TNAG-0835-FCO40-1043-Foreign-and-Commonwealth-Office-seminar-on-the-future-of-Bri-1979 — Page 73

Mr. R. J. Stratton

2

8 October, 1979

ground-swell of resentment against the type of economic development taking place and against wealthy whites, among school age youth. This to me has the ultimate makings of a politically coherent party who may well seek eventual independence.

The point of all this is to say that I believe the only workable solution must be within a variable time scale and consist of an amalgam of threats, implicit coercion and opportunity.

Specifically, I believe that all the Caribbean Dependencies should now be given constitutions that grant the right to move by majority decision towards full internal self government and on to full independence. Such a constitution should be unequivocal about the procedure for achieving both. At the same time the aid should be cut back in such a way as to indicate that Britain has a declining interest in these dependencies and will not support them for ever. Simultaneously, or perhaps slightly later, firm public noises should be made about a date (say 1990), for full independence, and discussions initiated with the Commonwealth Secretariat on technical support and the region on political stability and possibly defence.

With a scenario such as this, I believe that the personalities involved will initially feel threatened (as intended) but will soon wake up to the option of seeing themselves on a wider stage. I can certainly think of people in Cayman, the BVI and Anguilla who, given the right issues, will eventually jump at the opportunities that full independence will personally provide.

Whether this is of any help, I do not know. But I do strongly feel that it is essential to take an island by island approach within a flexible time scale.

All this is of course said in the spirit of the seminar and represents my personal view.

Yours sincerely,

Thilla

David Editor

Jessop