Masses Ready to Act

In 1890 a group of British soldiers and 'explorers! hoisted the Union Jack at a point on the plateau that rises south of the Zambesi River which they called Fort Salisbury. Exactly 90 years later, this 17 April, that flag was lowered forever as Zimbabwe became an independent state. With the British flag will also pass the worst aspects of almost a century of pillage, exploitation and the vicious rule of 97 percent of the country's population by a tiny minority.-- the white Europeans.

COMMERCIAL ORIGINS Founded as a going commercial concern by Cecil Rhodes, ‘the British Central Africa Company became a, ‘country! in 1923: the colony of Rhodesia. For the next 57 years its British colonialists carved out the best land for themselves and established a booming economy based on the cheap labour and disenfranchisement of the despised black African.

As waves of nationalism and decolonization swept Africa 20 years ago, southern Africa stood out asa bastion of European reaction. Here imperialism was prepared to fight to maintain its stranglehold. To hold its direct imperial control, capitalism reduced the native population to near slavery by brute force and some of the most degrading racial laws in history.

BREAKTHROUGH IN 1975 The first victory over this system was in 1975 with the defeat of Portuguese colonialism and South African arms that gave independence to Angola and Mozambique. From then the days of the breakaway white settler regime of Smith in Rhodesia were numbered.

Since 1972 an armed struggle has been waged in the Zimbabwean coun-— tryside against Smith's state. It became clear to Rhodesia!s imperialist backers that some sort of settlement had to be reached to buy off the black population. Every trick was utilized to find a safe accomodation without sacrificing white power and privilege. The victory of Robert Mugabe!s Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) announced after the elections on 4 March has destroyed the chance of such an accomodation.

ZANU VICTORY The stakes were high. But despite the intimidation, the open attacks against Mugabe himself, the effort to discredit and even ban ZANU, the threats of a coup by Rhodesian whites and the military presence of South Africa, the Zimbabwean masses themselves voted for self-determination. The 'marxist terrorist! so loathed by white Africa is now Prime Minister.

ZANU stunned all observers (except of course Zimbabweans themselves) by securing 63 per cent of the black vote. The puppet bishop Muzorewa, despite his roaming 25,000 thugs, was eliminated along with the other stooge Sithole. After all the trickery and manipu-.-_ lation American and British imperialism have been forced reluctantly to greet an independent Zimbabwe mobilized on a mass basis behind the liberation forces who brought down both the settler regime of Smith and the quisling one of Muzorewa, The first prerequisite for any oppressed country has been fulfilled -- self—determination for the people themselves. As such we, as socialists, can only welcome the enormous victory of ZANU. This is particularly so as the victory of the Zimbabwean people will be an inspiration to anti-imperialists in ihe rest of the region, particularly in Namibia and in South Africa itself. Already solidarity meetings and celebrations have been held in Soweto, outside Johannesburg.

WHITES STILL A THREAT However there are grave difficulties ahead. White settlers still hold an absurd 20 percent of the tarily as it did in Angola. GOING FORWARD complete.

ALAN BRUCE ° seats in Parliament, and, more importantly, retain control of the Civil Service, industry, agriculture and the former Rhodesian armed forces. South Africa has publicly warned Mugabe not to go 'too far! or it will intervene mili-Yet the myth of white supremacy is us, badly damaged among the masses, And the masses of Zimbabwe will not be content with Mugabe's rhetoric or promises of slow and careful progress. Already widespread strikes in industries in Salisbury, Gwelo and Umtali, have demanded better wages and working conditions and faster movement towards the Africanization of the state. These strikes represent a serious threat to any attempts by the new government to negotiate away the hard- STUDIO. won gains of the people themselves.

The right of the Zimbabwean people to full civil liberties, the nationa—lisation of land and its distribution to the peasants and the free determination, without prior limits, of the economic and social structure of the country is absolute. This right must be supported by the in-, ternational workers movement.

So while all progressive forces hail the victory of Zimbabwe a note of caution must be sounded. An important advance has been made. But the struggle will not be over until white supremacy and racism are ‘completely rooted out. And that will not be done until the workers and peasants of Zimbabwe take power into their own hands, carry through the revolution in their Own country and provide support to the masses in South Africa itself in the final push against imperialism in the region. Only when self-determination and independence has been extended from Beit Bridge to Cape Town will the victory of ZANU on 4 March be