Death in the Hills

In the remoter corners of the landlocked southern African state of Lesotho, the fastest means of communication is a yell across the mountainous kingdom's multitudinous valleys. Last week those cries brought word to Maseru, the capital, that an all-out guerrilla war seemed to be brewing in the rugged Maluti Mountains of the north.

Lesotho, formerly Basutoland, has a population of 1,000,000, almost entirely black, and is totally surrounded by and dependent upon South Africa. The country has been a shaky proposition ever since Britain granted it independence in 1966. South Africa has backed Lesotho, largely because it represents the sort of separate development that South Africa would like to see for its own black Bantustans.

In January, the nation's first national elections were ruled invalid by the Prime Minister, Chief Leabua Jonathan, when it became apparent that his party was about to lose. Jonathan, a chief of Lesotho's major tribe, the Basuto, had King Moshoeshoe (pronounced Mo-shway-shway) put under house arrest for daring to support the opposition. Last week the king was whisked off to exile in The Netherlands.

While Moshoeshoe chafed, reports of battles between Lesothian guerrillas and the country's British-led police began echoing down from the hills. Last week, at diamond-rich Kao, rebels reportedly hurled boulders down on a police convoy. In retaliation, the police commandeered light aircraft from Lesotho Airways (a tiny air-taxi operation owned by the government) and, in a throwback to the aerial tactics of 1914, dumped hand grenades on the rebels. Total rebel losses since the fighting began are put at 150; the police admit that two lawmen have been killed and several more wounded.

As far as Jonathan is concerned, the Communists are behind it all. His white British police chief, Frederick Roach, claims that "hundreds" in the opposition Congress Party have been sent to the Soviet Union and Communist China for training as saboteurs. Since most party spokesmen have been in prison since January, they have not been able to dispute the charge.

If the fighting expands, as seems likely, Jonathan may well yodel to South Africa for help. That plea will almost certainly be answered. South Africa's two great bogies are Communism and black insurgency. When both are combined, the response should be automatic.

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