Library:Revolution in Guinea

Revolution in Guinea: An African People's Struggle
Author	Amílcar Cabral
First published	1969
Type	Book

Introduction

The people of 'Portuguese' Guinea took up arms to free their country from colonial domination in 1963, under the leadership of the Partido Africano da Independencia da Guiné e Cabo Verde (PAIGC). Today, in spite of a Portuguese military presence even stronger, in proportion to the populations involved, than the United States forces in Vietnam, the PAIGC controls over two-thirds of Guinea and, while continuing and extending the armed struggle, is completely transforming the life of the people within the liberated areas.

The development and continued success of this struggle is obviously not fortuitous. The conditions for popular armed struggle may exist independently of any movement and the struggle may even break out spontaneously; but it cannot grow and extend over six years without thorough organisa- tion and clear political leadership. The development of the struggle in Guinea has been documented both in books and in films: two recent books in particular, Gérard Chaliand's Armed Struggle in Africa1 and Basil Davidson's The Liberation of Guiné2 indicate the importance of the political analysis and action underlying the military success.

Amilcar Cabral, the founder and present Secretary-General of the PAIGC, and the small group which formed the original core of the Party, saw the necessity of freeing their country from Portuguese colonial domination. The ex- periences of other liberation movements, the growth of neo-colonialism in newly 'independent' African countries, and above all the development of the movement within Guinea itself made clear the necessity of a true socialist revolution if any real change was to be made in Guinea. Finally, the savage Portuguese repression of the PAIGC's early peaceful actions quickly showed the inevitability of armed struggle. But Guinea had none of the elements on which revolution in Europe and Asia had been based. "lhere was no large proletariat, no developed working class, no large peasant mass deprived of land (colonial exploitation in Guinea being carried out through the price mechanism rather than by land ownership). A successful revolutionary strategy for Guinea could not be based on any wholesale adoption of other revolutionary experiences—what was needed was a strategy based on African conditions, on the conditions within Guinea itself. From 1952 to 1954, Amilcar Cabral had visited every corner of his country, preparing an agricultural census for the

colonial administration, and in the process acquiring a detailed knowledge of his own people and their situation. "1 Ilis knowledge provided the basis for the PAIGC's revolu- tionary strategy. Starting from a detailed analysis of the social structure of thc different tribal groups section 5), Cabral weighed up the revolutionary potential of each group and the PAIGC's long, patient process of clandestine politi- cal preparation lxgan on this basis in 1959. 'I he details of this process emerge in Cabral's declaration to the United Nations (section 2) and in the Tricontinental interviews (sections 12 and 14): extracts from a general Party directive of 1965 (section 7) show the clear, down-to-earth terms in which the political aims are put into practice. I Itis careful political preparation for the armed struggle is clearly paralleled by the similar process described in Wilfred Burchett's book Vietnam will Wing. Cabral's political analysis does, however, go beyond the confines of Guinea itself. In his speech to the Tricontinental Conference in Havana in 1966 (section 8) he makes a con- tribution of major importance to revolutionary theory. While accepting the central role of class struggle at a given historical stage, he goes further to examine the determining elements of class struggle and concludes that the true motive force of history is the mode of production, thus "avoiding for some human groups in our countries . the sad position of being peoples without history". Proceeding with a clear analysis of imperialism in its various forms, he finally tackles the problem of the contradictory role of the revolutionary bourgeoisie in the liberation struggles of underdeveloped countries. "I Ilis section, perhaps more than any other, clearly shows Cabral's importance as a revolutionary thinker. The importance of the PAIGC's struggle to the revolution- ary movement in Africa is out of all proportion to the physical size of Guinea (15,500 square miles, roughly the size of Switzerland or half the size of Maine; inhabitants, the approximate population of Liverpool or San Francisco city). Militarily, politically and economically, thc Portuguese are clearly losing thc war, and indeed there can be little doubt that they would have abandoned Guinea long ago if it were not for the seriously adverse propaganda effect that such an admission of defeat would have in their other colonies of Angola and Mozambique, where the economic reasons for maintaining their domination are much stronger. The final victory of the PA I GC's struggle, which can only be a matter of time, will significantly influence thc development of the struggle in Southern Africa, both in Portugal's other colonies of Angola and Mozambique and against thc fascist, racist regimes Of South Africa and Rhodesia and thc imperialist powers backing these regimes.

To revolutionary movements throughout the world, including, and perhaps particularly those in Europe, the struggle in Guinea is of prime importance as an outstanding illustration of the need to study one's own concrete conditions and to make the revolution according to these conditions, rather than relying on the experience of others, valuable as this may be. 'Ihis book has not been planned to give a detailed, factual account of the development of the struggle in Guinea—that has been done elsewhere, particularly in the two books mentioned above. While the development of the struggle inevitably emerges in the text, the purpose is to present the writings of an outstanding revolutionary thinker, Faced with the difficulty of choosing what to include, it was finally decided to present as full a range as possible of texts originally addressed to a wide variety of audiences. These have been cut only to avoid as much repetition as possible. To simplify the text, 'Portuguese' Guinea has been called simply Guinea throughout. Thanks are due to Editions Frangois Maspéro for permission to use the texts in Partisans numbers 7 and 26/27 which appear in sections 1 and 8; to Pensamiento Critico, Havana, for the text of section 5 and their fuller version of the text of section 8; to Basil Davidson for his help and advice; to many other friends who have helped in different ways in the preparation of this collection; and above all to the people of Guinea and the PAIGC, without whom this book would not have been possible. Any lack of clarity or inaccuracy in the text must be attributed to thc translator and editor, but it is hoped that this collection will do justice to the thought of Amilcar Cabral and at the same time help to stimulate analysis of a similar clarity, and action of a similar strength, among revolution- aries wherever they may be, Richard Handyside editor and translator

1) Frangois Maspéro, Paris, 1967/ Monthly Review Press 1969

2) Penguin Books, London, 1969

3) Guardian, New York/ Monthly Review Press, 1968

Guinea and Cabo Verde against Portuguese Colonialism

Speech made at the 3rd Conference of the African Peoples held in Cairo, March 25•31, 1961

