ZiMBAWE

ZiMBAWE NEWS Nde Yedu : We Are Our Own Liberators: Izimbabwe Nge Yethu PRICE:5n VOL.3,No.22 DECEMBER 7,1968 REPORT FROM SALISBURY REMAND PRISON: PUNISHING NDABANINGI SITHOLE On November 20,1968, a squad of atleast five white C.I.D.(Special Branch) detectives entered Salisbury Remand Prison and invaded cells occupied by six ZANU leaders President Ndabaningi Sithole, Vice-President Leopold Takawira, Secretary-General , Deputy SecretaryGeneral Edison Zvobgwo, Publicity Secretary Edson Sithole, Youth Secretary Morton Malianga and Central Committee member Maurice Nyagumbo. They strip-searched all six and took away all letters and documents. Later, they brought back warrants, ordering the removal from Salisbury prison of Ndabaningi Sithole and Maurice Nyagumbo who were secretly driven to the dark-celled jail at the Goromonzi police charge office Where they now await charges of conducting "subversive" activities from their Salisbury prison cells. It is not without significance that the action against President Sithole and Maurice Nyagumbo should take place only thirteen days after our leader's meeting with Thomson and after, he had bluntly rejected Anglo-'s "Fearless" Proposals. But what clearly emerges out of all this is: (1) By deliberately harrassing President Sithole and framing up charges against him, the British imperialists and their white settle' agents in Rhodesia are telling the world what it.has known all along, namely, that in Ndabaningi Sitholethey have a most formidable revolutionary adversary. The plot is to get ZANU leaders out of the way qo that they cannot prevent the smooth implementation of the "Fearless'! Deal in about mid-1969; (Z) By his great revolutionary activities even under conditions of imprisonment Sithole has been in Salisbury prison since August,1964 - excepting a six months restriction at Sikombela in 1965), Ndwtbaningi Sithole has proved beyond ted and Published by: Zimbabwe African National Union. PQ Box 2331, Lusaka, ZAMBIA, stered at the General Post Office as a Newspaper. DECEMBER 7,1968 doubt who the real revolutionary leader of the Zimbabwe people is - Ndabaningi Sithole. Unfortunately there are still a few people at home and abroad who for some reason or other, even when the facts are so bear, prefer illusions to reality. The truth, especially revolutionary truth, annoys them: They insist on believing what ought to have been rather than what is. CHIMURENGA: STRIKING AT ENEMY PROPERTY Wars of national liberation involve fighting the enemy on atleast three fronts. These are the military front, whose aim is to destroy the enemy's oppressive instruments of power - the army and police, for example , ond _the ecaonomic and political fronts .which are equally impor-tant. -'If these are left intact, especially the enemyls power base the economy -the war may take longer than is necessary to achieve the desired result. Accordingly, all seasoned experts of guerrilla warfare recognise economic sabotage as a vital part of armed struggle. Sabotage may involve the derailing of a train or the blowing up of electric installation for example. In this case the value of sabotage has both an economic and military value. But sabotage can also be restricted to purely economic targets, such as the disruption of the enemy's agricultural industry, by killing his livestork and burning his crops. In any case sabotage as a special branch of guerrilla warfare plays a vital role in determining whether or not an armed struggle succeeds. In Zimbabwe this vital role of sabotage behind the enemy's lines was recognised sinme the very beginning of our armed struggle: atleast five goods trains have been derailed, 30 chain stores burned down, 6 smaller bridges blown up and thousands of pounds worth of tobacco crops have been destroyed since the beginning of this year. has akenthe Of Lately sabotage has taken the form poisoning white settler farmers' livestork or just driving them away for deliberate slaughter. For example, in the last three months more than 200 heard of white farmers' cattle have either been slaughtered or put to other use by peasants in the Marirangwe, Mhondoro, Sipolilo and Buhera districts. One Waterfalls farmer alone estimates he has lest £475 in cattle "thefts"and a certain Ernest Brown claims that his 25,000 acre farm has been cleared of virtuallZall ito Hereford cows by "thievej ZIMBABWE NEWS, Page 2.

