The Rhodesia Settlement
PART II THE RHODESIA SETTLEMENT: THE GOVERNOR’S ADMINISTRATION IN SALISBURY (DECEMBER 1979—APRIL 1980) PERSONAL COMMENTARY
1. The attached account of the Governor’s administration in Rhodesia deals with the main political and military problems and only cursorily with other aspects of Lord Soames’ administration, including the return of a large number of refugees, the re-opening of the frontiers, the normalisation of the country’s economic relations with the rest of the world; and the indefatigable work of Lady Soames on behalf of charitable organisations and the refugees. A full account of the work of the Election Commission has already been given by Sir John Boynton. 2. As will be clear from these papers, the Governor encountered great difficulties, especially in the early part of his administration. The situation in the country was extremely tense. The danger of a breakdown of the cease-fire was ever-present. Many white Rhodesians, including elements of the armed forces, were far from being reconciled to the changes which were taking place. The Patriotic Front were no less suspicious of our intentions. The hostility between the two sides, who had been engaged in a war in which the worst atrocities had been committed, was intense. The Governor and his staff were not in a position to impose their wishes on the Rhodesian administration. It was necessary to proceed by a process of continual negotiation. This imposed a considerable strain on the resources of Government House and on all concerned. But it was inevitable in the process of putting a settlement into effect. The difficult task of administering Rhodesia took place against the background of a fine display of international hypocrisy, culminating in President Nyerere’s announcement on the eve of the poll that he would only accept the result if the Patriotic Front won. 3. The Rhodesian military commanders were never really reconciled to the participation of ZANU and spent much of their time trying to get them excluded from the elections. The full extent of South African military involvement only became apparent after the Governor’s arrival in Rhodesia; and this too caused the most serious concern until agreement was reached at Sir Antony Duff’s meeting with Mr P.W. Botha on 26 January. There was intimidation in the eastern provinces; ZANU were preventing other
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