The absurdity of our situation The situation of our peoples, like that of the other peoples dominated by Portugal, seems absurd. The fundamental rights of man, essential freedoms, respect for human dignity —all these are unknown in our country. While the colonial powers in genera! accept the principle of self-determination of peoples and seek, each in its own way, to resolve the conflicts which oppose them to the people they dominate, the Portuguese government obstinately maintains its domination and exploitation of 15 million human beings, of whom 12 million are African. While the overwhelming majority of the African peoples, in spite of the contradictions and difliculties which they face, are beginning the peaceful construction of progress, our peoples, because of the Portuguese colonialists, are obliged to go on living in the most extreme misery, ignorance and fear. The Portuguese colonialists try, in vain, to convince the world that they have no colonies and that our African countries are 'provinces of Portugal'. The Portuguese are pursuing, arresting, torturing, killing, massacring, launching a colonial war in Angola and feverishly preparing for a new war in Guinea and Cabo Verde. And yet the situation imposed on our peoples by the Portuguese colonialists is not as absurd as one might think. Obviously violence and lies have been, and still are, the main weapons of any colonialism. But when the colonising country has a fascist governments when the people of that country are largely illiterate, and neither know nor enjoy the fundamental human rights and have a very low standard of living in their own country; when furthermore the economy of the metropolis is under-developed, as is the case in Portugal, then violence and lies reach an unparalleled height, and lack of respect for the African people knows no limits. rn the last thirty-five years, this situation has become considerably worse. Caricatures of the Portuguese economic and political systems, new forms of oppression and repression have been brought into action, and our people have begun to live in a veritable state of siege, For a long time, the fascist-colonial government of Portugal succeeded, by combining silence, cynicism and hypocrisy, in preventing

world opinion from knowing the crimes of the Portuguese colonialists. It must not be forgotten that thc temporary success of this policy of silence was largely duc to the complicity and assistance of certain economic powers in other countries, which had and still have the strongest interest in 'conserving' the Portuguese colonies, We are no longer concerned here with unmasking the Portuguese colonialists, whose monstrous behaviour is today evident to the whole world. We wish only to recall that the denunciation of the Portuguese colonial crime was the work of the peoples of the Portuguese colonies themselves, as thc result of a systematic revolutionary plan carried out by African patriots in the international fielde Faced with the strongest resistance, and even hostility, of some Western circles, these African patriots, aware of the strategic necessity of isolating the Portuguese colonialists even from their own allies, spared no efforts to accomplish this historic mission. The certainty of our total victory against Portuguese colonialism, on an international level, is today evident. It was consecrated by the vote of the United Nations General Assembly on December 14th, 1960, which confirmed by an overwhelming majority the resolution of the Trusteeship Council demanding information from Portugal about the situation of the peoples which it dominated. Even taking into account thc formal, moral character of this victory, it represents a great step forward in our liberation struggle, for we have managed to isolate our enemy. No power can shake us from our determination, nor prevent the rapid and total elimination of Portuguese domination in our countries. However, to free themselves from foreign domination is not the only desire of our peoples. They have learned by experience under colonial oppression that the exploitation of man by man is the biggest obstacle in the way of the development and progress of a people beyond national liberation. They are determined to take an active part in the tmilding of a new Africa, truly independent and progressive, founded on work and justice, in which the creative power of our people which has been stifled for centuries will find its truest and most constructive expression. We are conscious of the fact that our victory will not be easy. We have many centuries' experience of the nature of our enemy and of its particular characteristics in relation to the other colonial powers. Although it is isolated, we should not forget that it still has at its disposal forces of destruction far superior to our own and that, overtly or covertly, it is aided and supported by other forces hostile to the freedom and progress of the peoples of Africa.

The C+ential characteristics of our tirne. The death-throes of imperialism. The case of Portugal. Imperialism, or the monopolistic stage of capitalism, has been unable to escape from its own contradictions; by use of force the victorious powers of the first world war set about a new sharing-out of the world, characterised mainly by the reinforcement of the colonial position of England and France and by the exclusion of Germany from direct exploitation of so-called backward peoples and countries. In the final phase of this conflict, the victory of the October Revolution and the definitive implantation of socialism on one sixth of the world's surface came as the first major blow to imperialism. Deprived of sources of raw materials and surplus profits, German financial capital, in alliance with Italian and Japanese capital, tried to solve the problem by taking the shortest road—the colonisation of their own European neighbours. The second world war was the result of the antagonisms which characterise the development of imperialism, but it came to influence very decisively the destiny of the other peoples of the world, particularly those of Africa. At the same time as the strengthening of the socialist camp, another essential characteristic of our time, came the awakening of the dependent peoples for the liberation struggle and the final phase of the elinunation of imperialism had thus begun. While the final resolution of this new conflict may take a shorter or a longer time, there can be no doubt that, even more than the class struggle in thc capitalist countries and the antagonism between these countries and the socialist world, the liberation struggle of the colonial peoples is the essential characteristic, and we would say the prime motive force, of the advance of history in our times: and it is to this struggle, to this conflict on three continents that our national liberation struggle against Portuguese colonialism is linked. Faced with the power of the main imperialist nations, one is forced to wonder how it was possible for Portugal, an underdeveloped and backward country, to retain its colonies in spite of the redistribution to which the world was subjected. Portuguese colonialism managed to survive despite the sharing-out of Africa made by the imperialist powers at thc cnd of the 19th century because England supportcd thc ambitions of Portugal which, since the treaty of Metwcn in 1703 had become a semi•colony of England. England had every interest in using the Portuguese colonies, not only to exploit their economic resources, but also to occupy them as support bases on the route to the Orient,

and thus to maintain absolute domination in the Indian Ocean, To counter the greed of the other colonialist powers and to defend its interests in the Portuguese colonies, England found the best solution: it defended the 'rights' of its semi-colony. That is why, for example, Portugal granted to a private enterprise controlled by English interests sovereign rights over an area covering 17% of the total territory of Mozambique, In fact Portugal has been no more than the sometimes envious guardian of the human and material resources of our countries, at the service of world imperialism. That is the real reason for thc survival of Portuguese colonialism in Africa, and for the possible prolonging of our struggle. Thus to a greater extent than thc presence of other powers in Africa, the presence of Portugal has been, and still is dependent on the presence of other colonising powers, mainly England. The African revolution. Victories and failures. The evolution of Africa. It is sufficient to look at the political map of present-day Africa to recognise that the African peoples have already won some great victories. But it is also sufficient to have followed closely the main events in this struggle to recognise that numerous and great mistakes have been made. The year 1960—the year of Africa—is rich in examples of both the victories and the failures of the liberation struggle of the African peoples, Once again, the heroic people of Algeria have accelerated the advance of history. Several peoples have seen their aspirations confounded by a nominal independence. The peoples of South Africa, like those of our own countries, of Angola, Mozambique and the other Portuguese colonies, continue to be subjected to the most violent exploitation and the most barbarous colonial repression. The practice of African solidarity reveals some hesitation and even improvisation which our enemies have been able to exploit in their favour. Perhaps the most important, and certainly the most dramatic of the failures (and also of the errors) is the case of the Congo, tragically crowned by the assassina- tion of Patrice Lumumba. In reality these failures and errors have taught us many important things. One can say that the year 1960, and more particularly the Congo drama, has given back to the African his human dimensions. Victories or failures, we must not forget that not one of our enemies has been really and totally conquered and driven out of Africa. The fascist-colonialist Portuguese are con- tinuing to massacre our peoples in Guinea, Angola and Mozambique; the fascist-racists of South Africa are daily

