Speaking in Salisbury at the beginning of February, shortly after his final rejection of Mr. Ivor Richard's proposals for a settlement, Ian Smith gave a warning of "new tactics" in the war against the national liberation movement. "They might be a little tougher, a little more provocative should I say, than some of the past tactics... I must in all honesty say, as the war goes on we do tend to resort to tougher measures, and I think we must accept that this will happen".
Externally, this aggressive attitude is already being put into practice via a series of raids into Mozambique and Botswana. Inside Rhodesia, it is a pointer to further repressive measures to facilitate control of the population in the operational areas. Over recent months, these have included: * Emergency Regulations, published in the Government Gazette in September 1976, empowering the Minister of Law and Order to authorise the building of security fences along or close to any section of Rhodesia's international boundaries, and the installation of "devices" and any other measures considered likely to make a more effective barrier against guerillas. Persons authorised to erect such fences are empowered "to clear any structure, trees or other vegetation, rocks or other obstacles whatsoever." * The creation of further "no-go" areas in the border zones. From midnight on 21 January, for example, the area of land east of Umtali, between the fence service roads and the Mozambique border, was declared a no-go area under an order issued by the protecting authority for Manicaland. A similar no-go area, accessible only to security force personnel and authorised people has since been declared along the Botswana border (see under Flight from Rhodesia). Civilians who stray into these areas are liable to be shot on sight, irrespective of curfew hours. A leaflet distributed by the regime to residents of the "Operation Thrasher" military zone centred on Umtali warns: "If you see security forces do not run. Move up to the security forces. If you run away we will think you are a gandanga ("terrorist") and we will shoot... If you move outside your kraal at night or before noon, you will be thought to be a gandanga and shot... Drivers of vehicles that do not stop when ordered to do so by security forces will be thought of as gandangas and will be shot". * Emergency Regulations, published in January 1977, increasing the powers of protecting authorities to control food supplies to prevent them falling into the hands of guerillas. The new regulations provide for the prohibition of maize cultivation, and cover milling operations as well as the sale and delivery of food. The protecting authority may order security devices to be fitted to shops and other places where food is stored and direct the closure of beer-halls at certain hours. Police officers or other persons authorised by the protecting authority are empowered to destroy or confiscate food supplies. * It has been reported that medicines and medical equipment have been withdrawn by the security forces from civilian posts in the operational areas to a depth of 70-80 km from the border, and that medical supplies to Africans further within the country have been severely restricted.
Rhodesia's "protected" and "consolidated villages", now estimated to contain at least 400,000 residents of the northeastern and eastern war zones, are becoming an increasingly common target for attack by guerillas of the national liberation movement. The protected villages, commonly referred to as "cages" by those obliged to live in them, are a source of deep-rooted and growing resentment, and it seems clear that one reason for the attacks is a desire to free the inhabitants from a repressive system. In a raid by a group of about 20 guerillas on the newly consolidated village of Kandeya, 20 km northwest of Mount Darwin, on the evening of 31 December 1976, no shots were fired. (Unlike protected villages, consolidated villages have no permanent security force presence, and are not fenced). The guerillas went from hut to hut, shouting to the inhabitants to get out, before setting fire to the buildings. 212 huts out of a total of 380 were destroyed, together with personal possessions, but beyond a few elderly people, unable to move quickly, who were bruised by falling rafters, no-one was killed or burnt.
Whereas a consolidated village is simply a concentration of huts and kraals, a protected village, carrying a permanent armed guard, is a military target of some consequence as far as the liberation movement is concerned, as well as a physical symbol of white domination. Since mid-1976, protected villages have been the responsibility of the Ministry of Defence, and a new section of the armed services, the Guard Force, is being built up to take over military duties at the villages. The Guard Force is the fastest growing section of the security forces in Rhodesia. By the end of 1976 2,500 African recruits had completed four weeks military training in anti-ambush drill, landmine detection and weapons use and provision has been made for a further 500 Africans a month to be trained at a base at Chikurubi, outside Salisbury. African members of the Guard Force receive a basic wage of R$60 a month plus a food allowance of R$13.50. Whites, particularly those in the 30 to 38 age group, are also being called up into the Guard Force, normally to be trained as "keep commanders." Each protected village is guarded by a force of around 20 men, led by one or two "keep commanders." The eventual strength of the Guard Force is expected to reach about 12,500 men.
Employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, who in the past had sole responsibility for the protected villages, are also becoming increasingly militarized. A new grade of African "District Security Assistants" has been set up, who receive four weeks training in counter-insurgency techniques. Young white national service-men are frequently installed as keep commanders in charge of a contingent of such DSAs.
The strategic importance placed by the regime on the role of the protected villages has recently been highlighted by the announcement of a new post of Director of Psychological Warfare in the department of the Prime Minister. The first incumbent is Major-General G.A. Rawlins, former commander of the Guard Force.