DECEMBER 7,1968 117 IN DEATH CELLS A total of 117 Zimbabwe freedom-fighters are presently locked up in Rhodesia's death cells, waiting for hanging orders from the fascist "Minister Administering the Government", Clifford Dupont. It is known that the only reason Dupont continues to sit on his death orders is because of the behind-the-scenes negotiations that are going on between Salisbury and London on the Fearless Deal. Apparently, few in Salisbury's fascist circles expect Dupont to authorise immediate hanging because it is feared that any hangings at the moment may jeopardise Harold Wilson's chances of successfully preparing the British public to accept his Fearless Deal with white Rhodesia. However, it is expected that Dupont will hang some of the freedom-fighters after the Commonwealth Prime Ministers Conference, if only to demonstrate white Rhodesia's "7independenceli. Meanwhile about 35 more freedom-fighters have been sentenced to imprisonment terms ranging from 15 years to life. Four were sentenced to death. During the trials in Salisbury and Bulawayo over the past three weeks, ZANLA members showed unprecedented courage and bravery. One youth told "Judge" Julian Greenfield of the white fascist "High Court" that the claims of white settlers that Zimbabwe was as much their country as it was African were pitifully childish. A child born in a hospital, he pointed out, cannot claim ownership of that hospital on account of having been born there. A 19 year old member of ZANLA(our military wing) said that he would willingly offer himself for death by burning if he thought that would contribute to the liberation of Zimbabwe. "The war will not end until the African is free", he added. Revolution meant a war leading to freedom and the Zimbabwe African National Union was fighting such a war as directed by its imprisoned President, Ndabaningi Sithole. "To achieve national and economic independence ZANU must use the barrel of a gun. We are not fighting for money like mercenaries and traitors, but for the liberation of our motherland. I came to fight to free four million Africans from exploitation of man by man", another youth told the "Judge" in the Bulawayo "High Court". ZIMBABVIE NEWS, Page 3.

SHORTENED VERSION OF PRESIDENT SITHOLE'S POINT-BY-POINT REJECTION OF THE ANGLO-RHODESIAN "FEARLESS" PROPOSALS ZIMBABhIE WAS, is and shall always be an African country in an African Continent. It is the ancestral home and the natural heritage of the African people of whom the present and living five millions are the proud, exclusive and true heirs. The African people of this country must-enjoy their inalienable right to self- determination like other nations and peoples of the world. The British Government have, however, since 1923 pursued a policy directed toward the granting of independence to the white settler minority in Zimbabwe, thereby seeking to consumate yet another Union of South Africa. Currently they propose to grant independence to the 220,000 white settlers in this country on the basis of the 1961 Constitution as amended by the Fearless Proposals, in defiance of the principld stated above .... We hold and reiterate: l.That the 1961 Constitution having been rejected by the five million Africans of Zimbabwe upon the sound and true reason that it represents the negation of the rights and heritage of the African people cannot be made the basis of an independence constitution; 2.That the only acceptable constitution for Zimbabwe is one based on the principle of ONE MAN ONE VOTE free and unfettered by any artificial educational# income, property or other discriminatory device or contrivance; 3.That no racial, ethnic, religious or other class or group of persons in Zimbabwe must claim or be granted any special privilege under the Constitution, be it social, political, economic or otherwise, solely on account of their race, religion etc., save that the fundamental law shall guarantee and protect the universally acknowledged individual human rights; and 4.That consistent with the foregoing, the legislature must cempxise electoral seats elected by all citizens who fulfil citizenship and residence qualifications on a common roll based on the principle of universal adult suffrage. Z IMBABW E NEWS, DECEMBER 7,1968 Page 4.

