page:  = Air Rhodesia Flight <unk> = 
   
   Air Rhodesia Flight <unk> was a scheduled passenger flight that was shot down by the Zimbabwe People 's Revolutionary Army ( <unk> ) on 3 September 1978 , during the Rhodesian Bush War . The aircraft involved , a Vickers Viscount named the <unk> , was flying the last leg of Air Rhodesia 's regular scheduled service from Victoria Falls to the capital Salisbury , via the resort town of <unk> . 
   Soon after Flight <unk> took off , a group of <unk> guerrillas scored a direct hit on its starboard wing with a Soviet @-@ made <unk> 2 surface @-@ to @-@ air infrared <unk> missile , critically damaging the aircraft and forcing an emergency landing . An attempted belly landing in a cotton field just west of <unk> was <unk> by an unseen ditch , which caused the plane to cartwheel and break up . Of the 52 passengers and four crew , 38 died in this crash ; the insurgents then approached the wreckage , rounded up the 10 survivors they could see and massacred them with automatic gunfire . Three passengers survived by hiding in the surrounding bush , while a further five lived because they had gone to look for water before the guerrillas arrived . 
   <unk> leader Joshua <unk> publicly claimed responsibility for shooting down the <unk> in an interview with the BBC 's Today programme the same evening , saying the aircraft had been used for military purposes , but denied that his men had killed survivors on the ground . The majority of <unk> , both black and white , saw the attack as an act of terrorism . A fierce white Rhodesian backlash followed against perceived enemies , with many whites becoming <unk> <unk> and suspicious of blacks in general , even though few black <unk> supported attacks of this kind . Reports viewing the attack negatively appeared in international journals such as Time magazine , but there was almost no acknowledgement of it by overseas governments , much to the Rhodesian government 's <unk> . 
   <unk> between <unk> and Prime Minister Ian Smith , which had been progressing <unk> , were immediately suspended by the furious <unk> , with Smith calling <unk> a " monster " . On 10 September , Smith announced the extension of martial law over selected areas . The Rhodesian Security Forces launched several retaliatory strikes into Zambia and Mozambique over the following months , attacking both <unk> and its rival , the Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army ( ZANLA ) . The attack on <unk> in particular brought great controversy as many of those killed were refugees camping in and around guerrilla positions . Five months later , in February 1979 , <unk> shot down Air Rhodesia Flight <unk> , another civilian flight , in an almost identical incident . 
   
   = = Background = = 
   
   A dispute over the terms for the granting of full sovereignty to the self @-@ governing colony of Rhodesia ( or Southern Rhodesia ) led the colonial government , headed by Prime Minister Ian Smith , to <unk> declare independence from the United Kingdom on 11 November 1965 . The idea of " no independence before majority rule " had recently gained ground in Britain and elsewhere amid decolonisation , and Rhodesia 's government was dominated by the country 's white minority , so the unilateral declaration went <unk> internationally . Britain and the United Nations imposed economic sanctions on Rhodesia . 
   Two rival communist @-@ backed black nationalist groups initiated military campaigns to overthrow the government and introduce majority rule : the Chinese @-@ aligned Zimbabwe African National Union ( <unk> ) , mostly comprising <unk> , created the Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army ( ZANLA ) and adopted aspects of <unk> doctrine , while the <unk> @-@ dominated Zimbabwe African People 's Union ( <unk> ) , aligned with Soviet @-@ style <unk> – <unk> and the Warsaw Pact , mobilised the Zimbabwe People 's Revolutionary Army ( <unk> ) . These guerrilla armies proceeded to wage what they called the " Second <unk> " against the Rhodesian government and security forces . The resulting conflict , the Rhodesian Bush War , began in earnest in December 1972 , when ZANLA attacked <unk> and <unk> <unk> in north @-@ eastern Rhodesia . 
   After the security forces mounted a successful counter @-@ insurgency campaign during 1973 and 1974 , developments overseas caused the conflict 's momentum to shift in the insurgents ' favour . The leftist Carnation Revolution of April 1974 caused Portugal to withdraw its key economic support for Smith 's administration , and led to Mozambique 's independence the following year as a communist state openly allied with <unk> . Around the same time , Rhodesia 's other main <unk> , South Africa , adopted a <unk> initiative that forced a ceasefire , giving the guerrillas time to regroup . Following the abortive Victoria Falls Conference of August 1975 , Smith and the <unk> leader Joshua <unk> held unsuccessful talks between December 1975 and March 1976 . <unk> and <unk> announced in October 1976 , during the run @-@ up to the unsuccessful Geneva Conference in December , that they would <unk> attend conferences as a joint " Patriotic Front " . 
   In March 1978 , Smith and non @-@ militant nationalist groups headed by Bishop <unk> <unk> , the Reverend <unk> <unk> and Chief Jeremiah <unk> agreed what became the " Internal Settlement " . This created a joint black – white transitional government , with the country due to be reconstituted as Zimbabwe Rhodesia in June 1979 , pursuant to <unk> elections . <unk> and <unk> were invited to participate , but refused ; <unk> <unk> dubbed Smith 's black colleagues " the blacksmiths " . <unk> proclaimed 1978 to be " The Year of the People " as the war continued . Officials from <unk> 's United African National Council , sent to the provinces to explain the Internal Settlement to rural blacks , were killed by Marxist – <unk> guerrillas . <unk> also began to target Christian missionaries , <unk> in the killing of nine British missionaries and four children at <unk> Mission near the Mozambican border on 23 June . 
   The transitional government was badly received abroad , partly because the Internal Settlement kept control of law enforcement , the military , the judiciary and the civil service under white control . No country recognised Rhodesia 's interim administration . Smith again worked to bring <unk> into the government , hoping this would lend it some <unk> domestically , prompt diplomatic recognition overseas , and help the security forces defeat ZANLA . Starting on 14 August 1978 , he attended secret meetings with <unk> in <unk> , Zambia ( where <unk> was based ) , doing so with the assistance of the mining corporation <unk> . Attempts were made to also involve the <unk> leader Robert <unk> , but <unk> would have no part in the talks . According to the South African military historian <unk> <unk> , negotiations between Smith and <unk> progressed well and " seemed on the verge of success " by the start of September 1978 . On 2 September , Smith and <unk> revealed publicly that the secret meetings had taken place . 
   
