empire in Africa crashed Frelimo troops marched triumphantly into Lourenco Marques (now Maputo), stimulant to the forces Africa. Mugabe's ZANU battle against lan apartheid republic of South escape route for the forces of resistance.
Samor Machel unhesitatingly placed himself on the side of the continuing struggle recognised main Addressing a mass rally in Inhambane in March 1982 he told the crowd that the working people in Mozambique nao not oniy defeated Portuguese but had fight defeat the Smith regime Rhodesia.
He then went on to say: 'Now we are called to war this time to liquidate the armed bandits who are the agents of the racist and minorit! regime in Pretoria, the agents le natona imperialism Let the South Africans themselves We don't want the agents, we want the noce fight against the organ-grinder, Well, the South Africans did LOme.
March the South African Prime Minister met President TEN YEARS AGO, when the Portuguese colonial and Samora and his # acted as of liberation in Southern forces noW had hinterland from which they could advance in the Smith's white-dominated Rhodesia and a safe refuge for strategic retreats. The common border berween Mozambique and the Africa provided an persecuted victims of the Pretoria regime and a base for re-assembling the Machel at the border town Nkomati and signed the so-called Peace Accords.
This was a stunning blow the South African freedom movements and especially to the ANC who had made Mozambique their main base for operanons By Charlie van Gelderen The treaty provided for no more transit facilities for ANC fighters through Mozambique: drastic reduction in their permanent presence doun to onpeople; non-aggression pact with Pretoria: an open door for South Africa capital; the aallubtillicill LICi policy to isolate the apartheid regime.
There can be no doubt that Machel was forced inficult circumstances of the After centuries of colonial rule, the havor created by the South African financed and trained MNR bandits, and one of the worst most prolonged droughts area s history, the economically prostrate.
Workers and peasants literally starving.
Morale was at its lowest The one thing "hich have saved the Mozambique revolution would have been massive economic and military aid rom the workers' states Mosion. aware of American sakes In the region, was ohiously not prepared for a confrontation.
Agreement The Nkomati ment. while its chiel imSouth Africa, was not entirely the brain-child of the think-lanks Pretoria Speaking 'The United States 1980's) February George Schulz. Reagan's Secretary of State explained the role of the USA in the peace negotiations: 'We have helped foster a dialogue .. . between South Africa and Mozambique We have made clear noun siaes that our goal l 1o nurture mutual security. in such a climate we are prepared to do our part to assist Mozambique's development holster its chances for genuine nonalignment... . We have mored swiftly to respond cyclones alid drought that have frequently brought Mozam bique the edge disaster.
While the Soviet Union, in its own way, has given support encourgement anti-imperialist struggles, it is quite clear that it is not prepared 1o create la second Africa Soviet strategy has, generally, ( to been •encourage the "noncapitalist' road of development for the newlyindependent African states Where socialistoriented intelligentsia had come. into heing during colonia times. democratic" struggle as a first stage towards evensocialisi reconstruction has generally been advocated This has not provided the basis for rapid economic advance successful resistance to imperialism such as we have in Cuba Nicaragua and in Grenada before the counterrevolutionary overthrow of Maurice Bishop.
While we can understand the basic economic reasons abandoning his 'MarxistLe nEst programme and bowing to the pressures of South African perialist CLonellie blackmail blandishments, it is not so easy Machel has hailed the pact as a "victory for our socialist policy Frelimo president Samora Machel of peace." Lenin and the Bolsheriks aiso had make concessions in the early years of the Russian Revolution BrestLitorsk. NEP - but they called things by diwaly their right name was a retreat and The immediate conseouence ot the Nkomati Accords and the so-called South Africa itiatives pose grave problems for the liberation in South Africa. There be 'peaceful co-existence' between South African its black-ruled neighbours at an official level, but there can be no between the rulers and the ruled inside the apartheid republic. The struggle tinues as before Already there raised South Africa claiming the AcCOrUs ODCI the road dialogue between the 'authentic leaders' of the South African people and the government. This would not be talks between parties which are formally equal but between the oppressor and the oppressed The South African wonv prepared for 'dialogue wiel une are faced with the fact that they are no able to govern the old way. For the South African liberation _force the task now is to prepare for the coming struggle by strengthening their forces inside the country and to develop une pontical pow c of the black working class which will emerge from the rapidly-growing movement of he black workers.
Socialist Action 1 June 1984