Smith writes off Anglo-U.S. peace plan, calls election

Press, 20 July 1977, Page 8

Smith writes off Anglo-U.S. peace plan, calls election

NZPA-Reuter Salisbury 7 The Rhodesian Prime Minister (Mr lan Smith), writing off the latest British-American peace plans and setting out to negotiate his own settlement with Rhodesian blacks, has dissolved Parliament and called a General Election for August 31.

Mr Smith said the move had been taken because of “unacceptable” British Government proposals for a constitutional settlement which had been put up during the present negotiations for black-majority rule by next year.

He appealed for a mandate to seek an internal settlement with peace-minded black nationalists that would safeguard the future of the. country’s 270,000 whites.

In a television broadcast, Mr Smith said he was aiming for a new constitution by the end of this year. He wanted a new, broad-based government for Rhodesia that would include representatives of the country’s six million blacks. And he promised that any new constitution would be put to the electorate for approval in a referendum.

Mr Smith said there had been a setback in the BritishAmerican settlement initiative last week with the visit of the British Government envoy, Mr John Graham. "I must go further and say that after last week’s setback I do not believe that there is much hope of a successful outcome to these negotiations,” Mr Smith said. In London, informed British sources said that Mr Smith’s move did not come as a complete surprise to the British Government because of the internal difficulties that Mr Smith has been having with

Right-wing white opinion after the breakaway of some members from his Rhodesia Front Party.

The Rhodesia-based arm of the African National Council led by Mr Joshua Nkomo has dismissed the poll as "irrelevant.” Mr Smith said the latest British-American proposals were unacceptable. “No white Rhodesian of any consequence would go along with them.” he declared. The British-American requirements that in his view had destroyed the initiative were: a orr-man, one-vote constitution for Rhodesia, where whites are outnumbered 20-to-one by blacks; no special representation for whites in Parliament; no consideration given to safeguarding pension funds for whites; preferential treatment of "terrorists” who wished to be included in the Rhodesian security forces. He is believed to be pinning his hopes on a settlement with Rhodesia-based nationalist leaders, Bishop Abel Muzorewa and the Rev. Ndabaningi Sithole, who are strongly opposed to the Patriotic Front of Mr Nkomo and Mr Robert Mugabe. The front is directing the guerrilla war from bases in Zambia and Mozambique.

Meanwhile, he declared, the Government would aim for a stepped up war effort against the guerrillas, under which it was "prepared to adopt stronger and, if need be. ruthless measures.”

He said that the British

Foreign Secretary (Dr David Owen) had told him that any settlement which prejudiced the maintenance of law and order would not be contenanced. "From the outset we made clear that if confidence was to be retained it would be necessary to provide certain safeguards in the constitution, such as a franchise qualification, special representation in Parliament and an adequate blocking mechanism to protect entrenched clauses (in the a protection for the in ’nifty of the judiciary and 1 •<> forces of law and order, and the maintenance of the civil service and security forces.”

Without those conditions, Mr Smith said, the confidence of white Rhodesians would be lost. This would bring “tragedy for the mass of our decent, law-abiding black Rhodesians and the development of a situation of chaos comparable to postindependence Angola.” There are 65 seats in the Rhodesian Parliament. At present Mr Smith’s Rhodesian Front holds 38, the Opposition ultra-conservative Rhodesian Action Party 12, and blacks 16. About 100,000 of Rhodesia's six million blacks and 270,000 whites will be eligible to take part in the election. Ten thousand blacks have the vote under a qualified franchise based on certain levels of property ownership, income, and education. But they can only vote for the 16 black seats.