Dr. Malan Seen As Ardent Fascist

Chronicle (Levin), 21 June 1949, Page 5

Dr. Malan Seen As Ardent Fascist

(N.Z.P.A-

-Reuter-

. Co wright)

Eeceived Mondav, 7 p.m. LOXDOX, June 20. Under the lieading "South African Faseism, " the weekly Xew Statesman and Xation, says: "When he was in London for the recent Commonwealth eonferenee, Dr. yfalan was on his best beliaviour. He even managed to persuade some influ- | ential members of the Government that he and his Xationalist eolleagues were deeent demoerats who had been vietims of vieious misrepresentation. Whatever Dr. ilalan may have said in London, he and his colleagues, with their • poliey of ' ■ apartheid" and white supremaey, repudiate the prineiple of liberty, eqnality and fraternitv with all earnestness and niueli the saine sort of theologieal elaptrap as the dixieerats of the United States. Hut whereas the dixieerats are fighting against still undefeated American lilieralism, Dr. Malan is in power and the strength of the extremists behind hini, headed . by sueh men as the ardently pro-Nazi • DV. Pjrow, is steadily inereasing. "Xow, in his new South African Citizenship Bill, Dr. Malan has found ' a eonvenient wav of disfranchising a . large number of potential politieal opponents. This Bill prevents anyone who immigrated to South Afriea during the past two years, from voting until 1052. 'As the Manchester Guardian rightly observen, "it transforms Britisli sub.jects from other parts of the Commonwealth into aliens. ' What this means ean best be understood by rereading the draft liepublican^constitution which was published with Dr, Malan 's full consent, as.far back as 1 1942, ' ' This extraordinary document, which proposes to make the President 'directly and only responsible to God, ' rules out Parliamentary responsibility and divides the inhabitants of the Union into two classes — burghers and subjeets. Xegroes and Indians, o± course, remain subjeets. The white people, however, are recogniscd as burghers if 'it ean be expected they will act as builders-up of the nation.' " It is clear enough, therefore, that having disfranchised all recent immigrants, Dr. Malan ii.tends to subject them to a loyaltv test whieh will exclude from the polling bootlis anyone who opposes the overtly Xazi designs of the present Government. "If Dr. Malan has his way, South Afriea will he reshaped as a fourcla^s State. The hase of the pyramid | will be formed hy niillions of completely disfranchised and compulsorily illiterate Negroes, the next layer by disfranchised Indians, the next hy disfranchised whites, and at the top will stand a compact herrenvolk of reliahle Tascist minded hurghers."