RHODESIA: PRIME MINISTER IAN SMITH GIVES PRESS CONFERENCE ON POSSIBILITIES OF NEGOTIATIONS WITH BRITAIN
Record ID:
1080188
RHODESIA: PRIME MINISTER IAN SMITH GIVES PRESS CONFERENCE ON POSSIBILITIES OF NEGOTIATIONS WITH BRITAIN
- Title: RHODESIA: PRIME MINISTER IAN SMITH GIVES PRESS CONFERENCE ON POSSIBILITIES OF NEGOTIATIONS WITH BRITAIN
- Date: 29th October 1970
- Summary: 1. SV Smith seated at press conference 0.16 2. SV Smith speaking 2.19 TRANSCRIPT: REPORTER: "Sir, Mr Heath has said he's prepared to meet you soon to see if there's any basis for negotiations on the independence dispute. What would be your reactions to such a dispute Sir, and do you have any settlement proposals to put to them?" SMITH: "Well, my reaction is that I shall be interested to see..note.. when this approach does take place. I've heard about it before the British election and we heard about it a number of times after the election... I think this is probably the most positive statement that has been made, so we now wait in anticipation." REPORTER: "Mr Heath does mention 5 principles, do you still consider that these are a basis for negotiations?" SMITH: "I made it clear to the British Government on more than one occasion when we were negotiating in the old days that I believed they were letting opportunities slip which would not present themselves in the future. I warned them that we were planning to bring in our own constitution, that if the talks which were then taking place failed, and if Rhodesia did bring in its own constitution, that this would in no way be based on any of the British principles. We would then bring in a constitution which was based on what we believed was best for Rhodesia and nothing else. So they were fore-warned of what our present constitution would contain, or, at any rate, what principles we would have in mind when we were bringing in that. So I think is would be difficult for anyone to make a case that Rhodesia was under any obligation today to take into account the five principles which were thrown out of the window when Mr Harold Wilson, as I said, lost his head and went off....running off to the United Nations, and landed the Rhodesian issue in the lap of the United Nations." Initials OJP/AS/ES.16.39 OJP/AS/ES.16.47 Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
- Embargoed: 12th November 1970 13:00
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- Location: SALISBURY, RHODESIA
- Country: Zimbabwe
- Reuters ID: LVA3HJGNY6F5VDWVY2FUT22YIUHO
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