Voicesof African Liberation
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VOICESOF AFRICAN LIBERATION . POEM OF THE FUTURE CITIZEN by Jos~ Craveirinha I came from somewhere from a Nation which does not yet exist. I came and I am here! Not I alone was born nor you nor any other .•• but brothers. I have love to give in handfuls. Love of what I am and nothing more • . I have a heart and cries which are not mine alone I come from a country which does not yet exist. Ahl I have love in plenty to give of what I am. ' II A man among many citizen of a Nation which has yet to exist. \ . ,f_,'\ reprint at will! the contents belong to all people ' The Committee of Returned Volunteers (CRV) is made up of people who have served overseas, mainly in the Third World, and who have had a chance to see u.s. foreign poiicy in action. They have come to realize that this policy works for forces that maintain the status quo of wealth and privilege for the few and poverty and ignorance for the manyo This policy must be radically changed, both at home and abroad. Committee of Returned Volunteers .. '... (National Office) 840 w. Oakdale-Ave. Chicago, Illinois 60657 CRV/DC CRV/NY Box 12014 Africa Group Mid-City Station 65 Irving Pl. Washington, DC 20005 New York, N.Y. 10003 Contents AN INTBOWCTION TO THE MOVEMENTS. oo South At'r1oa .-- ANC •••••••••••••••• PAC•••••••••••••••• Zimbabwe ZA.PU •••• 0 • . •••• 0 ••• 0 10 ZANUo••••••••••••••l2 Na111ibia SWAPOo•••••••••••••12 'Angola -------• MFLAoo•••••••••••••l5 UNITAo•••••••••••••l6 GBAE •• • ••• • o •• • ••• • 17 . ' Mozambique ---- FBEL!Mo.~ •••••••••• l9 Guinea Bissau - ·PAIGC••••••••••••••23 NYEREREI JUSTICE DEMAN.OO WE CB:)OSE •••••••••• 27 MOVEMENT PUBLICATIONS AND ADDBESSES •••••••••• 27 FILMS ••• • •• • • • • •. o ••••• o • • • • • •••••• 28 GROUPS • •••••••••~- •••• 41! • • • .• ••• • •• • ••• 28 BIBLIOGRAPHY. ·••••••• ! • ••••••••••••• 2 9 Preface For some of the African liberation groups there is much literature available; for others there is very little. In these selections we wanted to include a recent piece from every major liberation group irrespective of political analysis (the exception is SWANU; we were unable to g~t anything in time for publication). We have also tried to include Selections which reflect what the struggles mean to those fighting to liberate their countries. We felt it was important to include some of the less well-known pieces on life in the liberated • areas. Therefore material concerned with the rat1onale.for armed struggle, the history of oppression in each country, conflicts between groups, and the ways that corporate and military imperialism supports the repressive. w'hite regimes has generally not been included. -----------------------~~~~~~~~======~ C 0 N G 0 - ANGOLA How can we tell you the size of our dream? During centuries we waited that a Messiah might free us •• . Until we understood. Today our Revolution is a great flower to which each day new petals are added. The petals are the land reconquered, the people freed, the fields cultivated, CAPE schools and hospitals. PROVINCE Our dream has the size of Freedom. ' Popu I a tion AFRICANS WHITES MIXED ASIANS ANGOLA 5,528,000 .352,400* 50,000 MOZAMBIQUE 7.176,000 165,000* .3 6,000 GUINEA 6-800,000 a few thousand* ? 500,000 95,000 15,500 NAMIBIA., · :;- · · : ~ ZIMBABWE 5,000,000 26o 1ooo --------25,000-------- SOUTH AFRICA 14 ~ 900,000 .3.779,000 2,000,000 614,000 *does not include soldiers 2 AN INTRODUC-TION TO THE MOVEMENTS The list of liberation movements in all of tle is known of PAC's current military activities, Southern Africa is long and sometimes confus except its belief in the necessity of internal ing. But as time passes, it is clear that some armed action (as opposed to external alliances). groups are mo re active and maintain more popu lar support than others. The six movements II. ZIMBABWE .e.mphasized here are among those which are rec "'>-"·· ognized by the Organization 'of African Unity and therefore receive OAU funds; they are groups Allied with ANC in Zimbabwe (temporarily ·I:n which have been linked together through formal Smith's Rhodesia), is the Zimbabwe African Peoples and informal alliances; they are all groups which Union. The tactics of ZAPU and ANC are for the have active u~derground networks within their time being similar. ZAPU militants escort their countries; and they ar.e all groups which have be ANC counterparts through Zimbabwe; at the same gun military struggle. ~ time they develop bases and arms for future use and generate loc!_l.l support. ZAPU/ANC military The six groups are the ANC ' (African National Con engagements have not been reported extensively gress) of South Africa, ZAPU (Zimbabwe African since the beginning of this year. In January Peoples Union), SWAPO (South West Africa Peoples they attacked a South A:(rican "police 11 camp in Organization), MPLA · (People~ Movement for the the Zambesi Valley, damaged some buildings at the Liberation of •. Angola), FRELIMO (the Mozambique Victoria Falls Airport and l:Jlew up a railway line.