Armed Struggle

This leaves the only route through which true equality may be obtained as armed struggle. The existing structure of wealth and poverty in Zimbabwe will not allow itself to be politely changed. The drop in the standard of living for whites if all the blacks were to receive a wage equal even to the starvation level, makes a joke of the peaceful approach.

It is realisation of this that has turned many of the liberation organisations towards armed struggle. Through a destruction of the existing structure it may be possible to create a just society. A separation of 7, 000 miles robs us in New Zealand of an understanding of the guiding philosophy behind many of these organisations. All we can be certain of is that, although it is riddled with possible pitfalls, armed struggle offers the only possibility of true success.

There is growing acceptance in Zimbabwe itself that this is the correct way to wage the struggle. It is estimated that 700.000 Zimbabwes are under the superintendence of the Patriotic Front, which claims it is setting up schools, stores, water holes and grinding mills in semi-liberated zones. If the reports are true, it shows that the Patriotic Front is succeeding in combining fighting a war, with winning over the people and setting up the apparatus for when the war is over. Just as the victory in military terms depends on the support of the people, so does a successful national reconstruction.

Peter Beach