   = = Incident = = 
   
   
   = = = Prior threats to Rhodesian air traffic = = = 
   
   Rhodesian air traffic was not seriously threatened until about 1977 , in the latter stages of the war ; before this time , neither revolutionary force had the weapons to launch a viable attack against an aerial target . The weapon that made such attacks feasible for <unk> was the <unk> 2 shoulder @-@ launched surface @-@ to @-@ air missile launcher , supplied by the Soviet Union from the mid @-@ 1970s as part of the Warsaw Pact 's materiel support . By September 1978 , there had been 20 reported attempts to shoot down Rhodesian military aircraft using these weapons , none of which had been successful . Some Rhodesian Air Force Dakotas had been hit , but all had survived and landed safely . No civilian aircraft had yet been targeted during the Bush War . 
   
   = = = Flight = = = 
   
   Air Rhodesia was the country 's national airline , established by the government on 1 September 1967 to succeed Central African Airways , which was dissolved at the end of that year . Based at Salisbury Airport , Air Rhodesia 's flight network during the late 1970s comprised a domestic programme of passenger and cargo flights , as well as international services to the South African cities of Johannesburg and Durban . 
   The Flight <unk> aircraft was a Vickers Viscount <unk> , a British @-@ made turboprop aircraft with two engines on each wing . It was named the <unk> after the river of the same name , which flowed between Lake <unk> and the Rhodesian capital Salisbury . 
   The <unk> was on the second and final leg of its regular scheduled journey between Victoria Falls and Salisbury , stopping over in the resort town of <unk> . Despite the occasional rocket and mortar attacks launched on <unk> by <unk> guerrillas on the northern side of the <unk> ( in Zambia ) , the resort had endured as one of Rhodesia 's choice tourist destinations . The flight on 3 September 1978 , Sunday afternoon , from <unk> to Salisbury carried four crew members and 52 passengers , most of whom were <unk> from Salisbury , returning home after a weekend at the lake . The flight took off from <unk> Airport on schedule soon after 17 : 00 Central Africa Time . 
   Flight <unk> was <unk> by 36 @-@ year @-@ old Captain John Hood , a native of <unk> who had gained his commercial pilot licence in 1966 . He had flown <unk> for Air Rhodesia since 1968 , and had also served in the Rhodesian Air Force on a voluntary basis . His first officer , Garth Beaumont , was 31 years old , and had lived in Rhodesia for most of his life , having immigrated as a child from South Africa . The two air <unk> were <unk> <unk> , 21 years old and from <unk> , and 23 @-@ year @-@ old Louise Pearson , from Salisbury . 
   