· Liberation Front), and PAIGC (the African Party Two weeks later they fought Rhodesian and South for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde). African soldiers. Since then seven of the guer rillas allegedly involved in those actions have been captured by the Rhodesians; six were con I. SOUTH AFRICA demned to death, and the seventh was given life imprisonment, The total number of ZAPU fighters The oldest of the six, the ANC, was formed in .is about 2000; its interim President with head 1912 in South Afri·ca. Under . the leadership of quarters in Lusaka is James Chikerema. Joshua men like Chief Albert Luthuli, the_ ANC clung to Nkomo, its founder and President, has already principles pf non-violence until the Sharpeville been detained over five years in a remote rural Massacre in 1960. In 1961 Umkonto We Sizwe ." prison camp, never having been tried for any (Spear of the Nation.), a small group whose pur crime. pose was sabotage, was formed within the ANC, and the whole party gradually faced up to the Less current information is available on the act inevitability of violent struggle. In the last ivities or· ZANU (Zimbabwe ,African National Union), few years, ANC, its leadership either for~ed to the other Rhodesian liberation movement . ZANU's flee the country, or detained in prison (Nelson , emphasis is on sabotage and it.· cla.ims to have cut Mandela is incarcerated on Robben Island; .Oliver the rail ·lines to Durban three times and to be Tambo, the Acting President-General, has external currently active in organizing in urban centers. headquarters in Tanzania), has adopted tactics ZANU' s founder; Ndabani.nghi Si thole, also long of slow infiltration of the country by trained detained without trial, was finally sentenced in exiles in order to establish "reactivable" mili February 1969 to six years hard labor for alleg tary bases and communication lines. The move edly organizing a plot against the life of Ian ment is also aligned with ZAPU and engaged· since Smith. ZANU's 1eader in exile is Herbert Chitepo. 1967 in guerrilla warfare on Zimbabwean soil. 'Although the ANC sees the time as not yet ripe, · III . · ?.J NAMIBIA it is gradually preparing the African pq~ulation ·' of South Africa for guerilla warfare through poli Namibia is a country almost unknown to the world tical education and propaganda. For example, (except in some circles ~ for its mineral wealth); "leaflet bombs " periodically explode in South whatever occurs t here is virtually unheard of African cities. In the most recent instance, anywhere else. But ~ according to the South African ~ugus~ 13 and 1~;-1970, there were . seven such Minister of Interior and Police, about 2000 ANC explosions in five major cities. Taped messages and SWAPO guerrillas entered Namibta and South from ANC leaders and revoluti'onary 'songs rang Africa in the first few months of 1969 . SWAPO out from hidden tape recorders while people hast had actually launched its armed struggle in Aug ily picked up the leaflets which explained the ust 1966. · Because of the bare vast ness of the necessity of armed struggle and contained .some Namibian terrain, it is impossible for SWAPO to rudimentary instructions in guerilla weaponry. establish bases as ZAPU and ANC do. SWAPO is instead forced to employ hit and run techniques The other major revolutionary movement in South mostly in the area of the Caprivi Strip and the Africa is the PAC (Pan Africahist Gongress). PAC Okavango area in the North-West. At present the split off from the ANC in 1959, claiming that the South African forces deny that there is any guer~ latter was dominated by non-Africans, especially rilla activity in Namibia, but their p resence is members of the Communist Party, and doubting the confirmed by occasional lea.ks of information about commitment of the non-Africans to the kind of dras- dead and wounded police and soldiers. In t he last tic changes which would be necessary in order to few months troops have been strengthened in the destroy the systP. m of apartheid. 1963 marked the North and posters offering a reward of $1,400 -for emergen<-e o!' J:'oga ('We stand alone'), a small "ter- the capture of one of the guerrilla fighters ·have rorist' group which was associated with.- the PAC. been circulated in villages and towns. As with PAC 1 s leadership is also either in prison (PAC Pres-the other groups, SWAPO ' s effectiveness has been ident Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe, detai.ned .until harshly reduced by the imprisonment of dozens of last year on Robben Island, is now under house ar- its , leaders. Its exile leadership is based in rest in Kimberley, South Africa) or in exile.