Shock of Nonrecognition

Talk about unpopularity. Rhodesia proclaimed itself a republic two weeks ago, severing its last tenuous links with Britain. Yet by the end of last week not a single country had accorded diplomatic recognition to the newborn. Worse yet, one nation after another began closing its consulate in Salisbury, the capital.

Norway and Denmark were the first to pull out. A few days later, the U.S. declared that it still considered Britain the "lawful sovereign" in Rhodesia, and followed suit. Washington's undisguised snub precipitated a wholesale departure. Italy, The Netherlands, France, Belgium, Austria and West Germany shut down; Switzerland wavered. Only South Africa and Portugal--both of which back Smith's regime--and Greece, which has an honorary consul there, were sure to remain.

African Pressure. The U.S. decision to end diplomatic relations was prompted by Secretary of State William Rogers' recent African tour. During the trip, the leaders of at least six Black African nations objected to continued U.S. relations with a country in which 234,000 whites exert total control over roughly 5,000,000 blacks. Britain, which withdrew its diplomatic representation last year, had also urged the U.S. to pull out, and a United Nations Security Council resolution, passed in 1965, called for diplomatic isolation of Rhodesia.

For Ian Smith, the U.S. move was a major diplomatic defeat. Many Rhodesians had hoped that more, not less recognition would follow the republic's official birth. Despite the shock of nonrecognition, however, Rhodesia probably will not be seriously harmed. The country's economy is prospering despite four years of U.N. sanctions. Tobacco production has dropped by two-thirds since 1966, when Smith overrode British demands for greater black representation and declared Rhodesia an independent member of the Commonwealth. But nickel, chrome and other exports are finding their way to world markets via neighboring South Africa and the Portuguese colonies of Mozambique and Angola. Salisbury's shops are full of imported goods, and the capital is even experiencing a mild building boom.

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