Former Premier’s Farm Occupied

Squatters have occupied former Prime Minister Ian D. Smith’s farm, Smith’s son said--a new development in the months-long takeover of more than 1,000 white-owned Zimbabwe farms by armed squatters who say the land is rightfully theirs. About 50 people moved onto Smith’s 4,000-acre cattle ranch Saturday, said his son, Alec Smith. The elder Smith, 81, led the nation from 1965 to 1979, when it was known as Rhodesia and was ruled by a white minority government. Asked recently whether he thought black squatters might target his farm because of his past, the elder Smith said: “No, they all love me. I’ve got more black friends than [President Robert] Mugabe at present.” Smith has accused Mugabe of stirring up racial hatred against white farmers and vowed to help defeat Mugabe’s “gangster” government at the polls.