KUMANIA: 2,000 (roop are still stationed in the Jiu valley after the coal miners" strike there in August. Official promises over living conditions havenot been met and many miners have been sacked and forcibly removed from the area.
N.KOREA: An extensive purge is in progress alter the discovery ofanalleged plot to overthrow parly lender Kim Il-aung. Japanese business people report thal "scores of military of ficershavealready been arrested."
SAHARA: Polisario troops have launched attacks in the Moroccan-occupied sector Western Sahara around El-Aloun. 58 Moroccantroopswere killed. The French have been nying much-pub icised missions of Jaguar fighters over Mauricanian-occupied territory.
BOLIVIA: Dictator Hugo Banzer has announced that DC WI To oc a CaDcIoatc L the general cloction schedthat theelections will procoed 'Treely and peacefully under the protection of himself and the armed forces!
YUGOSLAVIA: President Tito received an unexpected greeting on Yugoslavia's nationalday - From China's ciparchan saua auo tene: Despite Mao's denunciation O1 to 8s a revis bere has been a rapprocbemenr acrveen the tao ooun eles it necent monchs, partscular y since Tito's visit Peking in August.
CHINA: A manin China has writteo to the Peaple's Dally protesting al noisy ventilator ao is the bote next door. The botel blaibes thenoiseon 'interference and sahocage" hy the gang of four". We would point out that a obisy fan is usually caused by something hitting ELECTIONS for South in that country, are for whites only. So it was no surprise tbat KORSTER Jeaves a Pretoria poiling steaion Afn- week's general BUHULCU-Ea uS RYaUra' Johannes Balthazar Vorster's ruling National Party, writes JOHNHUNT.
shown his white minority.
of black partiamentary of the black masses.
OPPOSITION wiversal franchise themselvesabouti Overtbepast ycar Vorster had deterinination preserve the privileges of the Since the Soweto rising of June 1976 his police have nurdered hundreds and Imprisoned tbousands more.
South African whites rewarded him with 80 per cent of the seats, thus committing themselves to the capitalista certaioty of long and bloody confrontation with the struggle political forse.
But why did Vorster face any opposition at all? There was no opposition candidatewhe stood for anything as radical as the So what were the whites lighting among Vorater presents a slight problem for imperiaiist interests in South Africa. The National Party has worked to huild up locally-based Afri kaner industries at the expense of the British, US, French and German multinationals operaling in the country, State subsidies and state interLUD Loe eeduriaNe created a powerful Afrikanier capitalismn. Tbe support of the white workers for the Afrikamer Patt Was DecI secured by its demonstration - tbat It is more untransigents committed to the defenoe of whitesupremacy than any ocher RACIST BLOC Vorster's reliance on this racist bloc means that be is not attuned to the views of the BLEHEHUBBS SQ the. Intter have found their political expressipn in the Progressive Reform Party, which won 17 seats. The PRP is prepared te make some concessioos or democratic rightts giving blacks a qualined franchis based on property and education — so as to produce a political solution which, they think will secure the cconoms order.
IMPOSSIBLE But it is impossible to win the mass of whites to such a view. That is why the PRP only won seats in urban upper middle PRP iseloquently testified to by Le Jackiag a geis trom co South African based muttiBEHLLUIN many of whose executives hold CAUHEEDS U IE Br?
For imperialism . Afrikane like BTOuaaT loyalism, is a Frankenstein's monster it cannot control, butis afraid to destroy.
IS THERE a third road to socialism? Ruling class ideologists have for decades sought to SOCIALIST CHALLENGE 8 December 1977 page 13 have been to have campaigned (in the
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AFTERSADAT... WHAT? IMG Pubhc Meeting Speaker: Jon Rotlischild Room SI01A, LSE, Houghton St, London WC2 7:30pm Sat 10 December