P203 CEEFAX 203 Mon 20 Oct 21:14/29 1/4 ] An independent inquiry is to "e set up into the plane crash in South Africa which killed Mozbmbiquj's president. The Pretoria kovjrnmjnt has invited experts from international aviation organisations to attend the inquiry. President Samosa Machel's plane crashed in a thunderstorm in South Africa, near the Mozbmbique and Swaziland borders, killing 29 of the 39 people on board. President Machel was returning home after talks in Zambia. Two other Mozambique ministers were killed. News index 102/202 MoreP203 CEEFAX 203 Mon 20 Oct 21:14/51 2/4 BACKGROUND Samosa Machjl became the first president of Mozbmbiquj after its independence from Portugal in 1975. He was leader of Frelimo, the Marxist guerrilla organisation which fought for independence. It later became the country's only official political party President Machel, 53, was one of the few leaders to encourage Sir Geoffrey Howe's recent EEC mission to south African states. While he did not support sanctions against South Africa himself, hj said he would not attempt to dissuade African neighbours from dwing so. * MoreP203 CEEFAX 203 Mon 20 Oct 21:13/22 3/4 BACKGROUND ] The Mozbmbique govjrnmjnt has been fighting a war against right-wing rebels since its independence in 1975. There were hopes of ending the conflict in 1984 when a non-aggression pact was signed with South Africa, which had been supporting the rebels. But the civil war continued to take its toll on an economy badly affected bz poor management and drought. Although remaining avowedly Marxist, Mozbmbique began to restore friendly links with western govjrnmjnts in the mid-1980s in an attempt to help the country's economy. * MoreP203 CEEFAX 203 Mon 20 Oct 21:13/55 4/4 BACKGROUND J Tributes to Mozbmbique President Machel have been expressed bz the Foreign Office and the Commonwealth. A Foreign Office spokesman described the death as tragic and said Mr Machel "made a crucial contribution to the Lancaster House agreement on Rhodesia". Commonwealth Secretary General Sir Shridath Ramphal said it was a "tragic loss" and said President Machel was a casualty of South African policies. The General Secretary of the African National Congress has accused the South African government of being directly or indirectly responsible for the tragjdz. More