RATES:
6 months 68; 12 months £15 Overseas (12 months only)
Europe £17; Air Mail $24 (Double these rates for multi-reader institutions)
Name..
Address Please send me as special offer...
I enclose cheque/PO payable to Socialist Action for £...
Send: Socialist Action Subs, PO Box 50, London NI 2XP Radictorod ge newengner with the Post Offine Published by Cardinal Enterprises, PO Box 50, London N1. Free Book Offer!
Take out a years inland subscription and we will send you free one of these books: Justice: The Miners Strike 1984-85 by the Campaign Group of Labour MPs )n Afro American Histor y Malcolm › OR The Struggle is My Life by Nelson Mandela THE death side South Motors gained by the liberation movements in the 1970s.
A decade and a half ago the whole of southern Africa seemed a bastion of supremacy. Apartheid was solidly in place in South Africa which also directly Namibia. Portuguese colonline still ruled over Angola and Mozambique. lan Smith's Rhodesia seemed secure.
But things were not as they seemed. The liberation struggles In lie Atrican colonies were on the verge of toppling the white regimes. Their first major success came 1974.
Under the combined weight of its own internal problems and, decisively. under the impact of the African liberation movements, the Portuguese dictatorship toppled The demoralised Portuguese colonial regimes in Guinea Bissau, Angola, Mozambique were unable to keep power. New governments, the liberation movements, seized trol.
South Africa imbrought to the world's attention South Africa's hidden war against the states on its borders. Whilst the struggle against apartheid continues to develop inAfrica, as the recent strikes at General and in the gold mines demonstrate, the forces of apartheid are attempting to safeguard their northern borders and create to totally pliable client regimes in the "frontline' states. Apartheid is carrying out a massive counter attack against the victories mediately acted to protect its interests in the region.
It wanted the whole subcontinent as a market for its goods and investment, as well as a source of raw materials — an area to be sucked dry for the profit ot apartheid.
Moreover, the veration of liberation movements beacon of hope for the black population of South Africa That inspiration needed to be extinguished lest the black majority was inspired to follow the example of Angola Mozambique.
Angola was the first victim of apartheid's counter attack. A government led by the main MPLA, had taken over from the Portuguese with mass support. Exploiting divisions that amongst the liberation movements there with the existence ot tribally-based organisations the FNLA was militarily able to inoverthrow government Fighting alongside UNITA, which now openly sided with imperialism, South African forces penetrated deep Angolan territory The MPLA called for the aid Cubar TOOS together they were able to inflict a bloody defeat on the apartheid army and its allies — the first defeat of the modern South African forces at the hands of a black army.
The Angolan intervention of 1975 backfired on the aparthied government. its defeat helped to inspire the black youth in Soweto and elsewhere who rose in rev Then, in 199y are Then, 1979, Smith government Rhodesia fell. • After a feeble attempt to set ur puppet government the Mugabe-led Zimbabwe African National (ZANU) government was overwhelmingly elected inwhich was renamed Zim babwe. This was an enormous new blow to apar theid.
But South Africa has continued a •sir all the destabilisation states. organised economic sanctions, cutting routes. etc), direct military intervention into Angola and commando raids into other countries, and supporting as the MNR in Mozambique UNITA in Angola. The South African offensive against which will be stepped up still further after the death of Samora Machel, is the continua tion of that policy. Lesotho where the South Africans organised the overthrow of a government sympathetic to the struggle of the ANC in The reaction Machel's death in the frontline states included demonstrations of students pointing the finger at South involve.
The one aments int that the black-led countries take action against apartheid.
The struggle in the subcontinent is hotting up.
estimated that the undeclared war waged by apartheid has cost more than 100,000 lives Mozambique alone sice 1980. More than million people have beer made homeless in the region.
Those who believe that sanctions against Soutt Africa would hurt the frontline states should these study these figures.
the aback majority o majority southern Africa, not sanctions. The labour move ENCI should join the frontline states in demanding full, mandatory sanc. tions.