Rhodesia Conference

The Rhodesia Conference took place in Geneva in 1976 . Under the British Presidency, the Rhodesian Prime Minister Ian Smith negotiated the so-called Kissinger Package with representatives of the Patriotic Front, Robert Mugabe (ZANU), Joshua Nkomo (ZAPU) and Bishop Abel Muzorewa (UNAC), as well as the former ZANU leader Nadabaningi Sithole ( new interim government against ceasefire) and thus on the modalities of the transition to a black government. The conference began on October 28, 1976 and was canceled on December 14, 1976 without result.

prehistory

The conference was preceded by the end of Portuguese colonial rule in Mozambique . This opened up completely new possibilities for training in Mozambique under the allied FRELIMO for the Rhodesian liberation movements ZANU and ZAPU . The guerrillas got a safe hinterland and could act across the open borders. The Soviet Union gained more and more influence and the political rules of the Cold War determined the development from then on. This made the situation in Rhodesia untenable for the USA, especially since the guerrillas could now buy more modern weapons. The Rhodesian government, in turn, had to accept that the Republic of South Africa reduced its support, which it viewed as late revenge for the Boer War , since Rhodesia was entirely British. Ultimately, the US worked to increase pressure on Rhodesia.

The conference

The conference failed because of disagreement among black leaders and the rejection of a British proposal on the participation of the black majority by Ian Smith. Smith returned to Rhodesia on December 12; the conference was "adjourned".

consequences

The 1976 Rhodesia Conference marked the beginning of political change in Rhodesia. As early as 1978, Bishop Abel Muzorewa took over the government and initiated talks with the rebels who, in the 1979 Lancaster House Agreement, found an international legal regulation for the independence of Rhodesia, which has now been renamed Zimbabwe .