McNEIL
Mrs. Thatcher held a news conference here this morning at which she said she was delighted that the Commonwealth had pulled together. ‘We managed to get assurances of Commonwealth support’, she said, ‘and we managed to get them quickly. If I may be permitted to pat myself on the back it wasn't half bad—worth coming to Lusaka for’. The Prime Minister said she would have a reasonably clear diary when she got back to London and would be getting on with the next stage of a settlement plan as soon as possible. Neither she nor Lord Carrington had any plans to visit Salisbury at this stage. Asked about British military involvement, Mrs. Thatcher said the Government did not anticipate any British troops going to Rhodesia to help supervise any new elections that might take place. She hoped that by the time elections were held a ceasefire would be in effect. The Prime Minister was confident that the Front Line states would do their part in making sure that the Patriotic Front was brought into the negotiating process.
THATCHER
This, I think, is the new critical thing. I think there is going to be pressure on the Patriotic Front to agree to the kind of constitution that Britain has given elsewhere.
McNEIL
President Nyerere of Tanzania told reporters he'd be discussing the agreement with the Patriotic Front and would be telling them it was a reasonable one. To reach agreement, he said, is not a climb-down, but a spokesman for the co-leader of the Patriotic Front, Joshua Nkomo, said the idea that Britain was an impartial authority to hold elections was not acceptable, although he emphasized that that was only a first reaction and the agreement would be given further study. [end p1]
(2) BBC Radio News Report 1800 6 August 1979Mrs. Thatcher came out and said it at a news conference. ‘There will be pressure on the Patriotic Front to fall into line, pressure that will be matched by Britain in its dealings with the Muzorewa Government. As Britain sees it the deal worked out here, although merely setting out the guidelines for the read ahead, offers the best chance of a settlement for many years. There's a growing realization that this may be the last chance. After all the failures of the past another collapse of an all-party conference could be disastrous.
Mrs. Thatcher is quietly pleased with the outcome. ‘We managed to get assurances of Commonwealth support’, she said, ‘and we managed to get them quickly. If I may be permitted to pat myself on the back it wasn't half bad—worth coming to Lusaka for’.
The Prime Minister said she thought Rhodesians would gain confidence from the Lusaka agreement if they took it as a whole. The arguments over the merits of the Lusaka agreement will continue but there's no argument here about the beneficial effect it's had on the Commonwealth as an institution. The Australian Prime Minister, Mr. Fraser, declared that what had been achieved on the Rhodesian issue might be more important than any other single act of the Commonwealth and so it might given the constant criticism of the organization as merely offering a platform for the loquacious. If this is a turning point in the Rhodesian problem, and is seen to be so in due course, the Commonwealth will have gained in stature. [end p2]
(3) Financial Times, 7 August 1979:Mrs. Thatcher takes a pat on the back
By All accounts, Mrs. Margaret Thatcher has made a remarkably favourable impression on other Commonwealth leaders during the Lusaka conference, exercising both charm and tact to gain the confidence of African leaders who regarded her with open hostility only a week ago.
Journalists yesterday had their first opportunity to see Mrs. Thatcher the Commonwealth diplomat in action, when she gave her first Press conference in Lusaka. It was a relaxed and good-humoured performance. Mrs. Thatcher displayed none of the ire she sometimes shows when faced with a difficult question.
With an agreed communique on Rhodesia in the bag three days before the end of the conference, she could afford to be pleased and to “pat myself on the back a little.”
“It wasn't half bad,” Mrs. Thatcher declared. “Worth coming to Lusaka for.”
The Prime Minister's main concern was to convince both the Press and Tory backbenchers that the Lusaka agreement represented no change in government policy, and was in the best interests of Rhodesia. She even quoted from the Conservative Party election manifesto as she argued that her line on Rhodesia had been unwavering.
She was full of praise for other people who had helped make the Rhodesia debate a success, including Mr. Sonny Ramphal, a “superb” Commonwealth Secretary-General, and President Kaunda of Zambia—a man who at the start of last week delivered a scathing attack on the Prime Minister.
Inevitably, journalists' questions returned again and again to whether Government policy on Rhodesia had changed, and how Mrs. Thatcher would cope with her back bench. She had achieved unity in Lusaka, but what about London?
“Peter and I together will be able to cope,” she replied. “Won't we?” she asked, turning to Lord Carrington, the Foreign Secretary, at her side.
“Undoubtedly,” he firmly replied.
