Geneva Conference (1976)
Following a dispute over the terms for the granting of full statehood, the predominantly white minority government of Rhodesia, headed by Prime Minister Ian Smith, unilaterally declared independence from Britain on 11 November 1965.
Because British prime minister Harold Wilson and Whitehall had been insisting on an immediate transfer to majority rule before independence, this declaration went unrecognised and caused Britain and the United Nations (UN) to impose economic sanctions on Rhodesia.
[7] After a successful security force counter-campaign during 1973 and 1974,[5] drastic changes in the foreign policy of the Rhodesian government's two main backers, Portugal and South Africa, caused the conflict's momentum to shift in the nationalists' favour.
In April 1974, the Portuguese government was overthrown by a military coup and replaced with a leftist administration in favour of ending the unpopular Colonial War in Angola, Mozambique and Portugal's other African territories.
[3] Guerrilla incursions picked up strongly in the first months of 1976, leading Smith to declare on the evening of 6 February 1976 that "a new terrorist offensive has begun and, to defeat it, Rhodesians will have to face heavier military commitments.
This plan was supported by Kenneth Kaunda and Julius Nyerere, the presidents of Zambia and Tanzania respectively, which South African Prime Minister B. J. Vorster said guaranteed its acceptance by the black nationalists.
Western opinion was already "soft and decadent", Kissinger warned, and would become even more so if, as projected, American President Gerald Ford lost that year's presidential election to Jimmy Carter.
Despite expressing "incredulity" at what had happened in Pretoria, and showing deep reluctance, the politicians in Salisbury resolved that despite what they perceived as "South African treachery" the responsible course of action could only be to go on with the peace process, and that meant accepting Kissinger's terms, which they agreed were better than any they could get in the future should they refuse.
"[13] South Africa's wavering financial and military assistance suddenly became available again,[n 3] but the Frontline States then abruptly changed tack and turned the Kissinger terms down, saying that any interim period before majority rule was unacceptable.
In an attempt to encourage the other parties to travel to Switzerland, British mediator Ivor Richard asked the Rhodesian delegation to hasten their arrival, which they did, leaving Salisbury on 20 October 1976.
The conference was eventually arranged to commence on 28 October at 15:00, but at very short notice the British mediator delayed the start for two hours; some Patriotic Front delegates were questioning his role as chairman and threatening not to attend, and Richard hoped to talk them around in the extra time.
[22] On the morning of 29 October, Mugabe and Nkomo spoke in turn, giving emotionally charged speeches about the "dreadful sacrifices which the white governments have exacted from the poor black people".
Muzorewa then told the story of the life of the Ndebele King Lobengula in reverent tones, before Sithole made the only directly relevant nationalist contribution of the day, saying simply that he hoped the two sides could come to an agreement.
[23] A meeting was organised for the next day, 9 November: the chaotic parley led nowhere, with the nationalists once again taking turns to make long, irrelevant speeches while the Rhodesians attempted to have Richard return the subject to the new constitution.
When Rhodesian minister P K van der Byl confronted Mugabe about his tardiness and tersely demanded an apology, the ZANU leader became enraged and screamed, "Foul-mouthed bloody fool!
