Zimbabwe: crisis deepens

ZIMBABWE : CRISIS DEEPENS The recent series of barbaric raids by Rhodesian forces against Patriotic Front camps in Mozambique and Zambia is threatening to throw imperialist plans for Zimbabwe awry. For although Anglo-US strategy requires a relatively strong, stable Smith regime to hand over state power to an equally strong, stable neo-colonial regime, the optimum route for Owen and Vance is via the controllable "soft" option of diplomacy and constitutional transfer. Smith's crude militarist approach, designed to forestall the guerilla summer offensive and to blast at least the Nkomo leadership into collaborating in the internal settlement, threatens to force on imperialism the much more fraught, less controllable and unpredictable course of military intervention. Smith's actions strengthen the hands of those ZANU and ZAPU militants opposed to any concessions to white privileges, constitutional sell-outs or imperialist interests. They make it more difficult for the bureaucratic leaderships to hold back or deflect militant demands which pose for the nature and direction of the struggle a very different course from the neocolonisation of Zimbabwe. Nkomo would now find it rather more difficult to sell to ZAPU militants a repeat of his treacherous secret talks with Smith in August. Further, it makes it that much more difficult for Owen and Vance to sell to the PF an all party conference involving Smith. The most serious spectre facing imperialism is a generalised Southern African conflict, An involvement by South Africa on the side of Smith, by the Cubans on the side of the PF, by the Mozambicans in self-defence, would see the Anglo-American strategy in ruins. Owen's military option would then present itself, for such a generalised confliet throws imperialist interests open to assault by independent mass actions to end exploitation and oppression. Owen has already asserted the willingness and preparedness of the British government to provide a large British armed contingent to lead a United Nations "peace-keeping" force to restore and maintain law and order and to adopt a "humanitarian" role in Zimbabwe. The Nigerian government has committed itself to assist in this endeavour. We know only too well what a UN force did in the Congo in the early 1960s or in Lebanon today. We know, too, as in the recent instances of lan Smith takes target practice at World Pistol Shooting Championships in Salisiury French military intervention in Zaire, that faced by a critical situation, imperialism is capable of acting unilateraily and cureumventing the UN altogether. The imminent collapse of the Smith regime and the threat of a generalised conflict would present such a crisis. Smith may see some diplomatic or military advantage in these cross-border attacks, but he has found no way to combat the struggle within the country. Virtually the whole country up to the outskirts of the main towns is a "no go" area. And even in the urban areas, guerilla actions, mass unrest and strikes are increasing significantly. Internally, the country is in a political quagmire, the internal settlement is floundering and there have been mass desertions from Muzorewa's political base to the liberation movement. The paper changes of the race laws are seen for the fraud they are. In Britain, the Rhodesia crisis poses particular problems. Apart from the threat of imperialist military intervention orchestrated from London, it provides fuel for the racist and fascist fires. These racist and fascist forces have deep links with white Southern Africa, and racist media coverage of events there provide easy propaganda advantages for them. Racist films like 'The Wild Geese" hired killers of the international mercenary fraternity, and together with a carefully orchestrated press campaign to legitimise military intervention, manipulate and prepare British public opinion for the physical destruction of the liberation struggle of the Zimbabwean people. The immigration into Britain by thousands of white Rhodesians (unimpeded by the racial immigration laws) give the fascist organisations a new pool of easy recruits. The examples of the anti-left violence in France and Portugal by returning colonials from Algeria and Angola carry a clear warning. A vigorous campaign against British and any other foreign military intervention in Zimbabwe, against racist bias in the media coverage of events there and in solidarity with the antiimperialist struggle are central and immediate necessities for socialist militants in Britain. A. Dentin