   = = = <unk> = = = 
   
   A group of <unk> guerrillas , armed with a <unk> @-@ 2 launcher , waited in the bush beneath Flight <unk> 's <unk> , and fired on the <unk> about five minutes after it took off , while the aircraft was still in the climb phase of its flight . The heat @-@ seeking missile hit the plane 's starboard wing and exploded , causing the inner engine to also explode . A fuel tank and hydraulic lines <unk> , creating a fire that the passengers and crew could not put out . The second starboard engine failed almost immediately , leaving Hood with only his two port engines . <unk> wildly , the <unk> began to descend rapidly . 
   At 17 : 10 Captain Hood sent a distress call to air traffic control , informing them that he had lost the two starboard engines and was going to crash . " We 're going in , " he <unk> . <unk> his passengers to <unk> for an emergency landing , he aimed for an open field of cotton in the <unk> Hills , in the bush to the west of <unk> , intending to belly land the craft . The landing was relatively stable until the <unk> hit a previously unseen ditch , <unk> and exploded . The remaining fuel tanks <unk> and caught fire , setting the wrecked cabin <unk> . 
   
   = = = Massacre on the ground = = = 
   
   Of the 56 people on board , 38 , including Hood and Beaumont , died in the crash . Eighteen survived , albeit with injuries , and climbed out of the wreckage . After briefly settling the others , one of the passengers , Dr Cecil <unk> , led four others — young <unk> Robert and Shannon <unk> , Mrs Sharon <unk> , and her four @-@ year @-@ old daughter Tracey — off in the direction of a nearby village in search of water . The other 13 remained close to the wreckage . Meanwhile , nine guerrillas made their way towards the crash site , and reached it at about 17 : 45 . Three of the 13 survivors remaining at the crash site hid on seeing figures approaching : Rhodesian Army <unk> Anthony Hill , 39 , took cover in the surrounding bush , while businessman Hans Hansen and his wife Diana did the same . This left 10 passengers in full view near the wreckage , including four women and two girls ( aged 11 and 4 ) . 
   The guerrillas , who were armed with AK @-@ 47 rifles , presented themselves to the 10 passengers as friendly , saying they would summon help and bring water . They spoke in English , both to the survivors and among themselves . They told the passengers to <unk> around a point a few metres from the wreckage ; when the survivors said that some of them were too badly injured to walk , the insurgents told the able @-@ bodied men to carry the others . The passengers were assembled into an area of about 10 square metres ( 110 sq ft ) . Standing roughly 15 metres ( 49 ft ) away , the cadres now raised their weapons . " You have taken our land , " one of them said . " Please don 't shoot us ! " one of the passengers cried , just before they were killed by a sustained burst of automatic gunfire . 
   Having collected water from the nearby village , <unk> and his companions were almost back at the crash site when they heard the shots . <unk> it was personal ammunition in the luggage exploding in the heat , they continued on their way , and called out to the other passengers , who they thought were still alive . This alerted the insurgents to the presence of more survivors ; one of the guerrillas told <unk> 's group to " come here " . The insurgents then opened fire on their general location , prompting <unk> and the others to flee . Hill and the <unk> also ran ; they revealed their positions to the fighters in their <unk> , but successfully hid themselves behind a ridge . After Hill and the others had hidden there for about two hours , they saw the attackers return to the crash site at about 19 : 45 . The guerrillas looted the wrecked cabin and some of the <unk> <unk> around the site , filled their arms with various passengers ' belongings , then left again . 
   The survivors were found over the following days by the Rhodesian Army and police ; Hill and Mr and Mrs Hansen were taken to <unk> Hospital , while <unk> and his group were <unk> to Andrew Fleming Hospital in Salisbury . 
   
