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Patriotic Front unity reaffirmed

The leaders of the Zimbabwe
African National Union (ZANU)
and the Zimbabwe African
People’s Union(ZAPU) have reaf-
firmed their long standing political
alliance — and the new govern-
ment will be ‘a Patriotic Front
government for Zimbabwe,’’ ac-
cording to the North American dis-
trict secretary for ZAPU, Sondlo
Mhlaba.

“ZAPU and ZANU will work
together in a new government —
not as a coalition but as the Patri-:
otic Front alliance,’’ he said.

In a wide-ranging telephone in-
terview with the Tribune following
the overwhelming victory for the
PF parties in the elections, Mhlaba
emphasized that ZANU and
ZAPU had been holding meetings
to establish joint structures for a
merger into the Patriotic Front be-
fore the elections and suggested ~
that groundwork would provide
the basis for the electoral alliance.

Prime -Minister-elect, ZANU
leader Robert Mugabe, whose par-
ty swept 57 of the 80 seats, an-
nounced this week that ZAPU
leader Joshua Nkomo would be
named minister of home affairs, a
key ministry in the new govern-
ment which will begin immediately
on the political and economic pro-
gram envisaged by the Patriotic
Front.

The first priority, said Mhlaba,
is the resettlement of more than a
million refugees — both inside and
outside the country. And that step,
jn turn, will involve the redistribu-
tion of land, a central part of the
economic program.

«We can expect the land distri-
pution to be troublesome,”’
Mhlaba said, since the majority of ,
the arable land. in Zimbabwe is
owned or controlled by the white
minority.

Mugabe had earlier emphasized
the land issue, telling a BBC re-
porter that resettling refugees

cabinet nominations begun.

would mean ‘‘acquiring land from:
the European sector.’’

He added that immediately,
“there is lots of land which is un-
occupied, which is under-utilized
and land under absentee owner-
ship” and that the government
would be “‘quite systematic and or-
derly.”’

Mhlaba told the Tribune that the
land issue “‘is a very complicated
issue in Zimbabwe — but it will af-
fect the future of Zimbabwe and
the relationships inside the coun-
try.”

Those relationships were chang-
ed dramatically by the election re-
sults; especially the overwhelming
mandate given the PF parties. The
white minority, together with Brit-
ish governor Lord Soames had
openly supported Bishop Muzore-
wa’s United African National
Council which, in turn, had been
backed financially by South

Africa.

- Mhlaba said that the whites were
“stunned” and “‘angered”’ by-the
election outcome although Mu-
gabe had taken steps to ease the

The Why-Where-Who-
What-When of the 300,000

oes in.
ut

Two-D
- eo een

at VCC Langara Campus

@ Life inthe camps
and the future of the
people in exile.

Public Meeting
March 21-8 p.m.

Speakers:

@ Canadian observers of
elections in Zimbabwe,
Friday, at VCC Langara
Campus auditorium,
100 West 49th Ave.

ern Africa

March 22-23 (Sat.&Sun)

for Zimbabwean Refugees

March 15-8 p.m.

Dance to

LA TROPICAL

i]
Russian Community Centre |
2114 West 4th Ave.

ROBERT MUGABE(1), JOSHUA NKOMO. .

(el

. alliance reaffirmed as

transition with his call for assist-
ance to ensure continuity.

On the question of government
Cooperation with the white minor-
ity — Mugabe has said that two
ministries will be offered to the
white representatives — Mhlaba

‘noted that some political leaders

have expressed a willingness to
work with a black majority govern-
ment, including the former minis-
ter of finance.

Even in the Rhodesian Front —
which won all 20 seats in the elec-
tion for white representation —
there are people who will work with
the Patriotic Front and who have
spoken for unity, he said.

“But,”’ he added emphatically,
“those forces do not include Ian
Smith.’

The role of former prime minis-
ter Smith who enabled the multina-
tional corporations to extend their
penetration into Rhodesia and who
allied the country closely to the
apartheid regime of South Africa,
is still an unanswered question.

Smith was conciliatory in his
first press conference following the
elections but left the veiled warning
that the approach would change if
the government embarked on a

course which differed ‘‘in political
~ philosophy from that of the west-

ern world.”’
In voicing the warning, he was

widely seen to have been echoing ©

the position of the U.S., Britain
and South Africa who will find it

babwe

difficult to act immediately — be-
cause of the overwhelming vote for
the PF — and will monitor the gov-
ernment’s performance.

“There will be tremendous
pressure to make Mugabe moder-
ate the program, to make it less
radical,’’ Mhlaba said, “‘but for the
moment the western powers have
no option but to accept the exist-
ence of his government.”’ ©

He added that there would be
“no advantage to the U.S. or Brit-
ain to see Mugabe overthrown —
and in fact it would be ‘‘counter-
productive’’ because of the world
outcry that such intervention
would provoke.

The landslide vote for the Patri-
otic Front parties was the major
factor in blocking immediate inter-
vention because there was no pro-
western force which could com-
mand any support, he said.

“However, if Muzorewa had re-
ceived, say, 20 or 30 seats, then a
military coup might have been a

* possibility — because he could be

propped up.”

The danger still remains, both
from South Africa which has long
declared its ‘‘right’’ to.intervene in
Zimbabwe to protect its own inter-
ests, and from the U.S. and Britain
which have formidable economic
interests in the country. But for the
immediate future, the focus will be
on the new government.

