Two images of After anxiety in the bourgeois press that the Geneva constitutional conference on Zimbabwe might break down, the Patriotic Front delegation has made clear its desire to continue the conference.
has brought the splits between the African nationalist leaders into the open.
their readiness to back down.
Cuba to Santo Guyana, perialism slavourne caud with the least social base inside Zimshoot and the Patriotic Front Emergency oress baulked at any further compromise.
WHICH Mugabe's this apparently However, neo-colonial The dispute over the independence date able form.
position of all the nationalist delegations TASK was for a 12 month timetable, as opposed to the 15 month minimum proposed by the British. But the delegations of Bishop Muzorewa and Rev. Sithole have shown The Smith Government has stated that it will be quite happy to continue negotiating with these two, and Sithole in parti- DaDWe. cular has found a place as British imUnfortunately for them he is the nationalist leader Zimbabwean people.
But the 'no compromise position of - led by Robert Mugabe (ZANU) and Joshua Nkomo (ZAPU) — is hardly principled politics either. Already a 12 month independence timetable is 12 months longer than that demanded by the Zimbabwean guerillas.
It is with this in mind that Mugabe, the most radical of the leaders at Geneva, has Africa.
more moderate partner, Nkomo, is being dragged along behind in ZAPU spokesperson has announced: "There is no question of a walk-out. We do not want to cripple the conference.' Indeed both Nkomo and Mugabe have committed themselves to a solution which means that they have to stay until they can deliver the goods to the Zim babwean people in an apparently acceptIn this context it remains the central task of revolutionaries to demand the boycott of a conference which can only continue imperialist domination in ZimThe Zimbabwean people hav shown that they do not accept the neocolonial 'timetables' for independence. The slogan must be "Majority Rule Now', based on a Constituent Assembly of the In the same week that the Sunday Times revealed details of how US imperialism plans to get its greedy hands on Namibia's wealth, black workers have struck against a major representative of British business interests in southern Damara workers at the Rossing Uranium mine in Namibia, partly owned by Rio Tinto Zinc, have gone on strike against their sub-human working conditions. Despite management attempts to make out that it was a 'minor food dis pute, it has become clear that the 500-700 workers have far wider demands than just bad food.
It is certain that the dispute involves far-reaching pay demands, and it seems likely that it is the first in a series of national strikes against the continued African occupation of Namibia and the support given to it by European and American imperialism.
Solidarity with the Rossing Uranium workers is an important task to be taken up by the Anti-Apartheid Day of Action on 4 December. This should be a step forward in the campaign to break the collusion of British big business and the Labour Government with the apartheid The Anti-Apartheid Movement has called a day of action on 4 December in solidarity with the liberation struggies southern Africa and to force the Labour Government to break all links with the racist regimes. Activities are being organised in many areas.
The previous day, a full programme of discussion nas been orcanised London School of Economics in the Old Theatre, Houghton Street. It starts at i am win wo wishal sessions u "The political economy of apartheid' and International dimensions of the southern Africa conflict: then at 1.30 D.m there is a solidarity meeting Nkosazana Diamini (SASO), Aziz Bhad HANG Peter Katjavivi [SWAPO] and a Patriotic Front speaker; at 4 p.m. the Granada film 'South Africa - there is no crisis' will be shown; and finally at 7 p.m there will be music with Louis Maholo
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