adminThe Rhodesia Herald,
September 7 1971
THE British Foreign Office confirmed yesterday that a new round of settlement talks will begin in Salisbury on September 17.
A Foreign Office spokesman also confirmed that the Labour peer Lord Goodman will again head the British talks team, which is expected to be the same as that for the July talks.
The Rhodesian Prime Minister’s Office had no comment to make yesterday on the Foreign Office statement.
An Iana-Reuter report from London, says that British officials are tight-lipped about the course of the talks and would not say if progress has been made.
The report adds that Lord Goodman’s impending visit has led to a sharp rise in the price of Rhodesian bonds traded through the London stock market.
Although no interest has been paid on the bonds since UDI in 1965, market sources today said there was increased interest in buying them, the report said.
At least two syndicates were said to be building up their holdings to give them a virtual monopoly of the stock.
The attraction is the belief that a settlement of the constitutional issue would be followed by repayment in full of bonds which are overdue for redemption, together with accumulated interest on all Rhodesia bonds.
Our London Bureau says it seems clear that if Lord Goodman does find the basis for a settlement, there is no prospect of Sir Alec Douglas Home completing the negotiations until well into November, though the Government’s life would be much easier both at next month’s party conference and in renewing the sanctions ordinance in early November, if it was known that he was due to go out.
LESSONS FOR TODAY
By 1971, the war of liberation had moved to another level, as thousands of young boys and girls were leaving the country to join the liberation struggle.
The September 1971 talks were held against the backdrop of a Rhodesia that was now rationing fuel, which affected other economic activities.
After the Lord Goodman-led talks, was the Pearce Commission in 1972. In all actions, both the Rhodesians and their British kith and kin sought to work with people that were willing to derail the revolution led by ZANLA and ZPRA combatants.
Despite their relentless efforts, it increased the fire power from the guerrillas, ultimately leading to the Lancaster House Conference in September 1979.
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