strengthening their hateful apparatus of apartheid; the Belgian colonialists have returned to the Congo from which they had been driven out; the British imperialists and colonialists are using every twist of imagination and cynicism in an attempt to maintain their complete domination over East Africa and their economic domination of the West African colonies; the French imperialists and colonialists are killing defenceless pcople in Algeria, exploding atomic bombs on African soil, trying to create a new geographical, historical and technical absurdity—the 'French province' of the Sahara—and increasing their economic domination over some of our African peoples; the American imperialists are emerging from the shadows and, astonished by the weakness of their partners, are seeking to replace them everywhere, with varying degrees of sublet)'. Our enemies are determined to strike mortal blows against us and to turn our victories into defeats. To attain this goal, they use the most suitable instrument—African traitors. And here is a reality that is made more evident by our struggle: in spite of their armed forces, the imperialists cannot do without traitors; traditional chiefs and bandits in the times of slavery and of the wars of colonial conquest, gendarmes, various agents and mercenary soldiers during the golden age of colonialism, self-styled heads of state and ministers in the present time of neo-colonialism. The enemies of the African peoples are powerful and cunning and can always count on a few faithful lackeys in our country, since quis- lings are not a European privilege. However, if we want to neutralise the delaying actions carried out by our enemies and their lackeys, we must strengthen the methods of action and the vigilance of the African revolution. Let us be precise: for us, African revolution means the transformation of our present life in the direction of progress. The prerequisite for this is the elimination of foreign economic domination, on which every other type of domination is dependent. Our vigilance means the rigorous selection of friends, a constant watch and struggle against enemies (both internal and external) and the neutralisation or elimination of all factors opposing progress. At present the first difficulty—that of winning political autonomy—has already been overcome, despite the remnant of a few zones of classical colonialism whose days are numbered; the greatest difficulties concern the winning of economic independence, the struggle against neo- colonialism. The positive balance-sheet of the year 1960 cannot make us forget the reality of a crisis in the African revolution which, far from being a mere growing pain, is a crisis of knowledge. Jn several cases, the practice of the liberation struggle and its future perspectives not only lack

a theoretical basis, but are also to a greater or lesser degree remote from the concrete reality around them. Local experiences in the conquest of national independence, national unity and the bases for progress have been or are being forgotten. Our fundamental problem now is to resolve the main contradictions between the interests of our peoples and the interests of the Portuguese colonialists. This means rapid and total elimination of Portuguese domination in Guinea and Cabo Verde, in a life-or-death struggle. We count on the support and concrete assistance of the African peoples, and especially of neighbouring countries. While the struggle for national independence is our main concern, we should nevertheless envisage, beyond the liberation struggle, the problem of the future of our peoples, of their economic, social and cultural evolution on the road to progress. In relation to Africa, we are for fraternal collaboration between the African peoples, against narrow nationalisms which do not serve the true interests of the people. A geographic, historical and even ethnic analysis of Africa shows that new forms of economic, political and social existence are developing on the continent. Through contradictions, and even through conflicts, these new and still embryonic forms will become progressively defined in their structure and perhaps in their originality. We are for African unity, on a regional or continental scale, inasfar as it is necessary for the progress of the African peoples, and in order to guarantee their security and the continuity of this progress. Our enemy. Isolation and contradictions. The struggle of the people of Angola and of the other colonies. Our peoples make a distinction between the fascist-colonial government and the people of Portugal: they are not fighting against the Portuguese people. However, the objective situation of the large popular masses in Portugal, oppressed and exploited by the ruling classes of their country, should make them understand the great advantages for them which will flow from the victory of the African peoples over Portuguese colonialism, It is the educated circles in Portugal, and especially the progressive democrats, who have the task of helping the Portuguese people to destroy the virulent remains of the colonialist, enslaving ideology which in general determines their negative attitude towards the just struggles of the African peoples. To do this, however, these educated circles must also overcome their own imperialist mentality,

composed of prejudice and ill-founded disdain for the value and the real capacity of the African peoples. In fact, Portuguese democrats will remain unable to understand the just claims of our peoples until they become convinced that the theory of 'immaturity for self-government' is false and until they realise that oppression is not and will never be a school of virtue and aptitude. We must reaffirm clearly that while being opposcd to all fascism, our peoples are not fighting Portuguese fascism: we are fighting Portuguese colonialism. The destruction of fascism in Portugal must be the work of the Portuguese people themselves: the destruction of Portuguese colonialism will be the work of our peoples. While the fall of fascism in Portugal might not lead to the end of Portuguese colonialism—and this hypothesis has been put forward by some Portuguese opposition leaders—we are certain that the elimination of Portuguese colonialism will bring about the destruction of Portuguese fascism. Through our liberation struggle we are making an effective contribution towards the defeat of Portuguese fascism and giving the Portuguese people the best possible proof of our solidarity. -nnis factor is a cause of pride to our peoples, who hope for the same solidarity from the Portuguese people, through the strengthening of the struggle against fascism. If the Portuguese opposition was capable of unity within itself. could accept openly the principle of self-determination and independence for our peoples—as certain sectors of it already have done—and could guide the Portuguese people into direct action against fascism, we would be prepared to envisage an alliance of our forces with the democratic and progressive forces of Portugal, with the aim of simultaneous elimination of Portuguese colonialism and fascism. This common struggle against the same enemy forces would create the basis for friendship and future collaboration to serve the interests of our peoples and those of the Portuguese people. With regard to the United Nations, despite the resolutions favourable to our struggle which the solidarity of the peoples of Africa and Asia and of the progressive forces of the world have had adopted, that organisation has shown itself incapable of resolving disputes between colonised peoples and the colonial powers.. "Ille hypothesis of a change of position or the decay of Portuguese colonialism is just an opportunistic dream, or the result of a false analysis of the nature of Portuguese colonialism. Thus only one way remains: to prepare ourselves as well as we can to destroy within our countries the main forces of Portuguese colonialism, Our peoples have

formed a united front for the struggle against Portuguese colonialism with thc peoples of the other Portuguese colonies. The conference of the Nationalist Organisations of the Portuguese Colonies (CONCP) held in Casablanca in April 1961 and the creation of a permanent organisation for the co-ordination of our common struggle have been the most recent manifestations of this unity. The Portuguese government is conscious of one reality: no power in the world will be able to prevent the total elimination of Portuguese colonialism. The dialectic of colonial repression has proved that today no colonialist aggressor can overcome peoples who are determined to win their freedom. Conscious of the fact that the liberation of our countries depends mainly on the action of our own peoples, on their unity, their capacity for organisation and preparation for the struggle, we are firmly determined to develop our fight. The situation of our countries. Prospects for the struggle. The resistance of the people of Guinea and Cabo Verde has never ceased to manifest itself, in revolts, passive resistance, mass emigration to neighbouring countries, and total refusal to pay the taxes of Portuguese domination. Since the days of slavery, innumerable revolts have expressed the people's hatred for Portuguese domination. Mainly at S.Tiago, S. Antåo and S.Vicente, in demonstrations, strikes and revolts, the people have arisen several times against the masters of the land and against foreign domination. Our struggle is carrying on from there. Jn Guinea, after the massacre of Pijiguiti Quay (Bissao, 3 August 1959), in the course of which Portuguese soldiers and civilians shot down dozens of striking Guinean workers, a wave of repression and terror organised and commanded by the P IDE (political police) made the life and the struggle of the Guinean people even harder. At the same time the colonial administration, by increasing the export of rice at the expense of the majority of the Guinean people, managed to create a new weapon of oppression—famine. Very recently, apart from police and military repression, the colonial administration has been using non-violent tactics— presents, bribes, invitations to Portugal for the •traditional chiefs', scholarships, special radio broadcasts for the fostering dissidence and quarrels between the 'natives', different ethnic groups—with the aim of winning over part of the population and 'dividing to rule'. The colonial administration has been disconcerted by the firm determination of the Guinean people, after the failure of a few preliminary 'meetings' to justify the Portuguese presence.

