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On the 24th of May 1.966, FRELIMO appeared before the Unit-
ad-.lTationsSpeci.al Committee on Colonialism, v/hich met in Dar-es-'
-Salaam, Tanzania. The President of FRELIMO, Dr. Eduardo Mondlne,,
told the members of the Committee of the development of our struggle for liberation, the difficulties v/e are facing, and the man-
oeuveres of our enemies.
We quote some exccrots from PRELIMO?s statement.
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'After sending their representatives to .every session of the
General Assembly of the United Nations to present their views ana
getting no action except platitudinous resolutions, the Mozambican people decided to take direct action. Thus in September 1966.,
an armed insurrection was launched in Mozambique against Portuguese colonialism.'- ...
■ "Since December 1965, when we last-presented to the United
Nations information on the atrocities perpetrated' by the Portuguese against the people of Mozambique, our armed.struggle-has developed. We have augmented the number of trained and armed freedom
fighters from a few hundred to a few thousand.- They have been able to force the Portuguese-army and police' into a'defencive position in at iQvist two-fifths of the country, and our people can
now boast of a semi-liberated area of about one-fifth of the country. In this semi-liberated area, our people are fbr the first
time in more than 70 years, and in some area in more than/handred
years, able to handle their ov/n affairs 'without the'haunting persecution of the Portuguese.police and administration. Thus, Inspite of the frequent attacks .on the ..Portuguese air force, our people are now organising their own schools, clinics,.courts and,
wher© possible, marketing their own produce. Unfortunately, those
who are unable to provide sufficient-military protection, fox' tv A '
crops and stock have "been  forced .to migrate into more un.confort-
uble sections of the country, and some of them have even had to
emigrate to neighbouring independent African states,:'.-such as Tanzania, Zambia and Malawi, :in t:ens of thousands,' thus causing them '
to seek international humanitarian -assistance, as the destingui- .'
shed deiQgates are well aware from the annual reports of the United Nations High Commission for refugees.
"as we have indicated before, the Portuguese-are not alone-
in their determination to maintain white supremacy in southern'
^frica. They are supported by the-settlerecontroled Republic of
South Africa and Rhodesia, v/hich together with the fascist Sala.-
zar regime of Portugal, have formed an alliance.of racialist intent on fighting to keep the white man in power* Late last year
an agreement was sighned between Portugal and South A frica, purportedly to settle sevral thousand South African white farmers in
the Tete Province of Mozambique. This information v/as publicised
in South African and Portuguese papers as an arrangement to help
relieve South Africa of population pressure by sending white far-
mars to Mozambique. However, on investigating the matter more closely, v/e descovered that the real intention of the two governments
Wcvs to cover up a much more sinister scheme, that of providing
the Portuguese army with South African white mercenaries to help
stamp out the Mozambican liberation struggle. V/e call attention •
to this situation in Mozanbique, because we believe it is a violation of international law; it is an interference in the internal
affairs of Mozambique. /-^
/ono