want complete independence - the recognition of their personality as an African
people, the possibility of governing themselves, of choosing their own leaders, and
of establishing the political, economic
and social system that best serves their
interests.
Another form enemy reaction takes is to
appeal to the forces of South Africa and
Rhodesia to fight with them in Mozambique. Following the panic shown by
Ian Smith in October last year and the
meeting he held with Caetano, one could
easily foresee the increased intervention
of RJiodesians in Mozambique. In December 1972, the Minister of Defence prepared the ground for this by extending
the period of military service. More recently, in August, a Rhodesian officer
confirmed to a journalist from the Evening Standard that there was increased
Rhodesian participation in Mozambique,
amounting to at least one operational
combat per day. It should be also remembered that the two Spanish priests already
mentioned were handed over to the
Portuguese authorities by the Rhodesians
after trying to leave Mozambique through
Rhodesia.
South Africa has devised a 'tactic to
camouflage its direct involvement in
Mozambique: it arranges for soldiers of
the South African Defence Force to be
recruited by the Rhodesian Light Infantry, and sends them to fight in Mozambique as Rhodesians. A similar method
has been devised by the US to supply
herbicides to Portugal, which are then
used on a large scale in the colonial war.
The method consists of classifying the
products utilised by the American army
in Vietnam as «civilian defoliants)). Enormous quantities have been furnished to
Portugal and South Africa in this way.
It should be recalled that it was South
African aeroplanes and pilots that launched herbicide spraying operations in
Mozambique.
Support for Portuguese colonialism goes
very much further to encompass all the
imperialist countries. The British Government, seeking to justify the celebration of
the 600th anniversary of the Anglo-
Portuguese Alliance, stated that «Portu-
gal is our ally in NATO, and it is our
policy in that context to develop businesslike and friendly relations with the
Portuguese   government)).     Within   this
«context» the British Government has
been giving extensive support to the Portuguese government. The same applies to
the US: in December 1971, 436 million
dollars were given to Portugal, thereby
buttressing the weak Portuguese economy.
role of imperialism
More recently, a few months ago the US
provided Portugal with 12 helicopters,
8 of which are already in Mozambique.
The French and West German governments are not lagging behind in their support for Portuguese colonialism. They
furnish weapons, vehicles, aircraft and
money without which Portugal would
have been forced to give up the war. It
is therefore becoming more and more evident that without the support of the
western countries, particularly those in
NATO, colonial Portugal would have been
defeated long ago.
Parallel to this support for Portugal from
international imperialism, there is today
an increase in solidarity with our struggle.
We are referring first of all to the African
i^pi * "Saw "^rCT1
US trains
Lisbon's
pilots
from BRUCE OUDES
Washington, 11 August
THE PENTAGON has disclosed
that for the past three years
some Portuguese Air Force officers, mostly fighter pilots, have
received training at United
States bases in Germany. Some
of them have been sent to fight
in Portugal's colonial wars.
In addition to the 79 trained
in Germany, 25 others have been
trained in the US. The courses,
apparently, last only a few
weeks each. In one, for instance, Portuguese fighter pilots
have learnt US techniques in
flying combat support missions.
In the seven years ending in
mid-1970, the US provided some
training, all of it in America,
for a total of only 27 Portuguese
Air Force officers. Officials offer
no firm explanation as to who
authorised the recent  increase.
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