P.M. hits back at British journalist

Press, 25 November 1981, Page 2

P.M. hits back at British journalist

PA ■ • ■ Oamaru The Prime -Minister (Mr Muldoon) yesterday. sharply criticised a British journalist who has attacked his behaviour at the Commonwealth heads of. government conference in Melbourne. Mr Derek ihgram. deputy chairman of the Royal Commonwealth Society‘.and the head of a Commonwealthorientated news based in London, called Mr x Muldoon’s attacks bn the Zimbabwe Prime Minister. Mr Robert Mugabe, ."appalling. discreditable, and absolutely inaccurate." Mr Muldoon said yesterday that he had refused to be interviewed by Mr Ingram during the latter’s recent visit to New Zealand. "He.is.no friend of mine and I am no friend of his. He adopts a consistently anti-old Commonwealth line and a consistently pro-new Commonwealth line." Mr Ingram attacked Mr Muldoon's talkback radio show accusations last week against Mr Mugabe for involvement in the shoot ine

down of an unarmed Viscount airliner, in which a .New Zealand family died, during the Rhodesian civil war. The incident was generally blamed at the time on the guerrilla faction lead by Mr Mugabes political rival. Mr Joshua Nkomo. Yesterday, in spite of his talkback comments last week. Mr Muldoon told journalists that no-one knew which faction had shot down the aircraft. But Mr Ingram was saying that "it wasn't Mugabe." said Mr Muldoon. “If he was to go further and say that Robert Mugabe's people over the years were never responsible for the murdering of white farmers and their families. :then of course he would be telling an outright lie." The two factions "were all together, were all allies, and I simply make the point . . . that Mugabe's people were responsible for years of terrorism in Rhodesia." said Mr Muldoon. . “They say. 'ln a good cause' — that is not for me to decide.”