To ensure the support of certain m»wers, the Portuguese government grants extensive facilities to non.Portuguese capital for the colonial exploitation of the natural resources (oil, bauxite, etc.) and the manpower of Guinea. Furthermore, it wants to have NATO military bases installed in Guinea and the Cabo Verde Islands in the hope of strengthening its means of repression. The Portuguese government is still in the process of drawing up an urgent plan for sending thousands of families of Portuguese settlers to Guinea, in the belief that increasing the European population witl slow down the development of our liberation struggle. This while in the Cabo Verde Islands the Portuguese governmcnt once again let about 10,000 people die of famine in 19.58-1959. The Cabo Verdian population, which in only six years (1942, 1947) lost 30,000 to inhabitants struck down by famine, is always at the mercy of the so-called 'agricultural crises' and subjected to the 'displacement' of thousands of its children as contracted workers for the Portuguese plantations in other colonies. Unemployment has reached catastrophic heights, particularly in S. Vincente, where hundreds of workers have been sacked by English companies. The peasants, who constitute the majority of the population —and the totality in thc agricultural islands (S.Tiago, S. Antåo, S.Nicolau, Fogo)—livc at the mercy of the rains, while the pseudo 'economic development plan' is nothing more than a mystification, a source of enrichment for the colonial authorities. The massive clandestine emigration to Senegal is clear proof of the desperate situation in which the people of Cabo Verde are forced to live. This situation, which is comparable to that of Guinea, has become virtually insupportable with the accentuation of police repression. Jn Guinea, agricultural production, the sole base of the economy, founded on mono-cultivation of ground-nuts, is sinking progressively lower. Thousands of peasants are abandoning their homes and seeking peace and the indispensable necessities of life in neighbouring countries. Thus, thousands of Balantes are entering the Republic of Guinea, while ground-nut growers are settling in thc Republic of Senegal. Tn the urban areas, whcrc repression is greatest, the work of state and private enterprises has been suspended. Hundreds of workers have been dismissed without justification. Numerous enterprises, above all in the rural areas, have given up their activities altogether, strangled by the monorx)ly of the CUF (Companhia Uniao Fabril)—the true master of Guinea—or pushed by fear of the consequences of our liberation struggle.

Thus the political situation is becoming more tense each day. Guinea is living today in a state of siege, with all thc settlers armed and the indigenous population subject to frequent provocations by the army and the colonial B)lice. To fight the rising tide of our liberation struggle, the Portuguese colonialists are constantly reinforcing their army. Almost every week boats arrive from Portugal to unload soldiers and war material. About 350 African patriots are in Pl DE prisons, and several hundred have been deported to the concentration camp on the island of Galinhas•, in Bissao they are beginning to say that the postal service will soon stop working, since a large proportion of the employees are either in prison or have fled to neighbouring countries. The same applies to the National Overseas Bank, for the economic crisis has, and can have, no solution, Jn Cabo Verde, where misery reaches the limits of despair, particularly in the less favoured islands, more than a hundred young people have been arrested in Mindéfo and Praia and deported to the concentration camp of Tarrafal. Repressive security measures have been decreed against intellectuals enjoying great popularity. But our struggle has won a victory of even greater importance, in the unity of Guinean and Cabo Verdian patriots resident in Guinea, within the PA IGC and the front which the PA IGC has created. The Portuguese colonialists, who have always tried to separate the Guineans from the Cabo Verdians, have been thrown into confusion by the solid unity of all the Africans. Today the prisons are full of Guineans and Cabo Verdians, and the struggle for the complete elimination of Portuguese colonialism has strengthened the ties of history and of blood which unite our two peoples. Whatever the forces of the enemy, our victory over Portuguese colonialism depends mainly on ourselves, on our own militants. Wc must be conscious of the real forces at our disposal and base our revolutionary work on the popular masses. However, it is obvious that the concrete aid and sup1X)rt of our neighbouring countries can play an important and decisive role if their leaders so wish. We are sure of the solidarity of all the African peoples in our struggle. We are conscious of the fact that our struggle for national liberation does not only serve our own peoples: it also serves the fundamental interests and the progress of all the peoples of Africa and of thc world.

At the United Nations

Extracts from a statement made in Conakry in June 1962 to the United Nations Special Committee on Territories under Portuguese Administration

After the resolution on decolonialisation—the 1961 ‘reforms’

An analysis has been made of the position of the people of Guinea as regards their relations with the metropolitan country, the basic laws governing their lives, the administrative structure and organisation, the political institutions and how they function, the right to vote and its exercise the organisation and administration of justice, human rights and fundamental freedoms. That analysis presents actual facts culled from legislation in force and day-to-day reality. The analysis makes clear that the constitutional, political, legal, administrative and judicial status of Guinea, far from that of being a ‘province of Portugal’ is that of a non-self- governing country, conquered and occupied by force of arms, ruled and administered by a foreign power. The economic, political and social life of the people of Guinea is governed by laws and rules which differ from those applied to the people of Portugal; the people of Guinea have no political rights, they do not help to operate the country’s institutions or to draft its laws, which, however, they must obey; they do not elect representatives and cannot invest political and administrative leaders with office or remove them from office; they do not enjoy the most rudimentary human rights or fundamental freedoms. Thus, far from having their own legal identity, the people of Guinea are a colonised and dependent people, whose dignity has been deeply wounded. Neither directly nor indirectly do they decide their present or future fate. Consequently there can be no doubt that the people of Guinea are being deprived of their right to self-determination, a right proclaimed and established for all peoples in the United Nations Charter. Nevertheless those who are not familiar with the actual facts as regards the present position of the people of Guinea might ask whether the recent Portuguese ‘reforms’ of colonial legislation promulgated in 1961 have not significantly changed the constitutional and legal status of Guinea. As is well known, these ‘reforms’ of Portuguese colonial legislation were instituted shortly after the United Nations General Assembly, at its fifteenth session, had adopted the resolution on decolonisation (14 December 1960). Before 20 proceeding further, it is worth noting that the hasty promulgation of such ‘reforms’ after the United Nations adopted that historic and constructive resolution is in itself a striking indictment by Portugal of its own colonial system. An analysis of the legal texts of these ‘reforms’ will demon¬ strate whether they actually did or could change the con¬ stitutional and legal status of Guinea to any significant degree. The following legislation was enacted: a) Decree no. 43,730, which revised articles 489,511 and 516 of the Overseas Administrative Reform Act; b) Decree no. 43,894, approving the regulation of the occu¬ pation and granting of land concessions in the colonies; c) Decree no. 43,895, establishing provincial settlement boards in the colonies; d) Decree no. 43,896, organising the cantons in the colonies; e) Decree no. 43,897, recognising the usages and customs regulating relations in private law in the colonies; f) Decree no. 43,893, repealing the Native Statute of May 1954. (Except for the first, all these decrees are dated 6 September, 1961.) Thus the matters affected by the enactment of the reforms are: administrative organisation, land occupation, colonisation, justice and political status. In actual fact, this legislation made no significant change in those matters, nor was the practice of the Portuguese rulers greatly changed, and from the constitutional and legal standpoint the subjection of the people of Guinea to Portuguese colonialism. For example, a) although Decree no. 43,730 states in its preamble: “in accordance with our administrative tradition, both overseas and in the metropolitan country, the commune is the basic administrative unit..it still leaves local administration in the hands of the Portuguese authorities for it provides that the mairies, the municipal commissions and the local communities shall be presided over by persons appointed by the territorial or provincial governments. b) Decree no. 43,894 deals with public property and with land concessions granted to settlers, administrative bodies and Catholic missions, and defines measures and establishes organs for the granting of such concessions. All in all, the law opens up to Portuguese settlers in Guinea opportunities for the occupation of land which either never existed before or were very limited. c) Decree no. 43,895, which explicitly states in its preamble “...We have always regarded these as prerequisites for the desired progress in the overseas provinces, as one of the bases for the permanent establishment of European Portugal

