24 September 1976: White rule in Rhodesia to end

The Rhodesian Government has agreed to introduce black majority rule to the country within two years. Prime Minister Ian Smith announced the news five days after hearing the proposals of the United States-led diplomatic delegation. The plan presented to him by US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger had been formulated by the American and British Governments. But Mr Smith made it clear he was only accepting the plan under pressure and was not happy with the conditions. In a broadcast to the nation from the capital Salisbury, Rhodesia's premier outlined the first of six steps agreed with Dr Kissinger. An interim government is to be established and the violent guerrilla warfare being waged by factions of the country's black population must end.