Smith under fire

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 33958, 26 September 1975, Page 10

Smith under fire

(hI.Z.P. A.-Reuter—Copyright > UMTALI (Rhodesia), September 26.

The Rhodesian Prime Minister (Mr Smith) was accused today of damaging Rhodesia’s image by conceding that eventual black - white power-sharing was logical.

The accusation was made by Mr Desmond Frost, chairman of the Rhodesian Front Party, who referred at the opening session of the party’s congress to an interview with Mr Smith published on Saturday. In it, Mr Smith had also been quoted as saying that Rhodesia could one da- have

a black Prime Minister and a multi-racial Cabinet. “The statement attributed to the Prime Minister shocked the Rhodesian Front, and left many of the general public with the impression that black rule was inevitable,” Mr Frost said. “I hope that the Prime Minister will clarify this statement, not only for the sake of the congress but for public consumption, because great damage has been done to Rhodesia’s image both in South Africa and internationally. “I must make the position clear regarding my deputy and myself: we cannot, and will not, accept black rule over the white area of Rhodesia.”

Mr Smith is expected to answer Mr Frost’s criticism when he addresses the congress today. The congress is expected to be a stormy one, coming as it does just as Rhodesia’s minority white leadership—or, at least, a powerful faction within it, is showing growing impatience with Mr Smith’s attempts to negoti-

ate with the black nationalists.

Mr Frost is a very influential member of the ruling party, and his attack on the Prime Minister is regarded as highly significant. The party chairman appeared to lend his support to the idea, due to be formally proposed at this congress. of dividing Rhodesia into a confederation of separate black and white states, along the lines of the Swiss cantons.

Some observers liken it to South Africa’s apartheid system.