talists PRG Even more important than ibe staled positions of the PRO is the actual milita situalion it the South. Whalever the con fusions created by the PRG's manoeuvre: what i important to understand is that any bourgeois farces in governmest will bo in a siluation in whuch the state powe of the capitalist class, its control over an major ariad force, will have adready bee Capitalists with armed force to suppe them in a eoverncient une one thinghut i sectue very different when the copi possess only sconomic and out Ial anned power. Under these litter conditions, while such class allacoss disonent the workers, the hourgenis forces government would in reality be a transi tional phase in the chimination of Dour goois remicants The exact course of events in the South is land to prodict It depends, for example, on wether Thieu's successors attempt to hold together their forces lan enough for a clear military fight around Saigon, or more Ukely, whecher Lies attempt to negotiate immediasely with t but one thing is clear. The revolution has made gigantic strides in Victiar. Wi ever the macioeuvres of the coming week they will not ulter the basic fact. The downfall of the capilalist rogiene in the South is inevitable. The PRG will win.
world revolution hold the political strings for the next three to five years. to back the MFA leaders.
But the outcome of the elections will have an important indirect effect on what takes place in Portugal over the next few months. If the rightwing supporters of the MFA pactthe bourgeois CDS and PPD parties and the Socialist Party-win a sweeping victory, it will strengthen the right wing of the Armed Forces, This will lay the basis for manoeuvres designed to block any further meas ures that cut into the interests of Portuguese capitalists and to lay the ground for a right-wing counter-offensive.
"LEFT PACT
If the left pact (the Communist Party, its front group the Portuguese Democratic Movement, and the Popular Socialist Front) do well, then the With the 'pact that has been signed in Portugal between the ruling Armed Forces Movement (MFA) and all the country's leading political parties, the elections wnich are to be held on 25 April (whose final results will be known on 6 May) will have little direct importance. Irrespective of what happens on 25 April, the Armed Forces Movement intends to continue to The MFA, as part of its class collaborationist scheme to meet the crisis of Portuguese capitalism, has already proposed to draw up a common programme that will unite all the signatories of its pact from the far-right Centre Democrats to the far-left Popular Socialist Front. There is even talk of trying to fuse all these groups into a single organisation whose job would simply be Chris Balfour turn once more to plots and schemes for a future counter-coup.
Another important outcome of the election will be the results achieved by the anti-pact forces of the far left.
By rejecting the pact all these groupsthe "centrist" Movement of the Socialist Left, the Trotskyist International Communist League, and the Maoist groups (Communist Electoral Front, Popular Unity Patty, and Popular wide ranging differences, taken a clear stand in defence of the independence red weekly, 2A april 1975 love harassment of these groups.
lactic'sections of the far left which have most isciated themseives from the mass movement by their sectarian of the revolutionary left as a whole to prevent any umited response struction of the Party of the Proletarat and the Workers and Peasants tions, and denied them the right to carry on any political activity at all of militants of the former group ard currently in prison for violating this UNITED ACTION by banning the Communist Electoral Front from using the radio and TV time to which they are entitled for five days, on the grounds that their programmes criticised the Armed the Popular Unity Party has had one of its TV programmes cancelled.
cach organised protests against these Democratic Union) have, despite their actions, but so far the only proposal left has been from the International of the working class movement and its Communist League, Porfuguese sym The MFA is not unaware of this danger, and has therefore begun selecThe MFA's strategy has been a 'salami -to pick off, one by one, these policies, counting on the sectarianism They began by banning two Maoist groups-the Movement for the ReconAlliance-from taking part in the elecduring the election period. (A number Recently they have added to this Forces Morement. On similar grounds, The various groups involved have for united action by the revolutionary Dominican militant Desmond Trotter still faces the death penalty because of his opposition to the repressive John regime. A picket of the East CaribOver 200 militants and supporters of the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) have been gunned down in the last two months by rightist thugs of the National Front for the Liberation of Angola According to the Portuguese press agency ANI, FNLA members attacked an MPLA headquarters ocar the Angolan capital Luanda on 26 March and cap turod several dozen young MPLA recruits.
Obe newspaperaccount reported that the ENLA 'catried away the recruits in a truck. Some of the recruits, suspecting their fate, jumped off on the way. Some al them were shot the obers were machine gunned in a remote valley. At Jeast 51 were killed in this tassacre.
This massace was only the most vicious incident in an escalating sories of gun battles and assassination attempts
AVE BE LI
TO TER was escorted to the paper's offices by FNLA troops who are now permanently THE HE DC CHEUIE FLA's political goals were antly expressel by Roberto in mid February. Attackang a Week at Popular Power organised by the MPLA's Popular District Comissions in the last week of January, Roberto said that "poople's power lads to a people's dictatorship and the popula tion of Angola, which i Christian, activel rejects Comtnunism."
The leading bourgeois weekdy To The Paist Internarional noted in its 22 February Issue that the FNLA "wants a black nation alist Angola, bur it wants to respect foreig arcatments and give the white man a chanc chance. Its main concer is development of the country and the protection of lave and order. It is ficacely adverse to the so-called "direct popular power" advocated by MPLA
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Armed Forces Movement steps up harassment of left
bean High Commission was held in London last Friday to keap attention focussed on his case, and another is planned for this Friday (see What 3 On).
SENTENCED HANG DOMINAL