in the African territories ..is nothing more than a legal instrument for establishing effective organs and means for stimulating and achieving the long-desired permanent settle¬ ment of increased numbers of Europeans in Guinea. d) Although Decree no 43,986 lays the basis for the organisa¬ tion of the regedorias, it maintains the old system of replac¬ ing traditional chiefs by persons appointed by the colonial authorities.

e) Decree no. 43,897, while it recognises local usages and customs regulating relations to provide law, provides in its article 2 that such recognition shall be limited by the moral principles and basic rules of the Portuguese legal system. The scope of these limitations continues to be defined by article 138 of the political Constitution as “morality, the dictates of humanity and the free exercise of Portuguese sovereignty”.

f) Decree no. 43,893, which repeals the Native Statute, is the only official text in all the new legislation which should imply a change, however academic, in the colony’s consti¬ tutional and legal status. But in point of fact that is not the case. In the prefatory statement, the reasons for repealing the Statute are candidly stated. It is said that the Statute is being repealed “because this law was not always understood in a way which did justice to the motives and intentions under¬ lying it...” and because its existence “provided an oppor¬ tunity for our enemies to assert that the Portuguese people are subject to two political laws and are consequently divided into two classes with no communication between them ...” Thus the lawmakers’ purpose was not to alter the motives and intentions underlying the Statute, which they do not condemn—despite the fact that the Statute had the effect of placing the African in Guinea in the position of having no identity in law and of being an indigena. The purpose of the lawmakers as disclosed in the prefatory statement, was to deprive the enemies of Portuguese colonialism of an effective weapon in the struggle on behalf of the Africans of Guinea—Portuguese law itself. But they did not succeed, for the following reasons.

First, the people of Guinea had no hand in drafting the new law, which is the result of a unilateral act, contrary to their legitimate aspirations. Secondly, Portuguese citizenship, fictitious as it is, is imposed on the African of Guinea with¬ out his consent. Although the Statute clearly defined the requirements for citizenship, there was never “any rush by the natives to secure the identity card which would make them citizens”, as noted by Teixeira da Mota, a European investigator and official deputy in Guinea. The Africans of Guinea, from the time of the resistance in the colonial wars of conquest to the freedom struggle of today, never fought 22 to acquire Portuguese citizenship. Thirdly, the law repealing the Native Statute was not followed by other legislation which would, in practice, regulate the participation of the people of Guinea in the management of their own affairs. Finally, the daily life of the people of Guinea (their economic, political, social and cultural life), with the ex¬ ception of a few superficial alterations, particularly in the titles of laws, has changed not one iota. For example, although the ‘indigenous’ identity cards were and still are being hastily replaced by ‘provisional’ identity cards, the indigena tax and its 10 percent surtax were replaced by the annual personal income tax and the surtax, which not only amount to the same, but are still subject to the legislation governing the old taxes.

Consequently it is fair to say that far from changing the constitutional status of Guinea, the 1961 ‘reforms’ merely made the situation worse, at least in the following respects. a) By increasing the number of communes, creating additional local concentration of power and organising the cantons—which are always headed by persons appointed by the Governor—not only was Portuguese rule strength¬ ened, but it was made easier for the colonial authorities to keep an eye on the Africans of Guinea and to carry out repressive measures against individuals and groups. b) By defining procedures and establishing organs for the application and granting of land concessions to non- indigenous parties, more opportunities were provided for usurping and effectively occupying land which had until then belonged to the African communities.

c) By setting up the Provincial Settlement Boards, contrary to the spirit of the law itself, the way is being opened to European colonisation in Guinea to the detriment of the interests of the overwhelming majority of the people and of all classes of Africans.

Moreover, the 1961 ‘reforms’ are contrary to the spirit of the provisions of resolutions 1542 (XV) and 1514 (XV) of the United Nations General Assembly, because they effect no change in the Portuguese political Constitution which, having been revised in 1961 with the clear intention of evading the obligations arising from the principles of the Charter, continues to state that Guinea is “an integral part of the Portuguese nation”. Their purpose is to perpetuate the fiction of the ‘overseas provinces’ and they therefore constitute a flagrant violation of the right of the people of Guinea to self-determination and independence, while at the same time an attempt is made to baffle the vigilance of the forces fighting for freedom, particularly those of the United Nations.

Moreover, on the principle that the struggle it is directing is neither aimed against the Portuguese people nor contrary to their true interests, the PAIGC has established and developed contacts with Portuguese democratic elements, not only for the purpose of organically strengthening the struggle against Portugal’s colonial-fascist regime, but also with a view to preserving the possibility of co-operation between the people of Guinea and the Cabo Verde Islands and the Portuguese people, on the basis of independence and of reciprocity of rights and duties.

f) Following suggestions and proposals made by the PAIGC either from within its home country or locally, the emigres from Guinea and the Cabo Verde Islands residing in the neighbouring countries have created liberation ‘movements.’ In the Republic of Guinea, the Movement for the Liberation of Guinea and the Cabo Verde Islands (MLGCV, Conakry), organised with the help of the general secretariat of the PAIGC, groups all emigres truly interested in the liberation of their people and works in close co-operation with that secretariat.

