Word: rhodesians
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Smith's claim that the Kissinger package is an inviolable whole promptly ran into vehement opposition from the black nationalists. With some of them coming directly from Rhodesian prisons or guerrilla bases in the bush, they were in no mood to approve a transition plan that would give Smith the opportunity to dominate events in Rhodesia for two more years. The African National Council's delegation, led by Bishop Abel Muzorewa, reflected much of the blacks' apprehension when it warned that Smith had come to Geneva merely to "carry out a gigantic fraud aimed at confusing world...
...conference, the four black delegations studiously ignored the white Rhodesians. Nonetheless, the first two sessions were remarkably free of either the histrionics or the rude scenes that were feared by some of the Western observers. Joshua Nkomo, a moderate and the elder statesman of Rhodesian black nationalism, spoke first. To emphasize his conviction that Smith must play no significant role in the transition period, Nkomo stated that the conference should be one "strictly between Zimbabweans [Zimbabwe is the black African name for Rhodesia] of whatever color ... and the United Kingdom," which still technically retains sovereignty over Rhodesia. He vowed that...
...civilians. At a dozen points along the border, Mozambique-based guerrillas fired rockets and mortars at white settlements inside Rhodesia. From Zambian bases, other guerrillas attacked a motel in the tourist center of Victoria Falls, killing one white guest and wounding two others. In retaliation for the accelerated insurgency, Rhodesian security forces supported by helicopters, armored vehicles and aging bombers swept at least 50 miles into Mozambique to strike at guerrilla camps; it is believed that at least 500 blacks were killed...
...whites well recognize that the guerrilla fighting will probably get worse if the conference fails. Their mood has grown more anxious in the past month. In Salisbury, a Baptist minister intoned on a radio service that "surely these are times not for pale faces or trembling knees." Rhodesian President John Wrathall called on all his countrymen to pray every day for the success of the conference...
...conference to have a chance of success, however, its momentum must accelerate from the leisurely gait of the first two sessions, which together took less than two hours. Alluding to this pace, Ian Smith announced that he planned to return to Salisbury to tend to pressing Rhodesian affairs of state, noting that he could fly back to Geneva when needed. African delegates, too, complained that they were running out of time and money in costly Geneva. Kissinger, apparently afraid that the conference might become bogged down, dispatched Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs William Schaufele to Geneva to emphasize...