Reuter adds
Mr. Sonny Ramphal, who has agreed to serve a second term as Commonwealth Secretary-General, said in the French newspaper Le Monde yesterday: “The European Community must use all its weight to force South Africa to abandon apartheid. It is up to Europe to find a way to achieve that, but there must be a will to act in the first place.” [end p3]
(4) Guardian, 7 August 1979:Ministers confident of Tory backing
Bishop calls new election an insult
Mrs Thatcher last night denied that she had sacrificed the Muzorewa Government to achieve unanimity at the Commonwealth conference in Lusaka. But in Salisbury, Bishop Muzorewa said it was “an insult to the electorate and the government of this country” that new elections were proposed. He managed only lukewarm support for aspects of the settlement proposals, saying many elements needed clarification.
In Lusaka Mrs Thatcher ruled out the use of British troops to supervise the elections. Britain's supervisory rôle would be carried out by civilian specialists.
In London there was no evidence of alarm among Ministers at criticism from the Right of the Tory Party. They are convinced that the majority of Tory MPs will support the Lusaka plan.
In Washington, the US Government welcomed the plan and said that it would do all it could to help. President Carter said he looked forward to consulting on details of the British proposals.
British troops ruled out for Rhodesia poll
From Patrick Keatley in Lusaka
The British Prime Minister has set her face firmly against the use of troops to supervise the forthcoming elections in Rhodesia. Assuming that the September constitutional conference in London produces an agreed plan for the registration of voters and an election with the exiled leaders taking part. Britain's supervisory role will be carried out by civilian experts.
Mrs Thatcher is gambling on these assurances persuading the present political leaders in Salisbury to come to the conference table. She is also looking to the backstage support of Rhodesia's military commander, General Peter Walls, the most politically-minded officer to hold the post since UDI. But most of all she needs South Africa.
At a news conference to mark the unanimous endorsement by 39 Commonwealth leaders attending the Lusaka summit for Britain's new diplomatic initiative Mrs Thatcher spoke of what she called “the hard road ahead.” The one factor in the complex equation which she skilfully avoided was any reference to South Africa.
But the private assessment of the British team is that the South African Prime Minister, Mr. P. W. Botha now holds the key to the success or failure of the new phase now beginning. If he fears that fresh elections would bring Mr. Robert Mugabe and his Zanu party to power, he may try to block him.
But if he thinks the Lusaka agreement will produce political stability on his country's northern frontier and an end to the guerrilla war, he has the power to deliver the Walls-Muzorewa team to the conference table in London.
Mrs Thatcher confirmed rumours of a special Cabinet meeting in London on Friday. She gets back on Thursday and is allowing herself the minimum period for rest instead of waiting for the regular Cabinet session due the following Tuesday.
“We are going to get on as fast as we can,” she declared. “I still stress that it is a hard road ahead and will require a great deal of skill. The first thing is to get a new Constitution agreed and then move rapidly to implementation.”
Mrs Thatcher refuses to be pinned down to dates at this stage. But the timetable to return to Whitehall is to start sending out invitations next Monday, assuming there is Cabinet approval, and to set a date in the first week of September for an all-party conference at Lancaster House, chaired by Lord Carrington.
The two-week interval in August will not be wasted either. The guessing is that a senior British envoy—probably Lord Harlech, who has already carried out two missions to Southern Africa capitals—will be travelling again, with Salisbury and Pretoria as his key appointments.
There is no anxiety here about the participation of Mr Nkomo 's Zapu and Mr Mugabe 's Zanu. Senior officials of both organisations said in Lusaka yesterday that they are confident their leaders will accept the British invitation to the round-table conference.
Jamaica's Prime Minister, Mr Manley, is putting his weight behind the new initiative by flying to Mozambique tomorrow when the conference ends to talk to President Machel. His message will be that the Lusaka package is essentially a joint plan, and has the firm support of the brown countries of the Commonwealth. President Machel has the power to deliver when it comes to implementing a ceasefire. Mr Mugabe's 160,000 Zanu guerrillas are based on the supply line through Muzambiquan territory.
Mrs Thatcher is hopeful about Salisbury falling into line. “Mere recognition or the lifting of sanctions would not offer the prospect of an end to their problems. Without a settlement they will continue to lose 500 people killed a week and 1,000 white Rhodesians leaving the country each month,” she said.
“What strikes me is that this time everyone recognises the urgency of the problem and that this opportunity might not occur again. The question was how to bring other nations with us in the moves to end illegality.
