OPPOSE 'U .S. 'RECOONITION OF .'-l'liE lmODESIA '"INTERNAL SETTLEMENT

ON THURSDAY, ~ARCH 29. THE SENATE FOREIGN RELATIONS COM~ITTEE VOTED TO SEND 25-50 OBSERVERS TO THE RHODESIAN ELECTIONS ON APRIL 20TH. U.S. OBSERVERS AT THE ELECTIONS ARE THE FIRST STEP TOWARDS LIFTIN~ THE El'iBARGO ON ALL TRADE WITH ADOPI'ED BY THE UNITED tMTIONS IN 1965. After years of fruitless nep-"otiat10ns, African nationalists in Zirr­ babwe (Rhodesia) launched a war of liberation in 1966 with the sup­ port of themajori ty of Zimbabweans. By rtl8.rch of 1978 the a~vances of the freedom fi~hters han forced , the white Rhones1an President, t.o form what is callen the "Internal Settlement", an at­ tempt to avert the collapse of his reQ;ime by "sharinc:r" power w~th 3 African puppet leaders. The elect10ns are supposed to give the re­ gime legitimacy to the world re~arQless of the fact that most Africa~s consiQer them a sham. If Smith can get the U.S. and Britain to re­ co~nize the regime and lift the sanctions, he can then buy openly the weapons he must now buy secretly. This is un11kely to turn the tide against the guerillas, but it could prolon~ the war.' ."'

The war of national liberation is at a crucial " sta~e m1litar1ly: 90% of the country ts a no-~o area for Smi th' s army. There is a 7prn to 5am curfew on Salisbury's industrial areas where guerillas have attacked oil depots an~ power lines. Wh1te Rhodes1an males be­ tween the ages 50-59 are now be1ng drafted. Althou/l'h the enemy sttll controls the air, about 2 million Zimbabweans live in l1berated areas where the forces of the people's war are buildinlZ' bas1c health aYlr=! educat10nal services, defense, an~ government. • The consti tution of the interYlal settlement wouln protect t-re ecoY!o­ roic and political domination of the white minority and the forei~n corporations over Zimbabweans and their resources. The UN Security Cou~cil has vot.ed to condemn t.he elections as iller;z:itirnate: The black 961 of the population would vote for 72 of 100 seats in the le~isla­ t.ure; the 4% white population would vot.e for all 100 seats, ( ~i~h 2P seats reserved for whites, and would have veto power over constitu­ t.ional chan~es. For at least 10 years t.he civil service, pol~ce, military, and judges appOinted by Smith's Rhooesian Front Party wouln remain the same. As the liberation movement nears victory, the Carter AdministrR.tion must announce support for majority rule at the same time as makirw sure that this does not hurt U.S. economic and stratel2'ic interests; it is lookin~ for a p("o-w~-t neo-colonial solution. Conservatives in Congress are appealing for support to moderates on the issues of 1) U.S. need for critical materials, and 2} competition between t.he U.S. and the Soviet Union. They are beginnin~ their fi~th fi~ht a­ ~ainst the sanctions.

Senator (R-N.C.), a long-time enemy of the civil ri~hts movement, led the recent attempts to lift the embargo. In June, 1978. an amennment to unconditionally lift the sanctions failed by only 6 votes. ONE MONTH LATER 'l' HE CASE-JAVI't'S Al':ENDMENT PA SSED • IT REQUI RES 'T'HE PRESIDENT TO LIFT THE EMBA EGO IF: 1) THE INTER~AL SE;'1'TLEM~T'T' RE­ GIME AGREES TO AN ALL-PARrY CONFERENCE, AND 2) FREE ELECTIOt'rS OPEN TO ALL HAVE BEEN HELD UNDER INTERNArrIONAL OBSERVATION. Senat.e conser­ vatives are alreaoy tryin~ to prove t.hat the internal settleme~t ~o­ vernment meets the reqUirements of the Case-Javits amendment; cer­ tainly vot.ing to send observers to the elections 1s a necessary step towards IDeetin~ the second condition. IN REALITY, THE U.S. AND ITS WESTEIiN ALLIES HAVE AID'lED THE SMI'!'H RE­ GIME BY JflASSIVE VIOLATIONS OF THE EMBARGO FOR YEARS. RHODESIA ffi\S RECEIVED AMERICAN HUEY HELICOPI'ERS AND MIRAGE BO~i BERS ASSEMBLED Ir-r ITALY WHICH ARE DELIVERED THROUGH SOUTH AFRICA. FIVE WESTERN OLL CO}1PANIES MAKE CRUCIAL DELIVERIES TO RHODESIA THROUGH SOUTH AFRICAN SUBSIDIARIES--NOBIL. CALTEX(TEXACO) ,ROYAL DUTCH SHELL, BRITISH PE- TROLEUN, AND TOTAL (FRENCH). THE CIA AND US ARMY RECRUIT NERCENARIES FROM THE US TO LEAD AND TRAIN THE SMITH AIDIT. IAN SI'iITH WAS GRA~JTED A VISA TO VISIT WASHINGTON WHILE THE RHODESIAN AID1Y LAUNCHED A ATTACK ON CIVILIAN REFUGEES IN . LIFTING THE EMBARGO WOULD INCREASE THE ARMS SUPPLY ANv OPEN UP US MILITARY OPTIONS. We must be prepared in 1979 to challenge moves in Congress to lift sanctions a~ainst RhodeSia. Tanza~iats PreSident Julius Nyerere, who once supported the Anglo-American settlement plan, says if t.he United States lifts sanctions against RhodeSia, "the Unitec'! States will have jOined the enemy. We shall fig:ht them." ------The Medical Drive (PO Box 18753--Seattle--9811P) is a group of Zimbabweans and Americans who are raisin~ money for Zimbabwean refu~ees anr freedom _ fi~hters of the Patriotic Fr-ont. This pamphlet was written by the Ec'iuca- . tion Committee of the ZHD.