead to..

(c) paragraph 3, line 3

Delete "or best interests": this is importing a new criterion which fogs the issue. We accept the wishes

of the people and do not presume to judge their interests;

(d) paragraph 6

The penultimate sentence seems to me to miss the point that if our policy is to give local Ministers responsibility we cannot at the same time determine how they shall-- exercise it. British political considerations give just as much weight to the policy of devolution as to determinist matters. There is a potential conflict of principle here; and the Creech Jones doctrine is a handy example of the relative weight given by Parliament in past years to the conflicting principles;

(e) paragraph 10, line 18

I thought British policy was to give discreet encouragement to mini-states to follow the Nauru/Tuvalu example. I recall seeing a recent minute by a Minister to this effect;

(f) paragraph 11

I suggest that if the question of UN membership is to be introduced at all, it should be given rather more precise treatment. Whether the impossibility of a

/two-tier*