Smith Changes His Tune

At last, the Prime Minister accepts one man, one vote

A few years ago, Rhodesian Prime Minister Ian Smith vowed that one-man, one-vote majority rule would not come to his country--where blacks now outnumber whites by 24 to 1--"in 1,000 years." But last week, in the Rhodesian city of Bulawayo, Smith changed his tune. As a starting point for negotiations with moderate black nationalist leaders living inside the country, he declared, he was now prepared to concede the principle of majority rule, based on universal adult suffrage. In return, he expected some sort of constitutional guarantees for whites under a future black government.

What Smith is seeking is an "internal settlement"--a deal between whites and moderate blacks that pointedly excludes the Patriotic Front of Robert Mugabe and Joshua Nkomo, which for five years has been waging guerrilla war against the Smith regime from its bases in Mozambique and Zambia. Smith's latest announcement apparently means that he has made some kind of deal with the leading black moderates, Bishop Abel Muzorewa and the Rev. Ndabaningi Sithole. Both had previously insisted that there could be no negotiations until Smith accepted one-man, one-vote rule. Although he may, of course, attach a few strings later, Smith has apparently done just that.

The black moderates sounded surprised and pleased. A spokesman for Sithole called the announcement a "decisive move" that paved the way for blacks and whites to "sit down together and work out a blueprint for Zimbabwe," the African name for Rhodesia. Jeremiah Chirau, the head of a group of tribal leaders, declared that "an end to terrorism must be in sight." Most important of all was the reaction of Bishop Muzorewa, probably the most popular of Rhodesia's black politicians. Addressing a rally of his African National Council's youth wing in Salisbury, Muzorewa said he was willing to enter negotiations. Expressing sympathy for the idea of guarantees for whites, the bishop added that "we are sincere and honest when we say we will look very seriously to those things that will retain their confidence and trust in the future."

Neither London nor Washington was anxious to dismiss Smith's latest move out-of-hand. Diplomats in both capitals, however, believe that any settlement, if it is to succeed, must include participation by the groups that have been doing the fighting. As one U.S. official put it, Smith's attempt to bar the Patriotic Front "is like holding elections in South Viet Nam without the Viet Cong." Declared Nkomo angrily from his base in Zambia: "As far as we are concerned, the war continues."

The preliminary talks in Salisbury could begin within a few days. If these go well, the parties would later take up such key questions as the nature of white safeguards to be written into a new constitution, and the makeup of the future Cabinet and security forces. Some observers believe that Smith's latest move may stem in part from his secret talks in September with Zambia's President Kenneth Kaunda, one of the African leaders most closely involved in the Rhodesian struggle. Kaunda may be prepared to accept a compromise formula calling for majority rule in Rhodesia and an immediate new government in Salisbury under Nkomo, in return for black acceptance of the existing Rhodesian security forces as the framework for a new Zimbabwean army. According to these reports, Kaunda is fearful that, if the Patriotic Front should come to power on its own, the new Zimbabwe could be torn to pieces by conflict between Nkomo's and Mugabe's armies. Some of their units have already clashed inside Rhodesia.

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