In July 1961, following an appeal for unity launched by the PAIGC in April 1961, the Conference of Nationalist Organisations of Guinea and the Cabo Verde Islands was held in Dakar. It was presided over by a leader of the Party, and several official bodies were represented. Following a proposal by the PAIGC, the Conference, by means of several resolutions, among them one creating the United Liberation Front of Guinea and the Cabo Verde Islands (FUL) which comprises the Party (the organisation inside the country) and the movements abroad (in the Republics of Guinea and Senegal), assumed the task of co-ordinating joint action in the struggle against Portuguese colonialism (articles I and II of the charter of the FUL).

The ‘movements’ in Senegal, paralysed by parochialism and by internal and inter-party conflicts and contradictions, were unable to consolidate their organisations (which broke up into a number of sub-groups), and failed to respect the commitments made at the Dakar Conference concerning the creation of the FUL, which they disavowed. These ‘movements’ have been unable thus far to co-operate usefully in the liberation struggle in which they propose to take part and, in addition, some of them have made difficulties for that struggle, principally by assuming negative attitudes and even attitudes contrary to the interests of the Republic of Senegal itself (we may cite as an example the attacks directed from that country’s territory in July 1961, which were halted in time by the Senegalese Government). At the present time, the PAIGC, which has the support of a large number of the emigres from Guinea and the Cabo 34

Verde Islands living in Senegal, is sparing no efforts to ensure that, as in the Republic of Guinea, the emigres who are really interested in the liberation of their people co¬ operate to the best effect with those carrying on the fight inside the country. In this endeavour has the fraternal sympathy of the Senegalese people and their Government. Continually strengthening and expanding its organisation, the Party now covers all parts of the country. Its membership is constantly growing, particularly among the popular masses who are definitively committed to the struggle. Furthermore, the Party has never spared any effort to secure the ways and means for carrying on the fight to victory in the face of the Portuguese administration’s systematic disregard for the aspirations of the people of Guinea. In pursuing those efforts, it has acted on the principle that liberation should be the work of the people themselves, who should rely primarily on their own resources to attain this goal.

Seeking a peaceful solution of its conflict with the Portuguese colonialists, the PAIGC took specific steps to try to persuade the Portuguese government to recognise the right of the people of Guinea and the Cabo Verde Islands to self-determination and national independence and by so doing to enhance the possibilities of co-operation between them and the Portuguese people. These steps which at the same time promoted the interests of international peace and security, included the dispatch of a ‘memorandum and an ‘open letter’ to the Portuguese government, dated 1 December 1960 and 13 October 1961 respectively. In this way specific proposals were submitted to the Portuguese government for the peaceful elimination of colonial rule in Guinea and the Cabo Verde Islands. But the Portuguese government ignored these efforts, its only response being to reinforce its colonial troops and intensify its repression.

Confronted with the reactionary attitude of that Government and in particular its blatant contempt for the principles of the United Nations Charter and the resolutions adopted by the General Assembly at its fifteenth session, the PAIGC, acting in accordance with the will of the people of Guinea and recognising the urgent need to give practical aid to the people of Angola as a new colonial war of genocide was unleashed against them, proclaimed on 3 August 1961, the anniversary of the massacre of Pijiguiti quay, that the fight for liberation had passed from the purely political phase to the phase of direct action.

In accordance with the specific conditions of that fight and the plans for its development, direct action was limited to 35

sabotage of the bases of colonial exploitation in Guinea. That decision was and continues to be applied in all parts of Guinea, and the action taken has proved to be an effective means of disrupting and disorganising colonialist exploitation.

Interpreting the peaceful attitude of the people of Guinea, the PAIGC still is and always has been desirous of reaching a peaceful solution of the conflict between them and the government of Portugal. Such a solution must not, however, be long in coming, for the people of Guinea, revolted by the crimes and outrages of Portuguese colonialist practice, mobilised, organised and prepared for the task of shaking off the colonial yoke, are willing to make any sacrifice to put an end to foreign rule. What is more, they are now capable of doing so.

If the United Nations itself and all the forces which are really in a position to influence the Portuguese government, with a view to making it respect international legality, prove unable to persuade that government to abandon its reactionary and criminal position, nothing will be able to stop the people of Guinea from resorting to all available means of eliminating once and for all the bases and agents of Portuguese rule. In such an event, the Portuguese government itself would obviously bear sole responsibility for whatever happened in Guinea.

In order to further the important task of consolidating independence and ensuring progress, the PAIGC is organising an extensive programme for the training of cadres (administration, production, health, tourism, etc.) and is putting it into effect as far as circumstances permit. It is eager to avail itself of every possible opportunity of proceeding as rapidly as possible with the training of a large body of personnel, particularly at the intermediate level, so that there will be African civil servants ready to go into action immediately following liberation.

These, then, if only in broad outline, are some of the specific aspects of the development of the fight for national liberation being waged by the people of Guinea. As far as the actual conduct of the struggle is concerned, its development, both within the country and abroad, has been determined fundamentally by the activities of the Party, which has its headquarters and the great majority of its active members and leaders inside the country. Accordingly, it may be stated that national liberation offers the only prospect for Guinea’s development. In other words, the necessary and indispensable condition for its development, in terms both of what the Guineans want and of cold fact, is today national liberation. 36 •*

Although it is still in full process of development, the fight for liberation of the people of Guinea has already had certain positive results which, having strengthened it considerably, may be regarded as victories. For example, it has increased the political awareness of the African masses, who had never before been permitted to exercise those essential functions of man—political thought and action.

It has intensified the feeling of unity of all Africans without distinction and is continuing to do so to an ever greater extent each day. In this connection, two facts are especially noteworthy. Firstly, the fight has erased the differences— many of which are carefully cultivated by the colonialists— between certain ethnic groups in Guinea, which are now united in the pursuit of national liberation and progress. Secondly, it has destroyed an important weapon on which the Portuguese colonialists were relying in their effort to ‘resist’ the overwhelming desire of the people of Guinea for freedom: the conflict, often superficial and always based on material considerations, between the Cabo Verde minority, deliberately favoured by the colonialists in the matter of public service employment, and the asimilados among the native majority. Today, the people of Guinea and the people of Cabo Verde, whether behind prison walls or in hiding in the bush, are increasingly strengthening their unity, sharing a common ideal and acting together for the cause of national liberation and progress. It has developed and is increasingly strengthening the national consciousness of a free and just fatherland for which all ethnic groups, all religious communities, all men and women are fighting.

Gradually overcoming the complexes engendered by colonial exploitation, it has enabled the ‘marginal human beings who are the product of colonialism to recover their personality as Africans. It has reawakened among the Africans of Guinea in general a feeling of confidence in the future.

It has made the personality of Guinea as an African nation known to the rest of the world, has given its people prestige and has won them the sympathy and friendship of other peoples.

It has influenced and is continuing strongly to influence the development of the fight for liberation in the Cabo Verde Islands, whose people are indissolubly linked with those of Guinea by ties of history and of blood.