   = = = <unk> claims responsibility , but denies killing survivors = = = 
   
   <unk> claimed responsibility for the attack in an interview with the BBC 's Today radio programme the next day , laughing as he did so , to the horror of most Rhodesian observers , both black and white . He said that he had received intelligence that the <unk> was being used for military purposes . <unk> said he regretted the deaths as it was not his party 's policy to kill civilians , and denied that his men had killed any survivors on the ground ; by contrast , he said that his men had helped them , and had left them alive . He also accused Air Rhodesia of <unk> <unk> troops and war materiel for the government , an allegation that Captain Pat Travers , Air Rhodesia 's general manager , called a " downright , deliberate lie " . 
   According to <unk> <unk> , a professor and human rights speaker who wrote a history of <unk> , <unk> was implying that responsibility for the massacre actually lay with security force pseudo @-@ guerrillas , more specifically the mixed race <unk> Scouts unit , which had often been accused of <unk> rural civilians with the goal of shifting public opinion . <unk> asserts that the massacre " cannot be put beyond " the Scouts , and also supports <unk> 's claim that the <unk> had been used militarily , suggesting that <unk> might have believed there to be Rhodesian soldiers on board . " Rhodesian television , before attacks on ZANLA in Mozambique , had shown <unk> ferrying paratroopers for the job , " he writes , " ... [ and ] <unk> intelligence knew there were paratroopers stationed [ at Victoria Falls ] " . 
   
   = = Reactions = = 
   
   
   = = = White <unk> turn against blacks = = = 
   
   A report published in the American magazine Time a fortnight later described the incident as " a genuine horror story , calculated to make the most <unk> of Rhodesian <unk> <unk> seem true . " Indeed , the white community in Rhodesia heard the news with <unk> , and many turned their minds to exacting <unk> for what they and many others saw as an act of terrorism . The prominent Indian @-@ Rhodesian <unk> family was particularly affected by the incident , having lost eight members in the attack . Though Rhodesian authorities did not immediately acknowledge the cause of the crash , doing so only after four days ' investigation , the truth was common knowledge in Salisbury within hours . Smith wrote in his memoirs that the " degree of anger ... [ was ] difficult to control " . White South Africans were similarly enraged , particularly after reports appeared in the South African press that the <unk> had raped the female passengers before <unk> them . A Friends of Rhodesia Society in South Africa offered a reward of <unk> to anybody who would either kill <unk> or bring him to Salisbury to stand trial . 
   Geoffrey <unk> , who was then one of the few black reporters at the Rhodesia Herald newspaper , later wrote in his memoirs that many whites became <unk> and wary towards blacks in general , believing them all to be " terrorist <unk> " . Describing the Herald <unk> the night of the incident , he relates a " <unk> collective temper " among the white sub @-@ editors : " They cursed until their voices became <unk> , threatening dire consequences for all <unk> and <unk> or <unk> ... I <unk> that some of the more derogatory remarks made in <unk> loud voices that evening were meant specifically for my ears . " 
   Several racially motivated incidents occurred over the following days . According to the Time article , a group of whites entered an <unk> Salisbury bar " fingering the <unk> of rifles " and forced blacks drinking there to leave . Time also reported a <unk> that two white youths , on learning of the massacre , shot the first black man they saw . Smith says that several would @-@ be <unk> groups sought his permission to venture into the bush around the crash site to " make the local people pay for their crime of <unk> and assisting the terrorists " . He instructed them not to , according to his memoirs , telling them that many rural blacks only assisted the guerrillas under extreme <unk> , and that it would not do to attack them . Many <unk> also resented the apparent lack of sympathy emanating from overseas governments , especially considering the character of the attack and its civilian target . 
   
   = = = Memorial service , 8 September 1978 = = = 
   
   At a memorial service held on 8 September 1978 for Flight <unk> 's passengers and crew at Salisbury 's Anglican Cathedral , about 2 @,@ 000 people crowded inside , with another 500 standing outside on the steps and pavement , many listening to the service inside on portable radio sets . <unk> among those present in the cathedral were <unk> Air Rhodesia and South African Airways personnel , as well as Rhodesian Special Air Service soldiers and senior officers from other military units . Smith and several government ministers also attended , including P K van der <unk> , the co @-@ Minister of Foreign Affairs . 
   Dean John de Costa gave a sermon <unk> what he described as a " <unk> silence " from overseas . " Nobody who holds sacred the dignity of human life can be anything but <unk> at the events attending the Viscount , " he said . " But are we <unk> with the voice of protest from nations who call themselves <unk> ? We are not ! Like men in the story of the Good <unk> , they pass by on the other side ... The <unk> of this ill @-@ <unk> flight from <unk> will be burnt upon our memories for years to come . For others , far from our borders , it is an intellectual matter , not one which affects them deeply . Here is the tragedy ! " 
   