FEARLESS: NO MAJORITY RULE THIS SIDE OF THE YEAR A.D.2000L ------BY CLAIRE PALLEY Originally published in the "GUARDIAN", London ------Mr. Wilson has quoted a period of seven to 15 years to give Africans majority rule in Rhodesia, under the Fearless settlement. These predictions cannot be based on any foundation of fact, and even if it is possible to write adequate safeguards into a proposed Constitution the period is more likely to be 30-35 years at the very earliest. Assuming that African Secondary education to "0"(4 years of high school) level is accelerated both during and after the 10 year period of British aid, assuming also that all Africans who receive the requisite education will earn the requisite salary for the franchise qualifications, predictions as to the earliest possible date on which majority rule could occur can be made. AtpLresent less than 2000 Africans per annum attain the educational qualifications.But let us assume that 4,000 per annum qualify for each of the next 10 years(lO0 per cent increase in output), 6,000 per annum for the next ten years thereafter(50 per cent increase), 8,000 per annum for the next ten years(33.per cent increase), and 10,000 p.a. thereafter(25 per cent increase). EUROPEANS It must be remembered that the European(white settler) education system currently produces over 4,000 school leavers all of whom would be educationally or financially qualified for the franchise. But it is assumed that it will remain steady in output, and that European immigration and emigration will balance each other so that no additional European voters can accrue from the latter source.(In fact there was a net increase of 5,000 Europeans last year). On this basis there should be the same number of Europeans and Africans lified 004,i.e.240000 each ignorinfan _ deaths. THE B ROLL Since school leavers will only acquire the vote at age 21 there will, however, be a five-year delay before their registration, so that only in AD 2009 will! the A roll electorate be equal. (continued on pqge 6) ZIMBABVIE NEWS, DECEMBER 7,1968 Page 5.

(continued from page 5) The B Roll franchise must also be considered. At present persons over 30 with an income of £132 p.a. and completion of primary education may vote for 15 out of 65 members. The Fearless proposals suggest that the B roll franchise be extended to include all Africans over 30, and that the seats they control be increased to 17 out of 67 seats. The Africans alreadN control the B Roll seats and to extend the B Roll franchise has no si~gnificance. B Roll voters do, however, have some influence by reason of cross voting provisions for the 33 A seats which will effectively control parliament. DELIMITATION Assuming that all B Roll voters are African, that they exercise their voting privileges fully, that they vote solidly for African nationalist candidates as against Europeans, and that all African A Roll voters vote similarly, it will be 1989 (in fact 1994 taking the five-year age time lag factor into account) before Africans could by the narrowest of margins possibly win a majority of the 33 A Roll seats that control parliament. At this stage 5,492 votes would give a majority of one in an A Roll seat if these were of equal size(i.e. l0,983)while if African voters were equally distributed there would be 5,529 African A and effective B Roll votes in each seat. This ignores the insidious delimitation yriie which was devised on HMS Tiger by Sir Hu~h Beadle and was confirmed on Fearless. The Delimitation Commission is to divide the A Roll seats so that the proportion of seats with a majority of African voters on the A Roll is the same as the proportion of African voters to those on the A Roll for the country as a whole. The effect of this instruction is initially to secure something akin to proportional representation for Africans, but later it will cause African majorities to be built up in those constituencies allocated to Africans. Their majority margins must be built up so that votes will be wasted without being evenly spread over the whole country. It will result in a 10-year postponement of possible African majority rule. AFRICANS GROUPED The reason for this is that the Delimitation Commission must see that African voters are grouped together to get a share of the 33 A Roll seats proportionate to the number of African A Roll voters as against the total A Roll. To secure a majority the Delimitation Commission would reasonably provide for a margin of about 10 per cent of the total number of votes which can be cast in the constituency. To provide for a much smaller safety margin would result in departure from its instructions to secure a proportion of seats with African majority. The result of building up majoritie in this way will be to leave fewer African A Roll votes in the pool of voters to be spread throughout the remaining constituencies. EARLIEST DATE The consequences will be that African A Roll votes, even when added to the full potential B vote, will not come near a majority in any of the remaining A Roll constituencies. Aiei' AD 1999 is the earliest date on which there could be AfricanA Si teA Roll constituencies n ot speciall,~delimited to secure suc-h maLq ri ties. If ag7 rctors(i.e. discrepancy between attaining education al qualifications and age 21) are taken into account, AD 2004 is the first possible date for an. African majority, i.e. 35 years hence. If the Commission works on the basis of a margin of 5 per cent in majority seats, it would be 1994, and with age factor taken into account, AD 1999 at the earliest before Africans could obtain a majority in the Legislative Assembly., Page 6 ZIMBABWE NEWS, DECEMBER 7,1968