SOUTHERN AFRICA NEWS P.O. BOX 50103 WASHINGTON, D.C. (202) 387-5343 Vol. 1, No. 5 20004 February /March 1980 ANGOLA: The Struggle for Socialist Reconstruction The Revolution renews itself from its best and most beloved children ... This is the meaning of your sacrifice; it will be a living example to be followed ... President Samora Machel Peoples Republic of Mozambique excerpt from "Josina You Are Not Dead" Agostinho Neto, the First President of the Peoples Republic of Angola, died on September 4, 1979 after a long and courageous battle with leukemia. THE MONTH OF MARCH-FOCUS ON ZIMBABWE ZIMBABWE WEEK II - MARCH 9-15 Because of you, $36,000 in medical and educational supplies reached Zimbabwean refugees in 1979. This year, the needs are even greater ... WE MUST DO MORE ... Join the Southern Africa Support Project in building for ZIMBABWE WEEK 1980. For more information contact: Southern Africa Support Project P.O. Box 50103 Washington, D.C. 20004 (202) 387-5343 This Issue ... After four years of independence from Portu­ classes. guese colonialism, the People's Republic of An­ As the liberation movements win more victories, gola remains the target of a systematic pattern of which threaten the stability of South Africa and aggression led by the United States and South Rhodesia, western nations, along with South Africa. Angola and Mozambique are of strategic Africa and Rhodesia increase their aggression importance because both have long borders with against the liberation movements and their allies. the last settler states in Africa. 1 Angola threatens Like Angola, nations such as Cuba, Tanzania, the stability of South Africa because it serves as a Zambia and Mozambique continue to be attacked military base for the Southwest People's Organi­ by western imperialism because they give critical zation (SW APO) just as Mozambique serves as a military, economic and political aid to liberation military base for the Patriotic Front against movements. Rhodesia. Both Angola and Mozambique threaten To strengthen our work in international solidar­ the economic and political hegemony of the West ity, we must focus on the role of countries like and South Africa. In addition, Angola and Angola and Mozambique. An understanding of Mozambique serve as models for creating new the armed struggle and socialist reconstruction societies, because they are organizing their eco­ phases of the revolution helps us better assess the nomic and social development development to political realities and material needs of the people redistribute wealth among the most exploited of Southern Africa. U.S. Imperialist Forces "The MPLA would do well to heed our advice, that campaign to ensure that a "moderate" or even no government can plan the reconstruction in Angola reactionary government would come to power in without United States and Western help. No govern­ Angola. ment can obtain the technical and financial resources During the transition period in 1974-5, the U.S. to stimulate economic development without American moved quickly to prepare for destroying MPLA by consent. In fact, the United States would be quite strengthening the opportunistic forces in Angola. responsive and helpful to a coalition government that Relying on the seventeen-year relationship between was not dependent on the Soviet Union .. " 2 the CIA and Holden Roberto of FNLA, the U.S. The U.S. used diplomatic, economic, and military increased aid to FNLA so they would be militarily aggression in its attempt to derail the Angolan superior to MPLA during the transitional period. 4 revolution. All of the aggressive acts resulted in the They also incorporated UNITA's President Jonas loss of Angolan lives. This pattern of aggression Savimbi into their plans to destroy MPLA.5 From the slowed Angola's economic recovery but it was unable early days ofUNITA, Savimbi had been supported by to break the will of the Angolan people to transform Lonrho (a British/Rhodesian/South African firm). their society. Up until independence, the U.S. gave The U.S. also funded Daniel Chipenda, an ex-member open support to the Portuguese government by: of MPLA who joined in the scheme to crush the • supplying modern weapons to Portugal through MPLA. This forced MPLA to wage a Second War of NATO Liberation against the forces which militarily aligned • giving Portugal loans and credit to subsidize its themselves with South Africa and the U.S. economy, i.e., the Nixon Administration loan of 400 This period was characterized by the following U.S. million dollars acts of aggression against MPLA: • sharing with Portugal's army U.S. military • a secret meeting was held in Cape Verde Islands advisors who specialized in guerilla warfare with the three elements to plot MPLA's destruction6 Despite the diplomatic, economic and military aid •U.S. allies within the 0 AU were urged to