Forty Years of the Kabwe Conference: Counter-Revolution in the Frontline States
(Portions of the Political Report of the National Executive Committee to the National Consultative Conference, which was presented by the President of the African National Congress, Oliver Tambo, 17 June 1985, Kabwe, Zambia)
Counter-Revolution in the Frontline States
“As Conference will recall, Mozambique attained its independence on June 25, 1975. In this regard, we might consider sending a message from this Conference to the people of Mozambique on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of their independence. Angola became independent on November 11th of the same year.
“Between these dates and the time of the revolution in Portugal, a complicated situation obtained both in Mozambique and in Angola, with the forces of counter-revolution involved in a series of desperate assaults aimed at destroying FRELIMO and the MPLA and preserving Mozambique and Angola as objects of imperialist plunder.
“The most determined counter-revolutionary offensive took place in Angola, spearheaded by an open invasion of that country by the racist army of the Pretoria regime and supported by United States imperialism and puppet forces within Angola. At the same time, the progressive forces in Africa and the world were forced to wage an intense struggle for the recognition of the People’s Republic of Angola.
The Heroism of Angola
“Our National Executive Committee kept this situation under rev
