At the end of March Queen Elizabeth is scheduled to visit the island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean. As is shown by this article, sent to us by a socialist activist in Mauritius, this royal visit has a purpose similar to that underiving the recent visit to Thailand-to divert public attention away from the ever-intensifving internal contradictions in that country.
Since this article was written, the police have closed down the headquarters of the Movement Militant Mauricien in Quatre Bones and the offices of their trade union organisation in the capital, Port Lows, on the grounds that they A State of Emergency was declared in Mauritius last December. The coalition government under Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam at the same time suspended two sections of the constitution relating to protection of right to personal liberty and protection from discrimination on the grounds of race. caste, place of origin, political opinions. colour or creed. Faced with mounting social unrest and a general strike, the government aided and abetted by the British government. chose to dig in its heels, and rule by repression. Since then, arbitrary arrest of political opponents and of trade union leaders have become increasingly frequent; thirteen trade unions have been suspended: the daily paper Le Militant, voice of the Movement Militant Mauricien. has been banned and the press in general is under strict censorship: laws of exception favouring employers have been proclaimed: all gatherings of five or more people for other than for social or religious purposes as well as public meetings are not allowed throughout the island: searches and raids are being effected without warrant: passports of M.M.M. leaders have been with. drawn including that of Dev Virahsawmy. an elected member of Parliament and the Secretary-General of the M.M.M., who was due to leave for Europe and Africa in January on an information tour. 1967 to 1972 The coalition government was formed in October 1969 and brought together the two main political parties of that time: the Labour Party (P.T.) of Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam and the Parti Mauricien Social Democrate (P.M.S.D.) of Mr. Gaetan Duval. today Minister for Foreign Affairs in the coalition government.
The way to the coalition was paved by Michel Debre's visit in 1968 and Princess Alexandra's in September 1969; the alliance was sealed against the wish of the people. At the last general elections in 1967, the Labour Party had campaigned for the indepandence of Mauritius against the PMSD, which was for 'association" with Great Britain. The Labour Party won the elections but the P.M.S.D. with 44 per cent of the votes, continued its campaign against independence and boycotted independence celebrations in March 1968. In fact, these "celebrations' had to take place in the presence of a peace-keeping detachment of British troops, as there had been violent racial riots between muslims and "creoles' of African descent in January 1968.
One must bear in mind that from the 50's to 1967, all political parties in Mauritius had been organised mainly on a 'communal"
basis. Thus the PMSD represented the interests of estate owners of French descent and of "creoles'. The Labour Party was predominantly hindu The Comite d'Action Musulman (CAM) claimed to represent the interests of muslims in the Island. In 1967 the CAM had joined forces with the Labour Party against the PMSD. These various parties served the interests of the monied classes in were 'still being used for subversive activities. On 25 January it also became known that the Mauritian Ombudsman. Swedish Judge Gunnar Lindh, had tendered his resignation to the Prime Minister. explaining that it had become impossible for him to carry out his duties because of government interference. This followed an earlier incident in July, 1971, when the Prime Minister had asked Lindh to resign and he had refused, citing the international aspects of the problem and then writing to bring it to the attention of the Commonwealth Office.
each community. but it was the working class that paid the price for "communalism' (as is termed this multiple-headed racism') in the 1968 in the constitutency of Sir Seewoosagur race riots. In 1965 there had already been violent clashes between hindus and "creoles" that time.
In 1969-therefore it was coalition, very soon after, the parties in the government resorted to repression against the duped nation and the new opposition that manifested itself in that same year The General Elections which were due to be held in 1972 were postponed to 1976 after a rather dubious amendment to the constitution. At the beginning of 1970, the government started attacking the Trade Unions and the Press. Public gatherings were prohibited and arbitrary arrests followed. On the 30th December 1970, the notoriously repressive "Public Order Act" was voted in. The henchmen of the PMSD became a parallel police force. Trade Unionists were subject to intimidation. The Municipal Elections which were due to be held in January 1972 were also postponed. In August, a strike in Public Translic meetings, active 'cells" in towns and villages, its daily newspaper Le Militant; and at the same time Trade Unions were joining forces in the MMM controlled General Workers Federation.
The MMM manifesto can be summarised as follows:
Internally: Class struggle replacing racial divisions; economic social and cultural decolonisation; agrarian reforms and workers control; mobilisation of the masses and popular demoExternally: Fight against neo-colonisation, for a true independence: commitment with progressive and socialist third-world countries, stand against South Africa........
THE ROLE OF SOUTH AFRICA AND GREAT BRITAIN It is a fact that if the coalition government has survived the events of last December and continues to rule by repression, it is due to the support given to it by the British government. Already in 1965, Sir Seewoosagur had "bartered' a group of small islands (Diego-Garcia) to the British government, in exchange for 'his" independence. Diego Garcia is today an Anglo-American base........
Then independence was granted in March 1968 under the watchful bayonets of British troops. During Princess Alexandra's visit in September 1969, 18 members of the MMM were jailed. On September 22nd 1970, the day on which the MMM by-election victory was announced, the Government was asking, unsuccessfully, for the help of Britesh and French troops to control the popular uprising. In January 1971, the Government banned a peaceful demonstration protesting against the visit of President Banda-the MMM however defied the ban. Still in January 1971, Gaetan Duval, Minister for Foreign Affairs, offered a military base to Great Britain.
In May 1971, on one of his visits to South Africa, Mr. Duval was more than ever advo cating "dialogue' with Pretoria. In June 1971 at the OAU summit conference, Mauritius voted in favour of "dialogue ......
Last November, Britain insisted that the Mauritian coalition government buy back certain harbour facilities in Mahebourg. in the south of the island, which it had been sold to a company 'under Russian control". It seemed as if Sir Seewoosagur had on this occasion, "bartered" Mahebourg for the support of the British last December and the repression that followed.
Great Britain is in fact omnipresent in Mauritius; Britishers are at the head of the administration, the Police Security services and armed forces- the advisor to the government on security is also English. In the context of its East of Suez policy and the Simonstown Agreement, arms sales to South Africa and Russian penetration into the Indian Ocean, it seems as if Great Britain has decided to turn Mauritius into a miniSingapore for military and strategic purposes. South Africa has found in Gaetan Duval a choice ally and is investing more and more capital in Mauritius. The links between some "whites' of Mauritius and South Africa are well known........
The United States, who already have a base in Diego Garcia, announced earlier this month that the "Seventh Fleet' would become more active in the Indian Ocean. The paranoid attitude of the U.S. to Socialism' in Tanzania, Somalia or Aden is well known and the U.S. government sees red when they think of Chinese 'penetration' into East Africa...... France,on the other hand, has vested interests in Reunion, Comores Islands and Madagascar and her sale of arms to South Africa has now surpassed that of Britain. In Mauritius, France has previously totally identifieditself with the person of Gaetan Duval, but at the moment séems to maintain diplomatic distance with the coalition government. Mauritius is thus directly threatened by the South African 'Buffer State" policy and is already fighting British "Neo Colonisation'. The possibility of South Africa, Britain, the United States and Portugal joining up forces in this region is increasing all the time, and one can well imagine their reaction to the idea of an MMM government in Mauritius. For the time being, it is internal repression. The MMM, for its part, is preparing itself to face two eventualities: either the coalition government decides or finds itself forced to hold General Elections in 1972, as prescribed by the constitution-or that the repressive measures increase. In the meantime, the immediate objectives are to alert opinion in Africa and the world as regards the situation in Mauritius and this region of the world.
-A Mauritian Socialist