advocate given to Portugal, it was suffering military defeats in that MPLA must join with UNITA and FLNA in a all three of its colonies by 1973.3 The unexpected coup "unity" government as a precondition for negotia­ that unseated the Salazar regime in April of 1974 tions with Portugal for the transfer of power7 hastened the end of the colonial period. •the CIA was involved in direct military operations against MPLA • the CIA recruited and financed mercenaries from The CIA's Role: the U.S., France, West Germany and Britain •the CIA, South Africa, and UNITA coordinated When the U.S. saw the moves by the new military the planned invasion of Angola8 jun ta to call ceasefires and set up mechanisms in each • U.S troops were stationed off the harbor of colony for independence, the U.S. stepped up its 2 Luanda, the capital city •Angola was added to the list of countries such as • more than 50 million dollars in weapons and Vietnam and Cuba who are targets of a U.S. supplies were funded to UNITA and FNLA9 economic blockade •the CIA attempted to subsidize the recruitment of •covert support to UNITA was continued for the Black Vietnam veterans to fight alongside purpose of attacking communication and rail lines UNITA 10 • diplomatic pressure was used in an attempt to • the propaganda campaign was intensified force MPLA to reconsider a "unity" government against MPLA by publishing articles in news­ with at least UNIT A papers that made UNITA look like an authentic • pressured for the removal of C_uban troops as a liberation movement representing an ethnic pea­ precondition for the normalization of relations sant base, while characterizing MPLA as a libera­ tion movement made up of Marxist intellectuals and "mulattoes" (those of mixed African and Portu­ The Propaganda War: guese blood) • Boeing was forced to withhold 2 planes already One of the most damaging tactics used by the U.S. paid for by MPLA worth more than $200 million 11 against Angola was the propaganda campaign. The • Gulf Oil was forced to withhold its payment of U.S. media, quoting the administration's cold war taxes to the MPLA-controlled government rhetoric, focused on alleged Soviet expansion in the These acts of aggression would have succeeded in Southern African region. The U.S. government then ousting MPLA had it not been for the international justified its intervention in the region and continued support of Cuba, Nigeria, Guinea Bissau, and the hostility towards Angola by the following actions: Soviet Union. • the characterization of the Cuban presence in Angola as control of MPLA The Diplomatic War: •the characterization of Cuba and the Soviet Union as perpetrators of tension in Southern Africa The Second War of Liberation resulted in the • using the rhetoric of countering communist devastation of every region of the country. Agricul­ expansion to justify U.S. refusal to impose sanc­ tural crops were burned and destroyed,· farm equip­ tions on South Africa for its attacks on SW APO ment was broken, critical infrastructure (bridges, rail refugee camps lines) were destroyed and hospitals and schools were The U.S. still has not given up its goal of forcing damaged. While MPLA faced these tremendous MPLA to become more moderate or forcing it into a pro bl ems, the U.S. led efforts to economically destabil­ military compromise with UNITA. UNIT A and South ize Angola's economy, and used the following tactics: African troops can be dropped into many areas by • Angola's 1976 request for membership into the helicopter for hit and run military operations because United Nations was vetoed which prevented access the legacy of slavery, colonialism and the wars of to aid and credit liberation have depopulated extensive areas in South- MPLA-Workers' Party: Transforming Angola MPLA Workers' Party has taken a hard line result of colonialism the creation or fault of against racism since its First Manifesto in 1956. MPLA. The history of MPLA simply does not From its inception, MPLA as a movement main­ support the allegations as documented in Basil tained that the struggle was against an exploita­ Davidson's book, In The Eye of the Storm. 13 While tive and racist system, and advocated the estab­ MPLA was formed by the revolutionary intelli­ lishment of a democratic people's establishment gensia and urban workers, MPLA has always headed by the working class.12 MPLA had a policy focused on building its base among the peasantry that never excluded or gave priority to any one and working class so that their interests are the racial or ethnic group. primary concern of the Party. But the major criticism leveled against MPLA, As a broad united front prior to 197 4, MPLA was perpetuated by western media, is that MPLA is made up largely of peasants, plantation workers made up of"mulattoes" and "assimiladoes" of one and revolutionary urban intellectuals.