“Had we gone ahead wholly alone, I don't think in the end it would have been much help to the Rhodesians. If I recognised now there would be very little prospect of the war ceasing and a very great prospect of it escalating. Black and white Rhodesians want to live their lives in peace, farm their farms, and not have their cattle killed. [end p4]
(5) Daily Telegraph, 7 August 1979:POLICY SWITCH EXPLAINED
By David Adamson Diplomatic Correspondent in Lusaka
Mrs Thatcher explained yesterday why she abandoned a “go it alone” policy on Rhodesia in favour of one arrived at through a consensus of Commonwealth opinion.
Two problems had presented themselves. The first was that recognition of Zimbabwe-Rhodesia by one nation would not have ended the fighting.
There was already a situation in which 500 people a week were dying and 1,000 White Rhodesians were leaving each month. There was a danger that the war might have escalated.
The second problem concerned obtaining international recognition for Zimbabwe-Rhodesia. Recognition by Britain alone would not have been much help and Britain would have been very isolated.
“I think a lot of people in Rhodesia, Black and White, want to lead their lives in peace. That is the greatest prize.
“If we had not gone about trying to get that prize we would have been very culpable.”
She denied that she had been “starry-eyed” in her approach.
“This way offers a very much better approach for the people of Rhodesia. I feel that very strongly indeed.”
The basic strength of the Commonwealth approach was that it had the support of three of the African “front-line” presidents.
Their signatures were on the communique issued late on Sunday night following agreement by 39 Commonwealth leaders, and their representatives, in Lusaka.
Asked about the prospects for success of the plan, she said no one knew what would happen, and she doubted very much whether it would be possible to bring about a ceasefire now.
“We have taken the first step. We now have to start off and see how we get one.”
No British troops
She had not intention of sending British troops to Rhodesia to enforce a ceasefire or hold the ring during the elections. The British role would be limited to supervising the elections with the aid of Commonwealth observers.
Nothing very much has been worked out beyond the basic proposals of a new constitution drawn up by Britain, a constitutional conference and elections. The conference would probably be held in London.
Under the revised constitution it is unlikely that Whites would have more than what Mrs Thatcher called the “customary seats” granted under previous independence constitutions.
She quoted the example of Tanzania at independence when of the 71 seats in the assembly 10 were allocated to whites and 11 to Asians. At present, Zimbabwe-Rhodesia has 28 White MPs in a Parliament of 100.
Nkomo surprised
It appears that Mr Nkomo and Mr Mugabe, joint leaders of the Patriotic Front, were taken by surprise by the Commonwealth leaders' communique.
The Patriotic Front is expected to make a statement setting out its reaction to the Lusaka agreement today.
According to a senior official of Mr Nkomo's Zimbabwe African People's union, the statement is likely to be “diplomatic.”
But his private reaction to the communique was very different. It was “very wishy-washy, a lot of nonsense” and it would not stop the war.
CARTER WELCOME ‘Significant step’
Our Washington Staff writs: President Carter, whose administration has been anxious that Britain take the lead in initatves on Zimbabwe-Rhodesia, cabled Mrs Thatcher in Lusaka yesterday saying the new peace plan was “a significant step forward.”
He hoped the move could serve as a basis for “a just and lasting peace.”
Mr Carter added: “We look forward to consulting on details of the progress being made.”
(6) BBC Television Archive: OUP transcript:John Simpson, BBC
Here in Lusaka, yesterday's enthusiasm about the chances of a Rhodesian settlement has been replaced with caution, as the hostility and the doubts and the reservations have been coming in. Still, Mrs Thatcher now has the kind of backing of Commonwealth countries she can scarcely even have hoped for a week ago. And she and the British officials around her have learned the lesson of the collapse of the last attempt to get a settlement, the Anglo-American plan.
Then, the different sides had far too much time to fall out over the way they interpreted the details. Now it's speed that counts. And the first big hurdle will be to get everyone to agree to come to a constitutional conference. Today, for instance, the ZANU wing of the Patriotic Front guerrillas said it would refuse to sit down at the same table as the present government of Zimbabwe-Rhodesia.
The other main problem is white South Africa. Still, Mrs Thatcher dismissed the South African foreign minister's doubts about her approach to a settlement.
MT
Well I must take leave to disagree with him. Um, to us, this is the possible way through. I don't underestimate the difficulties of getting through, I never do. I'm not a starry-eyed politician. This has been on the table in Britain some fifteen years. But I do think there's more hope now of getting through. Of course, we are in touch through our embassies, almost across the world, in any country that has a special interest in this problem. And we are, of course, in touch in the same way with South Africa as we are with many, many other countries, through our embassies there.