imidation organised against them, Robert Mugabe's ZANU won 63% of the vote (57 seats) which has given them a clear majority in the new Parliament.
This victory was a major set-back for the Thatcher government - & its white racist allies in Salisbury and Pretoria - who had seen the election as a last-ditch attempt to contain the growing struggle for Black independence and majority After Smith and his 'puppet' Muzorewa had shown themselves unable to stem the growing pressure, the Lancaster House accords were clearly aimed at allowing Imperialism a chance to manoeuvre a 'safe' government into power.
WEIGHTED From the start, the dice were clearly weighted against the Patriotic Front. Not only was the white minority guaranteed a disproportionate number of seats anti-union moves on May 14th. police, army and civil service.
Worse still was the fact that -during the elections themselves -the liberation fighters were expected to report to 'assembly points' while the white security forces - openly backing Muzorewa - were free to roam at will.
What this meant, in concrete terms, was a systematic intimidation of the Black population, including the murder of liberation fighters in cold blood, attempted assassination of ZANU leaders and repression of Black voters on a mass scale (as reported by the Catholic Institute for International Relations).
NEUTRAL?
Lord Soames, the British governor sent out to ensure tair play' during the elections, encouraged this intimidation of ZANU and its mass following. He himself gave permission for breaking up ZANU electoral rallies & banned ZANU candidates from running TROOPS in the elections on trumped-up charges.
oeuvre into power a coalition government - possibly headed by and less likely to act as a spur to the struggle for Black rights in neighbouring South Africa. Even the United States - no lover of liberation movements! -felt compelled to support a UN motion moved by Black African states condemning British bias in Zimbabwe.
BREAK-THROUGH liberation forces won such a resounding victory - despite the defeat for Imperialist ambitions in the area. It clearly reveals the mass support for what the Tory press labelled as "isolated terrorists' and will greatly strengthen those forces in Namibia & South Africa fighting the apartheid monster there.
for rights are 'negotiable'.
THREAT The aim of these methods was crystal-clear. It was to isolate and discredit Mugabe in order to manJoshua Nkomo - which would be more 'pliable' to British interests armed forces.
Undoubtedly, the fact that the DANGERS intimidation campaign - is a major