   = = = Smith – <unk> talks halted = = = 
   
   The talks between Smith and the <unk> leader that had been progressing so <unk> were immediately halted by Salisbury . Smith himself called <unk> a " monster " . <unk> comments that the ending of the Smith – <unk> talks at this time was " potentially the most serious result of the Viscount massacre " , as the talks had been progressing well before the incident . He <unk> that an agreement between the two " at this critical stage " might have helped the transitional Rhodesian government to secure international recognition . 
   On 10 September , the Prime Minister announced to the nation that certain areas of the country would be placed under a variation of martial law , which he said would be applied in particular regions as and when needed . He declared Rhodesia 's intent to " <unk> the internal workings of those organisations associated with terrorism " , and warned neighbouring countries to prepare for " any defensive strikes we might undertake " against guerrilla bases in their respective territories . He claimed that the war had escalated because Britain and the United States were supporting the Patriotic Front . William Irvine , the co @-@ Minister of Transport , warned the guerrillas that Rhodesia " w [ <unk> ] not let these <unk> go <unk> " . 
   
   = = Rhodesia strikes back = = 
   
   
   = = = Operation <unk> ; Rhodesia hits New <unk> = = = 
   
   Because <unk> and <unk> were based in Zambia , many <unk> <unk> for a massive retaliatory strike against terrorist targets in that country , but the first external target hit by the security forces following the Viscount <unk> was the prominent cluster of ZANLA bases around <unk> in Mozambique . The Rhodesian military had struck these bases extensively in November 1977 during Operation <unk> , destroying much of the ZANLA presence there , but the insurgents had since built a complex called " New <unk> " , slightly to the east ; the new camps were distributed across a far larger area than the originals . In a combined airborne @-@ ground assault called Operation <unk> , the Rhodesian Air Force , Rhodesian Light Infantry and Special Air Service wiped out much of New <unk> on 20 September 1978 . Mozambique sent armour to ZANLA 's aid in the form of nine Soviet @-@ made T @-@ 54 tanks and four Russian <unk> @-@ 152 armoured personnel carriers , but the former were routed and one of the latter destroyed by the Rhodesian security forces . According to Rhodesian figures , there were " several hundred " guerrillas killed , while the security forces lost only two soldiers , one of whom was accidentally killed by a friendly air strike . 
   
   = = = Operation <unk> ; the " Green Leader " raid = = = 
   
   Rhodesia then attacked <unk> 's bases in Zambia , in what Group Captain Peter <unk> @-@ Bowyer later described as " <unk> time " for Flight <unk> . Operation <unk> , launched on 19 October 1978 , was another joint @-@ force operation between the Air Force and the Army , which contributed Special Air Service and Rhodesian Light Infantry paratroopers . <unk> 's primary target , just 16 kilometres ( 10 miles ) north @-@ east of central <unk> , was the formerly white @-@ owned <unk> Farm , which had been transformed into <unk> 's main headquarters and training base under the name " Freedom Camp " . <unk> presumed that Rhodesia would never <unk> to attack a site so close to <unk> . About 4 @,@ 000 guerrillas underwent training at Freedom Camp , with senior <unk> staff also on site . The Rhodesian operation 's other targets were <unk> , 19 kilometres ( 12 miles ) north of <unk> , and <unk> Camp ; all three were to be attacked more or less simultaneously in a coordinated sweep across Zambia . <unk> targets deep inside Zambia was a first for the Rhodesian forces ; previously only guerrillas near the border had been attacked . 
   <unk> by Squadron Leader Chris Dixon , who identified himself to <unk> Airport tower as " Green Leader " , a Rhodesian Air Force group flew into Zambia at very low altitudes ( thereby avoiding <unk> radar ) and took control of the country 's airspace for about a quarter of an hour during the initial assault on <unk> Farm , informing <unk> tower that the attack was against " Rhodesian dissidents , and not against Zambia " , and that Rhodesian Hawker Hunters were <unk> the <unk> airfields under orders to shoot down any fighter that attempted to take off . The <unk> <unk> all of Green Leader 's instructions , made no attempt to resist and temporarily halted civil air traffic . Using <unk> airstrip in eastern Zambia as a forward base , the Rhodesian military suffered only minor casualties during the three @-@ day operation , and afterwards claimed to have killed over 1 @,@ 500 <unk> personnel , as well as some Cuban instructors . 
   Historians Paul <unk> and Peter <unk> write that this exaggerated considerably the actual number of guerrillas killed , as most of <unk> 's army , then numbering about 10 @,@ 000 fighters , had not been touched . On the other hand , unarmed refugees often camped in or around insurgent positions , and hundreds of these had been killed in the Rhodesian raid . <unk> and <unk> comment that for the Rhodesian airmen , it would have been " impossible to distinguish innocent refugees from young <unk> recruits . " <unk> describes Freedom Camp as " a refugee camp for boys " , and says " <unk> boys and girls " were killed . He claims that the Red Cross and the UN <unk> Agency " confirmed <unk> 's claim that Smith 's forces struck at <unk> , civilian <unk> " . 
   
