RHODESIA: PRIME MINISTER IAN SMITH AND FOREIGN MINISTER P.K. VAN DER DYL BLAME COMMUNISTS FOR BLACK PRESIDENTS REJECTION OF DR. KISSINGER'S PEACE PACKAGE.

Record ID: 1061810

  • Title: RHODESIA: PRIME MINISTER IAN SMITH AND FOREIGN MINISTER P.K. VAN DER DYL BLAME COMMUNISTS FOR BLACK PRESIDENTS REJECTION OF DR. KISSINGER'S PEACE PACKAGE.
  • Date: 27th September 1976
  • Summary: 1. SV: Smith gets out of car and speaks to newsmen and walks into building. 1.00 2. CU: Van Der Byl speaks 1.47 SMITH: I think we'll have to give it a little bit of attention, I haven't given thought much about it. I think that maybe Communists are calling the tune and we'll have to see what the free world's going to do about it now. REPORTER: "Do you expect it's up to contrives like the United States to make the next step?" SMITH: "The United States and Britain - we made the agreement with them. I should think that we want a reaction from them now." REPORTER: "Would you be willing to have a constitutional conference outside of Rhodesia, Prime Minister." SMITH: "I hadn't thought of that, it hadn't been put to me. It's not all that important is it." REPORTER: "Mr. Van der Byl what's your reaction of yourself and the Rhodesian government to the announcement by the presidents last night?" VAN DER BYL: "It's naturally one of intense disappointment, but one has to expect these things we've got a long experience of this sort of unreliability on the part of people like the northern presidents and the Africans. This is typical. And Kaunda did this after he had agreed to the 1961 constitutional proposals accepted them and them reneged. Muzorewa arrived at an agreement with our Prime Minister, accepted it and then reneged again. So we've got plenty of experience with this and one has to expect it but we are disappointed." The Presidents of Tanzania, Zambia, Botswana, Mozambique and Angola accepted the plan in principal but some diplomatic sources say they think the outline of the plan as given by Mr. Smith, leaves too much power in the hands of the whites. The presidents also called for a constitutional conference to be called by Britain and held outside Rhodesia as soon as possible. Initials RH/DE/JB/0100 SATELLITE TELERECORDING Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
  • Embargoed: 11th October 1976 13:00
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  • Location: SALISBURY, RHODESIA
  • Country: Abu Dhabi
  • Reuters ID: LVA5T1VA80O08T9ZSIEQRK78K04D
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