Q1
Prime Minister, perhaps I should start by asking you how Britain perceives the importance of the Commonwealth now and your expectations?
A
We see the Commonwealth as very important. There is no other organisation quite like it, which brings together countries from right across the world who all speak the same language and have much of their history in common. Pakistan's decision to rejoin the Commonwealth is very welcome evidence of how much it is valued. We would all be losers if the Commonwealth became less of a force for reason, common sense and mutual help. I want to see it continue to provide both the fellowship and the moral and practical leadership which it has often demonstrated in the past. [end p1]
Q2
What lies ahead at KL as the meeting is convened in the wake of major political changes globally, particularly in East-West relations?
A
I am sure that at Kuala Lumpur we shall discuss the tremendously exciting developments in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. Their implications are enormous, because what we are talking about is the crisis of communism, which has shown itself unable to provide either the living standards or the democracy and human rights that people want and expect. We shall also discuss Southern Africa, the global environment, drugs and how we want the Commonwealth to develop. One of the great things about Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetings is that the level of debate is very high and one can learn a great deal about how others see developments in the world. It is a pity that our occasional differences are so often given publicity, when the truly remarkable aspect is how much we agree. [end p2]
Q3
You have a reputation for being a tough leader, always wanting to win in what you strive for. In that respect, do you feel let-down when, for example, with regard to your policy on South Africa, you are isolated?
A
Whenever you talk about South Africa, you have to distinguish between rhetoric and action. I think that in practice more people are coming to see that our policy is the right one. That policy is first to use every opportunity to persuade and encourage the South African Government in the direction of peaceful change; and second to provide very substantial assistance - far more than any other member of the Commonwealth - to black people in South Africa and to the neighbouring countries. I think that policy is producing results. We may be one of the few who speak up against sanctions, but I find that many other Heads of Government privately agree with us that sanctions would not work. [end p3]
Q4
We have time and again been told that the establishment of a single European market would not in any way jeopardize Britain's trade links with other countries. Would not Britain's preoccupation with the single market divert its attention from the Commonwealth or at least regard the Commonwealth as a less important trading partner?
A
No, not at all. The whole point of 1992 is to reduce barriers to trade, not to erect new ones. Completion of the Single Market should increase the opportunities for Commonwealth countries to export into the European market. The special trading and aid arrangements with the EC from which many Commonwealth countries benefit will of course continue. [end p4]
Q5
Your policy on South Africa is viewed by Commonwealth Governments as a stumbling block in efforts to eliminate apartheid, particularly your refusal to impose sanctions. How do you propose to eliminate apartheid?
A
I am well aware that some believe that only sanctions will provide a solution. No doubt they are all sincere in those beliefs. I am equally sincere in my belief they will not. I am also aware that virtually every single opinion survey shows that most black South Africans do not support sanctions, if they would be likely to result in job losses or job damage. There are various measures we support and enforce a good deal more rigorously than some others do. Foremost among these is the arms embargo which does hit a specific target. We are also committed to the Gleneagles Agreement which discourages sporting links. Other sanctions have been extremely ineffective. But we have pointed out to the South African Government that they will not be able to attract the new inflows of capital which South African needs to develop its economy unless there is an end to apartheid. We encourage them to move ahead with reform, to get rid of the remaining apartheid legislation, release prisoners and negotiate with genuine representatives of black South Africans. But the worst mistake would be to create the illusion that the outside world can somehow solve South Africa's problems for it. We cannot. They can only be solved between black and white South Africans. [end p5]
Q6
Why did you decline to participate in the working of the Commonwealth Foreign Ministers' Committee on South Africa and in the Commonwealth observer Group (COG) constituted to visit Namibia as a run up to the November elections?
A
We declined to participate because it was quite clear that the Committee of Commonwealth Foreign Ministers was going to spend its time talking about more sanctions and we are opposed to sanctions. The reason we did not take part in the Commonwealth Observer Group for Namibia is that Namibia is a United Nations responsibility, and we do not think it is for the Commonwealth to try to second-guess the United Nations. [end p6]
Q7
Have you been in contact with the new leadership in South Africa with a view to ensure that genuine independence could be secured for Namibia?
