struggle and our life there.
It was during this year, 1968, that FRELIMO held its second Congress, the
first to take place in national territory. The resolutions of the Congress
are already widely known, but we must mention here some of its most important results.
First of all there was the reorganisation of the top directing body of
FRELIMO, Before the second Congress, there was only one directing body:
the Central Committee, with three functions:  legislative, administrative
and judicial. At the second Congress the Central Committee was expanded
from twenty to forty members, comprising people elected by the Congress
and by the Provincial Councils and has responsibility for legislation.
The Political and Military Committee was established to study and resolve
the urgent problems of the struggle in these spheres and to submit semiannual reports to the Central Committee. Finally, the Executive Committee
consisting of the President, the Vice-President and the Secretaries of the
Departments, direct the struggle, carrying out the policy established by
the Central Committee within the directives laid down by the Congress
itself.
This reorganisation of the top structural organs is already proving highly
successful. The expansion of the Central Committee to double its original
size permitted the inclusion of militants who work in the political and
military front lines. The presence of these new members has made a
valuable contribution to the work of the Central Committee and has reduced
the distance that was developing between the cadres and the masses. Moreover, the fact that the new Executive Committee has only administrative
functionseliminated any sense of inaccessiblity, which was a contradictory factor in a revolutionary and popular movement like FRELIMO.
The effect of this reorganisation had a striking impact on the first
meeting of the new Central Committee in August, 1968. The new members
introduced a stimulating and refreshing spirit into the meeting. Problems
were discussed with a frankness worthy of a fighting movement, and the
decisions and conclusions were unequivocal.
It would not be honest to end without referring to some of the problems
which our organisation has faced during the year 1968«
It is too much to expect that FRELIMO should have achieved so many victories
against the enemy and yet not have suffered any setbacks. During the past
year, the enemy has not just confined themselves to confrontations on the
battle-field, where they suffer constant punishment. The traditional
cowardice of the Portuguese Government forced it to resort to all kinds
of tricks in an attempt to compensate for defeats being suffered on  the
military front. We have already referred to the indiscriminate use of
air-craft against the innocent and defenceless population. In these air-
attacks it is naturally the people who suffer, particularly the women,
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