There had been no overt terrorist activity since the Mashona rebellion. The country was very British with cultural connections to South Africa. But there was an underlying awareness that once the blacks became more nationally aware, they could wipe out the whites in no time at all. We were Rhodesians, but we hadn't declared ourselves independent at this point. There was a feeling that the administration from Britain was heavy-handed and biased. They were predisposed to see us as a tyranny, meaning we ill-treated the people we were in charge over. If you took together all the incidents, it could look that way. The locals were fundamentally quiescent and well-behaved, but poverty made their lives tough. They were interested in listening to reasons to start an uprising.
The British newspapers were always severely against the Rhodesian establishment. In the centre of Salisbury was Cecil Square, a couple of hectares surrounded by shady trees. It had become traditional for the local populace to take their lunch to this park and lie on the grass to sleep it off. Some enthusiastic photographer looking for trouble took photographs of this and they appeared in the times newspaper under the heading massacre at Cecil Square.
Instances of bias by British newspapers are too many to enumerate. On another occasion, a terrorist group abducted three hundred school children and marched them off into the bush, never to be seen again. The army managed to keep pace with this group, using helicopters. The British press were whipping up a storm of publicity sympathetic to the black nationalists. Epworth mission was the school and initially there was an uproar against the terrorists because of this, but as it reached its peak, the British press proclaimed that the Rhodesians had committed a My Lai type massacre in Mozambique. We didn't do it. We did eventually go into Mozambique later on.
The Selous Scouts went in there that time and they were all painted up to look black. One of the African women walking by saw a little bit of white uncovered by camouflage. She started calling out, "white!". At this point all the others in the camp showed up and the Selous Scouts opened fire and killed six hundred. That was an incident that was just waiting to happen. Those on our side were too ready to fire and the others were too ready to mob. Once the soldiers' cover was blown and the element of surprise taken away, they would have been at the mercy of the guards in the camp.
The British newspapers were always severely against the Rhodesian establishment. In the centre of Salisbury was Cecil Square, a couple of hectares surrounded by shady trees. It had become traditional for the local populace to take their lunch to this park and lie on the grass to sleep it off. Some enthusiastic photographer looking for trouble took photographs of this and they appeared in the times newspaper under the heading massacre at Cecil Square.
Instances of bias by British newspapers are too many to enumerate. On another occasion, a terrorist group abducted three hundred school children and marched them off into the bush, never to be seen again. The army managed to keep pace with this group, using helicopters. The British press were whipping up a storm of publicity sympathetic to the black nationalists. Epworth mission was the school and initially there was an uproar against the terrorists because of this, but as it reached its peak, the British press proclaimed that the Rhodesians had committed a My Lai type massacre in Mozambique. We didn't do it. We did eventually go into Mozambique later on.
The Selous Scouts went in there that time and they were all painted up to look black. One of the African women walking by saw a little bit of white uncovered by camouflage. She started calling out, "white!". At this point all the others in the camp showed up and the Selous Scouts opened fire and killed six hundred. That was an incident that was just waiting to happen. Those on our side were too ready to fire and the others were too ready to mob. Once the soldiers' cover was blown and the element of surprise taken away, they would have been at the mercy of the guards in the camp.
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