A
The Agreement has to be observed by all parties and one of the greatest risks to its success came from the incursion into Namibia last April of armed SWAPO guerillas, which was a clear violation of the agreement. I was in Namibia at the time and able to play a part in preventing this from bringing about the collapse of the UN Plan. I have the greatest admiration for the way in which the UN are managing a very difficult situation. They should continue to receive the full support of all parties and of course the Commonwealth. [end p7]
Q8
Britain is regarded as a supporter of apartheid as it continued to trade with South Africa and by being a major importer of South African gold. Britain has considerable influence over South Africa and you have the key to solve the South African problem. How do you propose to do so and do you have any specific proposals for the KL meeting to consider?
A
The fact that we trade with South Africa does not mean that we support apartheid any more than trading with the Soviet Union means that we support communism. Nobody has a “key” to solving the South African problem. All you can do is to use your influence to promote negotiations. The way forward still lies, in my view, with the negotiating concept devised by the Commonwealth Eminent Persons Group, which calls for negotiations against the background of a suspension of violence. I hope that the Commonwealth will reaffirm its support for that. [end p8]
Q9
How confident are you in President De Klerk's ability to undertake reforms in South Africa and to remove racial discrimination. Would he be able to do so following the diminishing support for him in the recent elections and without the support of Mr. Nelson Mandela?
A
In the recent South African Elections, 70 per cent of white voters supported parties advocating change. That is a substantial mandate for reform. President De Klerk's statements have stressed his commitment to reform and some of his early decisions - such as to allow peaceful demonstrations - have been encouraging. As for Nelson Mandela, I made clear many times that his release is essential to successful negotiations in South Africa. I hope he will be released soon. [end p9]
Q10
Is there any basis in the allegations published by the Observer recently on the defence Memorandum of Understanding with Malaysia? If not what could be the motives behind those articles?
A
No. Its not for me to comment on their motives. [end p10]
Q11
What is your assessment of the state of bilateral relations between United Kingdom and Malaysia.
A
Our relations are very good indeed. A great deal of the credit for that goes to your Prime Minister, Dr Mahathir, who has worked very hard to make them so. [end p11]
Q12
You are known to have good rapport with Dr Mahathir, more so now than a good number of years ago. What do you attribute this to?
A
Dr Mahathir and I have met each other many times. He and I share certain strong beliefs about encouraging private enterprise and endeavour, about democracy and about free trade. We have worked together to promote those ideas more widely throughout the world. [end p12]
Q13
Of late some major British companies have won a number of big projects in Malaysia. What sort of encouragement would you give to British investors to participate in development projects and joint-venture projects in Malaysia. Would you consider giving more British assistance to Malaysia?
A
Where our companies invest is a matter for their commercial judgment. But clearly they find an excellent climate for foreign investment in Malaysia. I am very glad that their involvement in the Malaysian market has grown so substantially. I hope that will continue. We are ready to provide further assistance to Malaysia under our Aid and Trade Provision (ATP). In the last ten months, we have made ten offers of ATP assistance to the Malaysian authorities, totalling nearly £130m., covering a very wide range of major projects. [end p13]
Q14
Is there a possibility of extending UK home fees and European Community fees to Commonwealth students? Are the costs too exhorbitant and outweigh the benefits of educating more commonwealth students in UK?
A
The number of overseas students studying in the United Kingdom continues to grow and about 70 per cent of them come from Commonwealth countries. The level of fees charged is not set by Government but by the universities and other institutions themselves. But the Government is providing £127m. for scholarships and training awards. [end p14]
Q15
Some foreign students are worried about the imposition of the community tax as being a burden to them, particularly those who have to pay full community tax in respect of their spouses. Would you consider giving them relief from this tax?
A
Rebates will be available for full-time students. They will be expected to pay only 20 per cent of the community charge. Depending on their income, students spouses may apply for a rebate of up to 80 per cent of the charge, in the same way as the British people. [end p15]
Q16
How do you view Newly Industrialised Countries (NIC)? There had been a proclamation that labels such as NIC was a ploy used by western countries to impose more stringent trade quotas and barriers on economically sound developing countries.
A
I do not particularly like attaching labels to groups of countries. But the fact is that a number of countries, particularly in the Far East and South East Asia, have achieved remarkable economic success in recent years. As such countries get richer, they should be willing to shoulder greater responsibility for maintaining the open trading system on which their success is based. That seems to me a perfectly simply and defensible proposition. [end p16]
Q17
What do you view as the most pressing international problem?
