South Africa and the Commonwealth 1971

South Africa and the Commonwealth 1971, Julius K. Nyerere

At a press conference in the United States in December, 1970, and as reported by the B.B.C., Prime Minister Heath said: "The Commonwealth has always existed and worked on the basis that members respect each other's interests".

Tanzania certainly has no quarrel with that description of one aspect of the Commonwealth. It implies a mutual responsibility between Commonwealth members, as well as the complete national sovereignty of every individual member to pursue his own country's interests. In other words, it is a recognition that, while every Commonwealth member has complete freedom to make its own decisions, each nation has also, by its membership, accepted an obligation to try to the best of its ability to pursue its own interests and needs in such a manner that its actions will not adversely affect the basic interests of other members.