Zimbabwe climbdown

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The latest dispute between the Patriotic Front and the Tory government does not involve a question of principle.

It is essentially about which agency of imperialism should supervise the elections which will pave the way to imperialist recognition of a Zimbabwean regime.

The difference between them is that Tory Foreign Secretary Carrington wants the elections to take place with a British military dictator having full power and the repressive apparatus consisting of the existing racist police and army.

The Patriotic Front is far from implacably opposed to this racist, imperialist plan.

It simply wants to dilute it by letting the. British-installed governor also "rely on" the black liberation armies of ZANU and ZAPU (the components of the Patriotic Front) and troops sent by that acceptable face of imperialism, the United Nations.

Fighting These would be the same troops which are currently fighting the Palestinian national liberation movement in the Middle East and which in many parts of the world have been put at the service of imperialist reaction in the name of peace.

Carrington is reportedly opposed to mixing the light blue berets of the UN with the true Tory and racist blue of his chosen forces of repression.

But there remains room for compromise on UN "observers"

Carrington as a way of keeping the Patriotic Front at the Conference and formally committed to the imperialist "settlement"

This is probably still Carrington most wants.

But he may now, after the way the Patriotic Front caved in on the constitution, see his way to by-passing the Patriotic Front altogether.

Disorientated

If so, it will be because he believes that the compromises and betrayals into which he has so successfully steered the Patriotic Front leadership are now sufficient to have disoriented and demoralised the armed freedom fighters. He will be proved wrong only if a new principled leadership can be built to fight uncompromisingly for national liberation of Zimbabwe as part of a socialist programme under the leadership of the working class. imperialists have not rushed in with massive offers of help to support him despite the dangers of a war which the Moroccan army is steadily losing.

Lost cause

Even today Secretary of State Vance is opposed to Carter's proposals and argues only for increased supplies of the present range of weapons on offer from the US.

Vance has no desire to see the US government committed to yet another lost cause, at the cost of great financial and political losses-particularly when this will undermine the strength of Hassan's dictatorship and antagonise the Algerian regime, a major supplier of gas to the US.

But giving Hassan too little, too late is no way to resolve this crisis, and can at best serve only to prolong the death-agony of the Moroccan occupation of the Western Sahara.

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'CIALIST PRESS, W'ednesday 31 October 1979