It has encouraged the fight for liberation of the peoples of the other Portuguese colonies, has materially assisted the 37

people of Angola in their struggle by making it necessary for the Portuguese colonialists to divert some of their troops from that country, and in general has served the cause of Africa’s liberation from foreign rule. In addition to these results, however, the fight of the people of Guinea has begun to have a significant effect on the actions of the Portuguese colonialists themselves. For example it has helped to bring about a gradual deterioration in the economy of Portugal as a nation oppressing other nations, for in carrying out its repressive policies Portugal is obliged to spend more and more money and is meeting with increasingly stubborn resistance from those nations. It has shaken the morale and upset the material life of the families of the colonialists, who have had to send most of the European women and children back to Portugal with the consent of the authorities, because of growing insecurity. It has obliged the colonial authorities to spend considerable amounts on bribing certain Africans and has caused them to lose confidence in the indigenous troops, in whom they formerly had great trust, and even in some of their own collaborators.

It has obliged the Portuguese state for the first time in history to nominate certain Africans to posts of responsibility, including that of deputy in Guinea. It has helped to bring about a decline in the income of colonialist commercial and financial enterprises and to aggravate considerably the colony’s unfavourable balance of trade during the past three years, thereby worsening Portugal’s economic situation.

It has provoked and deepened differences of opinion among Europeans living in Guinea, particularly in the Portuguese army, from whose ranks there have been a considerable number of desertions.

It has obliged the administrative authorities to abandon certain repressive measures, such as those applied in connection with the collection of taxes, and has been one of the causes, together with the United Nations resolution on decolonisation, of the promulgation of the ‘reforms’ of 1961 and the repeal, if only in theory, of the Estatuto dos lndigenas.

Accession to independence The people of Guinea are fighting for their right to self- determination and national independence. They wish to decide their future for themselves, free from any kind of foreign intervention in affairs which are their exclusive concern. They wish to shake off the colonial yoke 38

completely so that they may form a free and sovereign nation in a new and independent Africa. The people of Guinea know very well that the procedures and methods to be adopted for the prompt restoration of their right to self-determination, for the immediate elimina¬ tion of Portuguese colonial rule and for the attainment of national independence do not depend on their wishes alone. If that were true, Guinea would already be an independent country and accordingly the situation of its people would not be an international problem.

The people of Guinea consider that the re-establishment of international legality in their country—with respect for the right to self-determination, the elimination of colonialism and the attainment of national independence—depend essentially on the following factors: a) their own desire and determination to free themselves from the colonial yoke, as manifested in the means and the human and material resources which are available to them for the attainment of this goal;

b) the attitude and conduct (moral, political and legal) of the Portuguese government as a party directly concerned in the matter;

c) international politics, that is, the result of internal and external factors which determine at the international level the specific action (positive or negative) both of governments (considered individually or as members of international assemblies) and of the United Nations itself; d) the time required for the contradictions inherent in each of the above factors, which are constantly in a state of flux, to be defined, to develop and to straighten themselves out, whether by peaceful or non-peaceful means.

Where the United Nations is concerned, the problem of this people’s national independence may be summarised in the following two alternatives: (1) either the United Nations, duly supported by the democratic forces of the world, will succeed in planning and putting into effect practical measures compelling the Portuguese government to respect the Charter and the resolution on decolonialisation, to abide by international legality, to renounce a position which is contrary to civilised interests and to desist from a crime against humanity, or (2) the United Nations, through lack of support, methods and practical measures, or some or all of these factors, will not succeed in persuading the Portuguese government to abandon its stubborn and absurd attitude. In the former case—which may be called ‘effective recog¬ nition by the Portuguese government of the respect it owes to the United Nations’—we would have the hypothesis 39

of that government accepting the peaceful elimination of Portuguese colonial domination by negotiation. Ihe attitude of the people of Guinea, as interpreted by its legitimate representatives, would obviously be the one already defined for such a hypothesis. Not only would the prestige of the United Nations be maintained (it would show that the resolution on decolonialisation can indeed be put into effect), but it would also be possible to take into account Portuguese interests in that country, while stubbornly defending the rights of the people of Guinea. Thus it would still be possible to provide for the possibility of studying and defining the participation and assistance of the United Nations in the practical solution of the problem at issue, through its representatives who are most versed in these matters.

In the second case, the hypothesis that peaceful means can be used to eliminate Portuguese colonialism in Guinea would cease to have any meaning, perhaps even less meaning than in the case of a refusal by the Portuguese government without United Nations intervention. The prestige of the United Nations would be seriously jeopardised, the reso¬ lution on decolonialisation would run the risk of being regarded as an academic exercise in international law and the people of Guinea would be obliged to use all means within their power to put an end to the crime perpetrated by the Portuguese government against itself and against mankind.

It is therefore justifiable to conclude that the United Nations’ opportunity of contributing to the peaceful solution of the dispute between the people of Guinea and the Portuguese government does not depend on that people, which is seeking national independence and fighting for it, but on the nature and dynamic of the relations, whether peaceful or not, between that international Organisation and the Portuguese state. Hence, the measures which will have to be taken to secure the accession of the people of Guinea to national independence will also not depend—at least not immediately—on the people of Guinea, but above all on the United Nations, since that Organisation, as the guardian and trustee of international law, is the only body which can compel the Portuguese government to agree to the negotiations in which those measures would be defined. The people of Guinea, reaffirming its confidence in the United Nations, hopes that the Organisation will not fail urgently to adopt specific and effective measures to oblige the Portuguese government to respect international law, and thus fulfil the weighty responsibilities incumbent upon it for the final elimination of colonialism in Guinea.

Anonymous soldiers for the United Nations

Extracts from a declaration to the Fourth Commission of the UN General Assembly, December 12, 1962

The UN resolution on decolonialisation has created a new situation for our struggle. Having been condemned, the colonial system, whose immediate and total elimination is demanded by this resolution, is now an international crime. We have thus obtained a legal basis for demanding the elimination of the colonial yoke in our country and for using all necessary means to destroy that yoke. But this applies not only to us. On the basis of the resolution, the United Nations and the anti-colonialist states and organisa¬ tions—all the forces of peace in the world—can and must take concrete action against the Portuguese state. Illegally and against the interests of civilisation, the Portuguese state is continuing to perpetrate both in our country and in other African countries the ‘crime of colonialisation’, thus en¬ dangering international peace and security.

We are certain that the Portuguese government cannot persist with impunity in committing an international crime. We are also certain that the United Nations has at its dis¬ posal all the means necessary to conceive and carry out concrete and effective measures both to make the principles of the Charter be respected and to impose international legality in our countries and to defend the interests of peace and of civilisation.

We are not here to ask the UN to send troops to free our countries from the Portuguese colonial yoke. Perhaps we could ask for it, but we do not think it necessary, for we are confident that we will be able to free our countries. We invoke only one right: the right to obtain collaboration and concrete assistance from the UN in order to hasten the liberation of our countries from the colonial yoke and thus to lessen the human and material losses which a long struggle can cause.