A
I don't think you can say that any one international problem is the most pressing. But the changes going on in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe are very much at the front of our minds, as are the prospects for progress in Southern Africa. [end p17]
Q18
What is your assessment of the recent developments in Poland, east Germany and Hungary?
A
I think the developments in Poland and Hungary are historic. For the first time, countries are coming out of communism and towards democracy and free enterprise. We must support their choice with financial help, management training and other sorts of assistance. Unfortunately there has been very little sign of change in East Germany: indeed people demonstrating peacefully for reform and human rights have been attacked and treated with brutality by the authorities. But I belive change will come there too: you cannot suppress the human spirit. [end p18]
Q19
The British Government have signed agreements with a good number of countries on seizure of assets of drug traffickers. How far have [sic] this helped in stopping the illicit drugs trade internationally and within Britain itself?
A
Yes, we have signed such agreements with a number of countries and hope to sign many more. The agreements are only just coming into force and it is a bit early to judge their impact. But I am confident they will be an effective deterrent to drug trafficking. In Britain, since the Drug Trafficking Offences Act came into force in January 1987, over £11m. has been ordered to be confiscated by the courts and about £22m. has been frozen. [end p19]
Q20
When will you sign the agreement with Malaysia?
A
Dr. Mahathir and I will be signing an agreement on 17 October. It is a most important step. [end p20]
Q21
Why was your Government reluctant in extending the implementation of blasphemy law to other religions?
A
Our Laws on blasphemy have seldom been used in recent years. The most recent public prosecution took place in 1921, and the most recent prosecution in 1977 was initiated privately. There have been arguments in the past that a law protecting religious feelings has no place in our modern society. The Law Commission examined this issue in its 1985 report on Offences against Religion and Public Worship. It concluded, by a majority, that existing blasphemy offences should be abolished without replacement. A minority took the view that the blasphemy laws should be extended to protect all faiths. But there would be difficulties in deciding which faiths should be protected and how they should be defined, and there would be the risk of a rush of prosecutions which the criminal courts would be ill-equipped to deal with, and which might damage relations between faiths. There are strongly held views on both sides, and in the absence of any agreement on how to change the Laws we do not think there is any basis for doing so. [end p21]
Question22
- Why was the Public Order Act not used in dealing with religious sensibilities such as the Rushdie Case recently?
Under the Public Order Act 1986, it is an offence to publish material which is insulting and intended or likely to stir up racial hatred. There is no comparable offence relating to religious hatred. The Director of Public Prosecutions has taken the view that there are no grounds for prosecuting the publishers of “The Satanic Verses” under this Act. Even if Muslims were considered by the courts to be a racial group (which is open to doubt), the Director of Public Prosecutions did not consider that Mr. Rushdie's book could reasonably be said to be intended or likely to stir up hatred of Muslims. “The Satanic Verses” may be considered wounding and offensive by many devout people: but these are considerations which cannot form the foundation of criminal proceedings under the Public Order Act.
I would add that, although the Government cannot take the legal action which some have demanded against “The Satanic Verses”, we do recognise the sensibilities of the Muslim communities over this issue in the same way as we recognise the sensibilities in relation to freedom of speech and freedom from violence. [end p22]
Q23
Over the years the ethnic population in Britain has been increasing. How do you view the situation developing?
A
Since 1945 the ethnic population of the United Kingdom has grown to nearly 2.5 million. Inevitably that has created some problems. The Government sees a clear link between good community relations and a firm but fair control of immigration. That gives those who come here the best possible opportunity to integrate into our way of life. [end p23]
Q24
Following your recent Cabinet reshuffle and domestic political developments, there have been suggestions that certain quarters in the Tory Party aspire for the leadership post this winter. Do you have any comments?
A
We have just had an excellent Party Conference which shows that the Conservative Party is united in support of the Government's policies and the Cabinet which is implementing them. [end p24]
Q25
Lastly, given the choice, if I may ask, how long do you anticipate to stay in power? How do you propose to ensure that your policies and Thatcherism continue into the 1990s?
A
It is not for me to say how long I should remain in office - we take one election at a time. When the time comes for some one else to carry forward our beliefs there will be plenty of excellent candidates from which to choose. But shall we just say that I look forward to attending several more Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetings yet.