“The election was a resounding
confirmation of the Patriotic Front
— in the face of intimidation and
violence during the campaign,”
Mhlaba said, emphasizing that
ZANU and ZAPU would be work-
‘ing out their alliance in ‘‘a new situ-
ation.”’

‘He acknowledged that there
were ‘‘differences between
ZANU and ZAPU”’ but stressed
that “‘they should not be overplay-
ed as they have been in the media.”’

“It was a major step to work to-
gether to reach the Lancaster
House Agreements (which paved
the way for the elections), and an-
other major step was taken in the
unity after the election.

“Since the vote, the whole mood
of the country has changed,’’ he
said. ‘‘We are now in control of our
future. And overnight people are
able to express what they have kept
inside for years.”’

(OPEN)
FORUM —

Research park
plans opposed

Laverne Wiebe, sociology rep-
resentative, Simon Fraser Stud-
ent Society, writes: In the past
year, steps have been taken by the
Simon Fraser University ad-
ministration and the provincial
government to have a research
park built at SFU. This has been
going on with virtually no input
from the students of Simon
Fraser or the local residents. The
development will cost millions —
the Vancouver Sun reported Feb.
3 that the B.C. Institute of

there — and may be very harmful
to the ecology of the mountain on
which SEU is situated.

ave.. The SFU student society
as taken a position opposing the
evelopment of the research park |
until there is more information
bout the development.

I would urge all who are in-
terested in learning more about
the development and effects of
jthe research park to contact Bur-
naby municipal hall and demand
open hearings on the proposed
development.

‘Maybe we could
make it a sport’

S. R. Kirkland, Sointula,
writes: So we didn’t win a gold
medal at the Winter Olympics.
We were in the wrong sport. That
young punk Taylor (Canadian
ambassador to Iran—Ed.) got a
gold medal from the Americans
for being a stool pigeon for them
in Iran. Wealso have areputation
for acting as a stool pigeon for
them during the Vietnam War
when the Canadian commis-
sioner acted the part. If som
politicians get their way it will
become an Olympic sport and we
will havea head start on the rest of
the world.

It is hell to think that the coun-
try you have worked for all your
life, building roads, railways and
docks, has earned a world wide
reputation as a stool pigeon for
ithe Americans.

y,

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)

COMING EVENTS

MARCH 15 — To all members and
friends of the Surrey Alternative
Movement (SAM), you are cordially
invited to a potluck supper and an
evening of fun at the Newton Com-
munity Hall, 6948-134th St., New-
ton, Surrey at 6:30 p.m. Adm. $3.
All welcome.

MARCH 16 — Norman Bethune
series in Vancouver. “On Events in,
Afghanistan” with Sean Griffin,
Britannia Centre, Rms. L5 & L6
above the library, 1661 Napier St.,
Van. at 8 p.m.

MARCH 16 — Norman Bethune
series in Surrey. Organized Labor
After the Federal Election with
George Hewison, Douglas College,
Rm. 406, 9260-140th St., Surrey at
7:30 p.m.

MARCH 20 — Canadian Cuban

Friendship Association meets third
Thursday of each month, 8 p.m.,
Rm. L4, Britannia Centre, 1661
Napier St., Van. All welcome.

‘Rankin,

MARCH 23 — Norman Bethune
series in Vancouver. ‘‘Organized
Labor After the Federal Election’
with George Hewison, Britannia
Centre, Rms. L5 & L6 above the
library, 1661 Napier St., Van. at 8
p.m.

Turn your old postcards and stamp-
ed envelopes into cash. For further
info phone 939-0020 or write to: S
& H Postcards, 1023 Westmount
Dr., Port Moody, B.C. V3H 1L1.
Half of proceeds go to the Tribune.

MARCH 23 — Norman Bethune
series in Surrey. ‘‘Quebec Referen-
dum’ with Ben Swankey, Douglas
College, Rm. 406, 9260-140th St.,
Surrey at 7:30 p.m.

MARCH 29 — Mackenzie-Papin-
eau 43rd anniversary. Social, con-
cert & dance. Russian Hall, 600
Campbell Ave., Van. Good music,
dancing 9 p.m. on. Refreshments,
supper. Adm. $6.

LEGAL SERVICES

Stone, McMurray,

Bar-
risters and Solicitors.
Building, 193 East Hastings St.,
Vancouver 682-7471.

COMMERCIAL

ROOF. REPAIRS — Reasonable.
New roofs and alum. gutters,
277-1364 or 277-3352

500 Ford:

TO SHARE ACCOMMODATION

Young woman to share small Kits
apt. with same. $125/mth. incl.
heat/elec. Should like occasional
loud music. Ruth 736-9942.

HALLS FOR RENT

RUSSIAN PEOPLE’S HOME —
Available for rentals. For reserva-
tions phone 254-3430. .
WEBSTERS CORNERS HALL —
Available for banquets, meetings,
etc. For rates: Ozzie, 325-4171 or
685-5836.

UKRAINIAN CANADIAN CUL-
TURAL CENTRE: — 805 East Pen-
der St., Vancouver. Available for’
banquets, weddings, meetings. Ph.
254-3436.

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—MARCH 14, 1980—Page 11

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