Our struggle has lost its strictly national character and has moved onto an international level. The struggle taking place in our country today is the struggle of progress against misery and suffering, of freedom against oppression. While it is true that the victims of this struggle are none other than the children of our people, it is nevertheless true that each of our comrades who dies under torture or falls under the fire of the Portuguese colonialist machine-guns identifies himself, through the hopes and certainties which we all carry in our hearts and minds, with all men who love peace 41 and freedom and wish to live a life of progress and happiness. We are not just fighting for the realisation of our aspirations to freedom and national independence. We are fighting— and will fight until final victory—so that the resolutions and the Charter of the United Nations will be respected. In the prisons, in the towns and in the countryside of our land the battle is being fought today between the U N, which demands the elimination of the colonial system of domination of peoples, and the armed forces of the Portuguese govern¬ ment, which wishes to perpetuate this system against the legitimate rights of our people.

Who are we in fact, waging this struggle against the Portuguese colonialists in particularly difficult conditions? When in Elizabethville or in the Congo bush a soldier of Indian, Ethiopian or other nationality falls under the fire of the enemy, he is one more victim who has given his life for the cause of the UN. He dies for a just ideal, since he believes that the UN resolutions on the Congo were aimed at achieving unity, peace and progress for the Congolese people in the independence which they reconquered and to which they have a right.

To have its resolutions respected, the UN has mobilised soldiers, pilots, administrators, technicians and experts of all sorts, and is spending enormous sums each day.

When in our country a comrade dies under police torture, is assassinated in prison, is burned alive or falls under the bul¬ lets of Portuguese guns, for which cause is he giving his life? He is giving it for the liberation of our people from the colonial yoke, and hence for the UN. In fighting and dying foi the liberation of our countries we are giving our lives in the present context of international legality, for the ideal which the UN itself has defined in its Charter, in its resolu¬ tions, and in particular in its resolution on decolonialisation. For us, the only difference between the Indian soldier, the Italian pilot or the Swedish administrator who dies in the Congo and our comrade who dies in Guinea or the Cabo Verde Islands is that by acting in our country for the same ideal we are simply anonymous soldiers for the UN.

The names of our comrades who have fallen victims of the Portuguese colonialists are not on the files of the UN. We have never been paid or equipped by the UN, nor do we have any budget assigned to cover the ever-increasing costs of our struggle. But in the uneven struggle which we are forced to wage we are nonetheless at the service of the UN defending its prestige and the respect owed by all govern¬ ments to the resolutions of an international character which it has adopted.

National liberation and peace, cornerstones of non-alignment

Extracts from a speech made in Cairo to the 2nd Conference of Heads of State and Governments of Non-Aligned Countries, 1964

For some days we have been following with great attention the speeches in the general debate. For us these speeches have given us grounds to feel proud and have greatly encouraged us in our liberating struggle.

In your speeches, you have unanimously condemned im¬ perialism and every sort of foreign domination as being the main source of the tensions, the suffering and the dangers which burden humanity. You have unequivocally reaffirmed your hatred of war, of foreign military bases and of recourse to violence as a means of settling conflicts between ideolo¬ gies, between nations and between states. You have fiercely defended peaceful co-existence, loyal and constructive inter¬ national co-operation and the need for equitable sharing of the world’s riches, which have been created by man. By an argument as intelligent as it is free from prejudice you have shown that the banning of nuclear tests and weapons, as well as general and total disarmament, have become a necessary condition for guaranteeing the survival of the human species and even of our planet. In your just and exemplary aspiration to serve humanity you have reaffirmed your support for the principles of the United Nations Charter. You have thus shown your firm determination to work effectively for the immediate liberation of that Organisation, which is at present a giant with its hands tied, so that, its structure renewed, its institutions democratised and its voice strengthened to include those of hundreds of millions of human beings, it may fully serve the noble causes of freedom, fraternity, progress and happiness for mankind.

But you have done more than this. Faithfully translating the unanimous feelings of active solidarity of your peoples with our liberation struggle, you have given a striking proof of your position as combatants for liberty. You, our fellow combatants, at present occupy the place of honour which history has reserved for you and which allows you to con¬ tribute by all necessary means to the pressing elimination of colonial domination in our countries.

In the framework of your concrete solidarity with the national liberation of peoples and with their inalienable right to control their own destinies—one of the cornerstones of non-alignment—you have also, directly or indirectly. 43 given your fraternal support to the peoples of heroic and socialist Cuba, of South Vietnam, indefatigable and victori¬ ous combatants, of Cyprus and of the Congo, tragically related by the blow of brazen foreign intervention, of martyrised Arab Palestine and of Puerto Rico, that small island which is so often forgotten and in which, as the evidence of its delegation has shown us, more than two million human beings are still suffering under the double yoke of imperialism and colonialism and are struggling, despite the power which faces them, for national independence.

Mr President, Your Majesties, Your Exellencies, the walls of the University of Cairo will guard with understandable zeal the echoes of your speeches, which have been so many commitments and lessons of humanism. And tomorrow, in the course of research into notable contributions to the well¬ being of humanity, people may well ask themselves whether, given the limitations imposed on the United Nations in this year 1964, the Conference of Non-Aligned Countries, in which no spectre can stifle the freedom to be free or fidelity to principles, has not constituted the most important or at least the most effective international organisation of our times.

Mr President, before returning to continue the political and armed struggle for the liberation of our peoples, we wish to reaffirm our active confidence in the practical value of this high international gathering. For our part, we are aware that the complex nature of our struggle is not limited simply to the elimination of the colonial yoke. Whether we wish it or not, we are fighting against imperialism, which is the basis of colonialism, in every form.

It is on the basis of this universal principle that we would like to express our firm conviction that our struggle, be it purely political or armed, is also an expression of the great struggle for peaceful co-existence and for peace. We want to carry out, at least, a policy of peaceful co-existence and peace with all peoples and all states, but in our concrete situation we consider that our very existence as free and independent nations and states is a sine qua non for this policy of co¬ existence and peace. To co-exist one must first of all exist, so the imperialists and the colonialists must be forced to retreat so that we can make a new contribution to human civilisation, based on the work, the dynamic personality and the culture of our peoples.

To make this contribution in independence, fraternity and equality with all peoples, it does not seem to us to be necessary to get involved in the ideological disputes and conflicts which are splitting the world. We do not need to follow any line: our position must be and remain based on 44 the fundamental aspirations of our peoples. There is, how¬ ever. in our ethic of non-alignment one vital need for align¬ ment: we must be capable—and free—to adopt without equivocation any position which aims to serve the dignity, emancipation and progress of peoples.

Mr President, Your Majesties, Your Excellencies, you all represent peoples who have had experience in the struggle for national liberation, albeit to differing degrees, according to the diversity of your historical conditions. Thus you know better than we do that this struggle is in its very essence a daily capitalisation of efforts and sacrifices for a better life and for social liberation. Allow us to affirm to you that the policy of non-alignment which was defined three years ago in Belgrade and has been strengthened during this Con¬ ference, is a guarantee for the efforts and sacrifices capital¬ ised by our peoples for their total liberation from every sort of oppression.