   = = Aftermath = = 
   
   The Rhodesian attacks on ZANLA and <unk> bases did much to restore white morale following the Viscount incident , though they had not actually made much impact on the respective guerrilla campaigns . <unk> and the <unk> President Kenneth <unk> all the same requested further military aid and better weapons from the Soviets and the British respectively . Martial law was quickly extended across Rhodesia 's rural areas , and covered three @-@ quarters of the country by the end of 1978 . Air Rhodesia , meanwhile , began developing anti @-@ <unk> shielding for its <unk> . Before this work was completed , <unk> shot down a second Viscount , Air Rhodesia Flight <unk> , on 12 February 1979 . This time there were no survivors . 
   Following the second <unk> , Air Rhodesia created a system whereby the underside of the <unk> would be coated with low @-@ radiation paint , with the exhaust pipes concurrently <unk> . According to tests conducted by the Air Force , a Viscount so treated could not be detected by the <unk> 's targeting system once it was over 2 @,@ 000 feet ( 610 m ) . There were no further Viscount <unk> in Rhodesia . 
   In the elections held the following year under the Internal Settlement terms , boycotted by <unk> and <unk> , <unk> won a majority , and became the first Prime Minister of the reconstituted , majority @-@ ruled state of Zimbabwe Rhodesia on 1 June 1979 . This new order failed to win international acceptance , however , and in December 1979 the Lancaster House Agreement was agreed in London by Zimbabwe Rhodesia , the UK government and the Patriotic Front , returning the country to its former colonial status . The UK government suspended the constitution and took direct control for an interim period . Fresh elections were won by <unk> , who took power in April 1980 , concurrently with the country 's recognised independence as Zimbabwe . 
   
   = = Legacy and memorial = = 
   
   In modern Zimbabwe , it is not the Viscount <unk> but rather the <unk> Rhodesian strikes against nationalist guerrilla camps that endure predominantly in the cultural memory . State media in Zimbabwe , prominently the Herald newspaper , often claim that Rhodesian forces <unk> and deliberately <unk> thousands of helpless refugees during such operations . <unk> 's <unk> of civilian planes is meanwhile portrayed as a legitimate act of war on the grounds that the guerrillas might have believed them to have military personnel or equipment on board . The massacre of surviving Flight <unk> passengers at the crash site is often omitted or attributed to forces other than <unk> ; in his 1984 memoirs <unk> repeated his claim that <unk> fighters had helped the survivors , and wrote simply that " I truly have no idea how the ten died " . 
   A monument to those killed in the Rhodesian attack on <unk> was built in Zambia in 1998 , and dedicated jointly by the <unk> and <unk> governments . A memorial to the victims of the two Rhodesian Viscount incidents , dubbed the Viscount Memorial , was erected on the grounds of the <unk> Monument in <unk> , South Africa in 2012 , and inaugurated on 1 September that year . The names of the dead passengers and crew are engraved on two granite slabs that stand upright , side by side , the pair topped by an emblem symbolising an aircraft . A pole beside the monument flies the Rhodesian flag . 
   A British parliamentary motion put forward by Labour MP Kate <unk> in February 2013 to <unk> <unk> the Viscount attacks and <unk> the victims on the anniversary of the second <unk> prompted <unk> in the <unk> press , with the Herald branding it a racist " <unk> motion " intended to <unk> the <unk> administration and its supporters . <unk> <unk> , a former <unk> commander , described the move as a <unk> motivated by race that went against the spirit of the amnesty enacted at Lancaster House . Christopher <unk> , a diplomat and political analyst , took a similar line , calling <unk> 's proposed commemoration " a <unk> ... [ that ] means they only regard the death of white people alone during the struggle . There is no mention of what happened to our sons and daughters in and outside the country . " <unk> 's official response to <unk> 's motion included the assertion that in all conflicts " civilians get caught up in cross @-@ fires due to faulty intelligence reports and other communication errors " , and juxtaposed the civilians killed in the Viscount <unk> with those killed at <unk> . 
   
   = = = Newspaper and journal articles = = = 
   
   
   