Yoke of Independence

In its rush to rid itself of the weight of empire, Britain has often bestowed independence on lands that had no business accepting it. Botswana, for example, is an empty but now sovereign desert, Gambia a wriggle of jungle riverbank, and the Maldives a spatter of coral atolls mostly inhabited by starfish. Few lands, however, have been so ill-prepared to rule themselves as the Federation of South Arabia, which Britain announced last week will become independent by the end of November.

South Arabia consists of the port of Aden and 17 feudal satraps whose Bedouin tribesmen eat goat meat and carry everywhere their curved djambias (daggers). Its life has been disrupted and its British-sponsored federal government destroyed by four years of terrorism and civil war. With the British will depart much of the country's economy. London paid most government expenses. British troops generated 30% of the country's gross national product, the British free port brought tourist dollars into Aden, and the British Petroleum Co. built the Federation's only significant industry--an oil refinery 25 miles from Aden. Even in the unlikely event that the British departure brings peace, it will throw at least 25% of the labor force out of work. And the new government will have to tackle the potentially disastrous job of changing a British-oriented wage structure that is inflated far beyond the country's means.

Crater Shells. The British hope to turn power over to a terrorist group known as the National Liberation Front, which has won the support of the Federation's 9,000-man army. But even as N.L.F. President Qahtan al Shaabi--who may become the country's first head of state--prepared to meet the British in Geneva this week to discuss the transfer of power, a rival terrorist group, FLOSY (Front for the Liberation of South Yemen), threatened to contest the N.L.F. takeover with violence.

No wonder British Foreign Secretary George Brown told the House of Commons in wistful tones: "Her Majesty's government has not had an easy road to follow in bringing South Arabia to independence."

The British departure is all but complete. The tax-free shops of Aden's Steamer Point, which once swarmed with cruise-ship tourists, are now boarded up and deserted. The Crescent Hotel, hub of colonial life, is virtually empty. Aden harbor, no longer a port of call, was filled last week with the glowering grey warships of the British fleet, including the 43,000-ton aircraft carrier H.M.S. Eagle. All but 3,000 of the 12,000-man garrison have already been evacuated by ship and plane, most to British bases in Bahrain or Masqat and Oman; the rest will be gone by the middle of next week. Because terrorist units operating from Aden's seething Crater district have been lobbing mortar shells on the port and the city's Khormaksar airbase as a farewell gesture, the British have had to post two regiments in the district simply to protect their rear.

Guns on the Sea. The new nation, which will be known as South Yemen rather than South Arabia, hopes eventually to merge with neighboring Yemen. Meantime, it is asking the British to support it to the tune of $55 million a year for three years. The N.L.F. intends to run the country along the lines of Arab socialism, but disavows any Communist leanings. It also plans a policy of "positive neutrality"--though its idea of neutrality sounds rather limited. Both the N.L.F. and FLOSY have promised to set up artillery positions commanding the mouth of the Red Sea. Once they are installed, the world's newest nation threatens to use its guns to try to close passage to Israeli shipping.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.