International U.S., U.K. devise radical plan to remove Smith

Press, 26 August 1977, Page 6

International U.S., U.K. devise radical plan to remove Smith

NZPA

Washington

Fhe United States and Britain have developed a plan for Rhodesia that would eliminate the Rhodesian Prime Minister ( Mr lan Smith » from leadership and invoke a huge United Nations peace-keeping force, Carter Administration officials have said.

The plan for ending whiteminority rule would eliminate Mr Smith’s leadership role, the officials said, by taking apart his Government and disbanding both black nationalist military forces | and the white-led Rhodesian Army. The plan has been ini development for more than a month, the officials said, and was reported to have been, communicated yesterday to, Lieutenant-General Olesegun Obasanjo, chief of Nigeria’s governing Military Council, bv Mr Andrew Young, the chief United States representative to the United Nations. Officials in Washington said that the Nigerian leader had indicated a willingness' to have part of his country’s: large Arm. participate in the proposed Rhodesia peacekeeping force under United' Nations auspices. Earlier, Britain had appealed to Commonwealth allies to contribute units to ; a possible peace-keeping force for the former British

• colony in southern Africa, • but it did not get an encour- » aging response. Nigeria is a member of the Com- : monwealth. t Mr Young and the British! . Foreign Secretary, (Dr David rOwen) are scheduled to meet as many representatives of [ 11 the parties to the Rhodesianl i conflict as possible next h I week to seek support for the i,new plan. i But Carter Administration ) officials said they were sceptical about acceptance of|| the project by Mr Smith’s!; : Government. Mr Young and Dr Owen were said to hope that support for the plan from the Presidents of five black countries most directly affected by the Rhodesian (conflict would make it more i palatable in Rhodesia itself. Those neighbouring coun- ; •tries are Botswana, Zambia. i Tanzania. Mozambique and < Angola. The officials said that the,, plan envisaged a transition ; period during which the new J peace-keeping force would:)

function side by side, with units of the black nationalist guerrilla movements and Mr Smith’s armed forces. Also involved in the; i peace-keeping force, if the plan is widely accepted, would be units fron. Tanzania and possibly other ! black African countries, the lofficials said. The transition period for disbanding the black guerrilla and white-led army; forces in Rhodesia would; last until the end of next; • year. Britain would be assigned; the role of preparing elec-1 tions for a new Rhodesian government that would give a responsible role to the; country’s black majority for the first time. In addition, the plan envisages generous funds for; strengthening the Rhodesian' economy, which has been hard hit by the rivalry be-; tween the white minority and the black nationalist; forces.