Reagan recently praised the so-called 'sincere and honest efforts' of the South African regime "to remove apartheid." He promised not to abandon a 'friendly' country, whose mineral riches make it "strategically esssential to the free world."

Following Reagan's remarks four South African generals arrived in Washington in March for 'unofficial' talks with the Defence Department and staff of the White House National Security Council.

At the same time, the administration has asked Congress to repeal the Clark Amendment, which prohibits the CIA from giving covert military and financial aid to South African-backed rebel forces fighting in Angola. This has raised the threat of US military intervention in Southern Africa.

Reagan has even used food aid as a weapon to punish African countries which stand up to the US. Shipments of corn and wheat were cut off to drought-stricken Mozambique following that country's expulsion of four American diplomats. Mozambique accused the diplomats of supplying intelligence to the South African army, prior to its recent cross-border attack on an ANC liberation movement office in Maputo.

African Leaders Blast Reagan

While South African Prime Minister Botha was jubilant about Reagan's moves, leaders of Black African nations blasted Washington's stepped-up backing for the white-supremacist Pretoria regime.

Zimbabwe's Prime Minister Robert Mugabe warned of the consequences "if a Reagan administration were to lend support to the aggressive, hostile and repugnant South African regime." Mugabe's remarks were echoed by the chairman of the Organisation of African Unity, Siaka Stevens, in a letter to the US president.

Nigerian President Shehu Shagari, on a visit to Britain, condemned the Western powers for refusing to impose economic sanctions against South Africa. He promised his oil-rich country's full support, including arms, for the liberation movements fighting to topple the apartheid regime.

'Anti-Terrorist' Crusade

Open backing for racist South Africa is part and parcel of Reagan's foreign policy of shoring up repressive regimes as a bulwark against people's struggles challenging US interests in the third world.

Reagan's stance represents a marked shift away from Carter's 'human rights' policy of keeping a little distance from the apartheid regime.

Reagan has embarked on an 'anti-terrorist' crusade, equating just liberation struggles with 'international terrorism,' and claiming that Moscow is behind it all.

In Southern Africa, this policy amounts to encouraging South Africa to step up its suppression of the liberation movements, and military aggression against Mozambique and Angola. There is even talk of lifting the arms embargo on the Pretoria regime.

Intervention Likely

With US support, South Africa can ignore international pressure to give up its illegal occupation of Namibia (Southwest Africa), effectively scuttling any chance of implementing the United Nations plan for Namibian independence. Pretoria has already stepped up attacks on SWAPO, the liberation movement leading the fight to free Namibia, whose bases are located in neighbouring Angola.

As for Angola, with the repeal of the Clark Amendment, Washington will be free to send in the CIA to arm and train South African-backed guerrillas of Unita (Union for the Total Independence of Angola), fighting to overthrow the Angolan government.

Washington is using the presence of Cuban troops in Angola as a pretext to move in and reassert US influence in the country. But US intervention in support of the discredited Unita forces may well turn Angola into a battlefield for the US or the USSR.