U.N. may face new vote on ! Rhodesia

Press, 15 March 1978, Page 8

U.N. may face new vote on ! Rhodesia

NZPA-Reuter New York The United Nations Security Council is facing the possibility of a vote on • non-aligned resolution declaring any internal Rhodesian settlement to be illegal and unacceptable and calling on all States to <eny it recognition.

Informed sources said that if the draft resolution came to a vote it its present form, it could run into Western vetoes or at least encounter abstentions by the five Western members of the council — Britain, the United States, France, Canada. and West Germany.

The sources said the Western five h»d sought a softening of the language of the non-aligned text until shortly before t was formally introduced in the council by Nr Radha Krishna Ramphul, of Mauritius, on behalf of Bolivia, Gabon, India, Kuwait, Nigeria, Venezuela, and his own country.

After Mr Rarrphul told the council that the views of Britain and others had been taken into account during consultations, the British representative, Nr Ivor Richard, commented that if this were so: “I tan only say it doesn’t show.’

A key paragraph of the non-aligned draft ‘declares as illegal and unacceptable any internal settlement under the auspices of the illegal regime and calls upon all States not to acord any recognition to such a settlement.” Britain and the United States have neither rejected nor endorsed the agreement signed by the Rhodesian Prime Minister (Mr lan Smith) and three black leaders earlier this month. They have said thst it does not go far in meeting In Salisbury, the Rhodesian capital, the signatories of the Rhodesian majotftyrule agreement have umnimously rejected a fresh settlement conference as Proposed by Britain and |he United States if it were toigo over ground already covered by the Salisbury accord. ' But they did not close lhe door completely to a raw round-table conference Including lhe foreign-based Patriotic Front guerrilla alliance which took no parkin the Salisbury negotiations*