BIAFRANS MAKE COUNTER-OFFER

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31665, 29 April 1968, Page 11

BIAFRANS MAKE COUNTER-OFFER

(N.Z.P.A.-Reuter—Copyright)

LAGOS, April 28.,

Secessionist Biafra has announced that it has proposed the Sengalese capital of Dakar for peace talks With Federal Nigeria, and that it has a four-man team ready to leave for negotiations on ending the civil war.

In a statement broadcast by Radio Biafra, it rejected London as a site for a meeting and repeated its view that talks without a ceasefire would be meaningless. The statement said Biafra had repeated to the Commonwealth Office Secretary-Gen-eral (Mr Arnold Smith) its belief that a ceasefire must be the first item on the agenda of the meeting.

It accused the Federal Nigerian leader (Major-General Yakubu Go won) of insincerity and of seeking to impose conditions on talks by announcing, last night, that a ceasefire could only follow an agreement on a seven-point Federal Government proposal. Tonight’s statement was the first public reaction by Biafra to the Federal call for talks in London by next Wednesday.

The radio quoted a letter which it said Mr Smith, a Canadian, had sent to the Biafran Government on Wednesday, proposing a meeting between the two sides in London.

The Biafran statement attacked Britain for what was described as “active participation in the war by supplying Nigeria with arms and equipment,” and added: "We do not consider anywhere in Britain to be a neutral venue.”

In its statement, the Nigerian Government said there Was no question of discussing an independent Biafra in any peace talks to end the 10-month-old war. A ceasefire would follow Biafra’s acceptance of a united Nigeria, it said.

The Federal Government added that it was willing to begin talks without pre-condi-tions “as soon as the rebels show that they are sincere about engaging in talks meant to lead to a lasting settlement of the crisis.”