Q: In Mozambique, the enemy recently
abandoned several posts of great strategic
importance. Although their withdrawal
was forced on them by our encirclement
and consequent isolation of those posts,
there is no doubt that the Portuguese
could continue there, supplied by air as
they used to do up till then. We have
heard from MPLA comrades that the
enemy has also withdrawn from several
posts in Angola. We think there may be
several reasons for this. For example,
maybe they want to implement a policy
of scorched earth. How do the cadres
of the MPLA interpret the withdrawal of
the enemy?
A: It is true in the past few months,
especially since the beginning of this year,
the Portuguese have abandoned some
military headquarters which were being
attacked very strongly and hence where
the enemy soldiers spent more of their
time in the shelters than in the open air.
To live in th* shelters, the impossibility
to leave because of our encirclement, the
constant imminence of an attack - all
these are factors which demoralise, which
tire, they play on the nerves of the soldier so that later he will have to give up.
I believe that the action which is simultaneously taking place in Angola and Mo
zambique, 1 mean the withdrawal from
certain posts, has a strategic aim, but we
can already say that it represents a defeat
for our common enemy who are forced
to leave important parts of our countries
in our hands. For example, it was a
question of prestige and honour for the
Portuguese troops to maintain the military post in Karipande near the border
wtih Zambia, a post which will always
remain in our memory, not only as one
which the enemy attached great importance but also because it symbolises for us
the resistance and heroism of our fighters.
It was there that on the first assault, commander Henda, the beloved son of the
Angolan people and heroic fighter of the
MPLA died. After several attacks against
that post, the enemy was forced to leave.
But we must remember that about one
year earlier, because of an attack against
that post, the Portuguese attacked and
robbed a train coming from Lobito with
goods for Zambia. They did that as a
reprisal so that Zambia would not give
support to the MPLA. That means that
they attached some importance to that
post and yet were forced to leave. It is
possible that they are regrouping their
forces, that their present tactics no longer
correspond to the needs of repression
against our forces, which have developed
and transformed themselves. But I repeat,
it represents a great defeat, a significant
defeat to the enemy forces and they will
never be able to recover from the retreat
they were forced to undertake, because
the psychological consequences of that
retreat are enormous, quite apart
from the material consequences. It will
be difficult for them to justify to their
people the losses they suffered in those
posts. It will be difficult for them to tell
their soldiers to return to those positions.
It will be even more difficult for us to
convince ourselves that we are not able to
defeat the enemy. All these are factors
which we must take into consideration.
And today our soldiers, our militants, all
the population in the controlled areas are
more and more conscious that with
more effort and more determination
we shall win this war. And we have already started to defeat the enemy who
run away into areas where they are more
protected.
Q: The Portuguese are building a hydroelectric dam at Cahora-Bassa in Mozambique, against which the progressive forces
of the world have launched a strong opposition movement. Now the Portuguese
are building another dam in Angola on
the Cunene  River, which just like the
MPLA guerrillas on march to an attack