The Herald, November 26, 1979
THE UN Security Council, acting by consensus, has strongly condemned Zimbabwe-Rhodesia for aggression against Zambia, and called for the payment of full compensation by “responsible authorities”.
The resolution also called on Britain, as the administering authority, to take prompt measures to ensure that the “illegal racist minority regime in Southern Rhodesia” — as Zimbabwe- Rhodesia is also known here — to desist from committing repeated acts of aggression and provocation against Zambia.
The Zambian Ambassador, Mr Apul Lusaka, at whose request the council met, had called on Britain to “fully and adequately compensate” his country for the damage to life and property allegedly resulting from recent Zimbabwe Rhodesia attacks, which he said had cut Zambia’s main road and rail links with the outside world, reports Iana-Reuter.
But after lengthy private consultations which, delayed the start of the Council meeting for more than three hours, the original text of the draft resolution was changed to call for compensation from “the responsible authorities,” instead of specifically naming Britain.
Laying the Zambian case to the Security Council, Mr Lusaka appealed for the establishment of an ad hoc committee to help the council implement the resolution.
They proposed a four-member ad hoc committee of the council to be appointed by the president, Mr Sergio Palacios of Bolivia, to help implement the resolution, a call on the “responsible authorities” to compensate Zambia for the alleged “damage to life and property resulting from the acts of aggression,” and an appeal to all states to provide urgent material and other aid to that nation.
LESSONS FOR TODAY
The military operations in Mozambique and Zambia by Rhodesian forces were crimes against humanity which still require that reparations be paid. It is still incumbent upon the UN to ensure that these reparations are paid to affected countries.
There were a number of operations in Mozambique and Zambia, that did not only target freedom fighters and refugees housed in those countries, but were meant to destroy the infrastructure of the respective countries. The operations were also meant to dissuade the host countries to refuse to be used by the freedom fighters, putting the Second Chimurenga/Imvukela into jeopardy.
As delegates sat at the Lancaster House conference, Henrik Ellert and Dennis Anderson in their book “A Brutal State of Affairs: The Rise and Fall of Rhodesia”, document the operations carried out in both countries: Operation Norah, Operation Miracle (Mozambique). In Zambia, there was Operation Cheese, which destroyed Chambeshi bridge and TAZARA railway line; Operation Tepid where the Rhodesian SAS force was defeated by ZPRA.
Still hoping that President Kaunda would throw out ZIPRA forces, and that they would negotiate with Zimbabwe Rhodesia from a weakened position, Operation Tepid was followed by Operation Dice from September to November 1979, where they destroyed a number of Zambian roads and bridges.