Rhodesia claim ‘premature’

Press, 18 February 1977, Page 5

Rhodesia claim ‘premature’

NZPA-Reuter Washington; The United States State Department said yesterday that it was premature to speak of new initiatives in search for a Rhodesian settlement. A spokesman said no high-level meeting on Rhodesia or any new initiative was planned. A British official involved in the peace effort in Washington said: “It is quite wrong for people to give the; impression that something big is about to happen.” The statements were made; in response to a remark ini Cape Town today by the) South Afrcan Foreign Min- , ister (Dr Hilgard Muller), who told reporters that' (there were great ex-1 ipectations about a new Brit-' ish, United States, and South j | African initiative that was [about to be made. British sources said the critical illness of the Foreign Secretary (Mr Anthony) Crosland) would delay the! consideration of all new pro-i posals on Rhodesia. A South African source] said the South African Ambassador (Mr Roelof Botha)' who met the United States Secretary of State (Mr Cyrus Vance) last Saturday, would see the Assistant Sec-

retary of State (Mr William Schaufele) and a British official on February 21. But other sources in Washington said they knew of nd such meeting. In Salisbury, the Rhodesian capital, a Government spokesman said yesterday that Rhodesian and Mozambican troops had exchanged rocket, mortar, and

machine-gun fire across the! border for two consecutive: days. Buildings at the sand-' bagged and bunkered police [post of Vila Salazar, in the, I far south-east of Rhodesia) 'had been slightly damaged,; [but there were no casualties,) a communique said. ! Elsewhere, a black corporal in a horse cavalry unit] ; known as the Grey Scouts | [and four guerrillas had been* I killed in clashes, the secur-1 ity force headquarters said, j The communique claimed, that black insurgents had' killed a black man and a [woman. The woman, according to the security chiefs, I was robbed, raped, and (bayoneted to death. [ Security officials admitted j that Gctvemment troops had 1 killed two black civilians who had ignored calls to halt by soldiers investigating "a known terrorist presence.”