Owen central to Namibia betrayal strategy

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make themsleves felt.

Owen and the other imperialist leaders want UN-supervised elections next year to incorporate petty bourgeois leaders of SWAPO into a "settlement" which ensures continued imperialist control.

After having appeared to be co-operating with the UN-imperialist plan, the South African government has now finally rejected it and announced the holding of elections under South African control at the beginning of December this year.

assurance This, South Africa feels, will provide greater assurance that the parties they support will "win" the election.

Not, of course, that the imperialist plan neglected South African interests in Namibia.

It accorded de facto recognition of South Africa's retention • of the strategically and economically vital part of Walvis Bay.

The plan also provides for the disarming of SWAPO guerrillas and their restriction to selected bases, while South African troops will be allowed to remain in Namibia.

Imperialism has made little objection to South Africa appointing an Administrator General with what amounts to full dictatorial power.

Far smaller

And, in accordance with Pretoria's objections, assurances have been given from all sides that the quoted figure of 7,500 UN supervising troops would in reality be far smaller.

Co-operation from Angola is, of course, essential to the Western plan.

Imperialism has wooed President Neto from his 'left' rhetoric by playing on the economic and political crises facing his regime.

The bait of economic investment was most likely coupled with an offer to limit or even ---amnline of immorintict arme PHOTO: Derek Speirs, IFL Owen to the rebel forces of UNITA which still wages a guerrilla campaign against Neto.

Opportunistically sacrificing the interests of the Angolan and Namibian masses to the short-term benefits of co-operation with imperialism, Neto gave his support to the UN plan.

He became the key force in pressurising SWAPO leadership to ignore its own rank and file and accept this plan.

While this "Marxist" was doing imperialism's dirty work in urging SWAPO to neutralise its army, South Africa struck deep into Angola to destroy a key SWAPO camp at Kassinga housing Namibian refugees and guerrillas.

Even the miserable capitulation on the part of the SWAPO leadership, it would seem, has not been enough for South Africa.

Overtly it has broken from the UN plan because of disagreements over troop numbers and election dates.

Registration

However, it would seem that the apartheid regime fears a SWAPO victory in uncontrolled alantione and ic hinwillinn tn rick that even with bourgeois parliamentary system..

The South Africans have made maximum use of SWAPO's betrayals and equivocations on the question of A massive registration of voters has been force-organised. Aware that SWAPO would refuse to participate in South Africa-controlled elections, they have contrived a situation in which its two pet political fronts Aktur and the DTA are assured of an electoral victory.

Both fronts have been receiving massive financial aid from capitalist and bourgeois political organisations in South Africa and the imperialist countries.

The DTA in particular has established a vast and extremely well financed organisational structure throughout the country and a virtual monopoly of the mass media.

It remains, however, an inheritantly unstable formation -both coloured and Herero leaders are rumoured to be contemplating a shift of alliance from the DTA to the Namibia National Front, which is less overtly compromised by South African support.

Early elections

The dominant leader within the DTA, Dirk Mudge, clearly believes that the only way to retain the allegiance of the key black leaders is by involving them, however illusorily, in the exercise of power.

With Aktur and the DTA pressing for early elections and with the likelihood of a SWAPO victory in elections controlled by anyone other than itselt, South Africa has now decided to fall back on its own plan.

The capitalist crisis makes it increasingly difficult for weakened imperialism to produce reforms which effectively head off mass So it turns more and more to a reliance upon the repressive reactionary activities of its most nimarfil and stahle anent in the area-the South African ment.

The political reliance on South Africa, responding to the strength of the forward movement of the oppressed masseswhich persistently outflanks the Stalinists and casts aside the paltry offerings of reformistsmeans that imperialism will inevitably stop short of any action which might threaten the stability of its key agent.

Accompanying this support for South Africa is the equally inevitable left rhetoric and posturing of Owen and. Young, which, it is hoped, will disguise the reactionary politics of imperialism.

Owen therefore went. to South Africa with other representatives of imperialism to bring pressure to bear on the South Africans to shelve their plans.

Vague prospect

Beneath this posturing what was intended was to provide the smokescreen of "continuing negotiations" to justify avoiding even nominal imperialist support for UN sactions against South Africa.

The imperialists returned without a South African undertaking to hold elections according to the UN plan.

Quite the opposite. But they did bring the vague prospect of UN controlled elections after the South African sponsored ones which will undoubtedly put a reactionary government in control of Namibia.

This government, if it fails with the card of reformism, will be equally willing to play the others-massive reaction and repression.

(The DTA can confidently assume that major investors will ignore and evade any UN sanctions call).

But the possibility of "continuing negotiations" is enough for Owen to continue denying the need for any action.

All that South Africa requires is that the prospect of UN elections is delayed until there is strong right-wing "internal". control over Namibia.

SWAPO leader Nujoma And while the imperialists negotiated, the South African army and police continued their campaign of terror, with unlimited powers to detain indefinitely anyone whose actions were held "to promote violence or intimidation"

Internal opposition leaders have been faced with stepped-up repression.

This, coupled with the political confusion sown by the SWAPO leadership, made internal SWAPO mobilisations almost impossible.

Tribal guards

While the SWAPO leadership compounds its betrayals and connives with the "front line" states to hold the guerrillas in check, the South African authorities continue to pick off key SWAPO leaders.

Indeed, if SWAPO militants succeed in breaking the conservative leadership stranglehold and step up guerrilla activities it should surprise noone if a systematic programme of murdering militants did not start.

Black tribal guards loyal to the DTA leaders have been reorganised and black units of the South African army have been formed inside Namibia.

These have been active on the borders against SWAPO.

A paratroop battalion comprised of whites from Namibia has recently been formed and trained by the South African army.

There are also strong indications of the emergence of right wing terror squads.

Now as the SWAPO leadership slithers along the path of betrayal, the extreme right uses the opportunity to organise and arm itself against internal leaders who despite many years of 'armed struggle' are left totally defenceless.

In the face of this situation a clear defence of the oppressed masses must be fought for:

*Root the armed struggle in the oppressed masses by developing workers' militia as part of a programme around which the masses can be mobilised.

*Use the cadres with military training to build workers defence squads as units of that militia inside Namibia.

*No negotiations with imperialism.

*No secret diplomacy. *Councils of Action inside Namibia to mobilise against the South African/imperialist plans.

*Fight for a revolutionary programme of democratic and transitional demands:

1) Constituent Assembly tied to the demolition of the state apparatus.

2) Independent workers committees.

3) Nationalise all multinationals without compensation under workers management.

4) Committees of peasants and agricultural workers-land to the peasants and agricultural workers. Smash reactionary tribal rule structures.

*Maximum material aid from the international labour movement. (In Britain remove Owen, imperialism's left-talking errand boy).