The Persistent Empire

At the end of its 28th session last week, the U.N. General Assembly adopted overwhelmingly* a resolution declaring that Portugal represents only its European population and not the peoples of its three African territories --Guinea-Bissau, Angola and Mozambique. A month earlier the Assembly had formally recognized the rebel government of Guinea-Bissau by 93 to 7 (with 30 abstentions). Both actions were purely academic, since the Portuguese are still firmly in control in all three territories. But they called attention, as they were intended to do, to the brush-fire wars that are simmering in the African domains of Europe's last--and most stubborn--colonial power.

The poorest country in Western Europe, Portugal can ill afford the baubles of empire. Yet it is currently spending between 35% and 40% of its meager national budget to fight the African insurgencies. During the past five years, it has spent no less than $1.5 billion on African development. As a result of this vainglorious effort, concludes TIME Correspondent Lee Griggs after a visit to Portugal's three African "states," Lisbon can probably hold on there as long as it is prepared to pay the heavy price.

The situation is in stalemate: the guerrillas are not strong enough to drive out the Portuguese, but the Portuguese --even though they have 160,000 troops in Africa--are not able to subdue the rebels. In all three territories, the Portuguese control the cities and towns. Their strategy is to hold the population centers and strategic agricultural and mineral areas, maintain important road links and leave the sparsely populated border areas largely to the rebels.

The guerrilla position is strongest in Guinea-Bissau (pop. 600,000); they control about one-third of the territory and one-fifth of the population. Two years ago, they got close enough to the capital city of Bissau to lob a few rockets into its outskirts. They have not been able to do so since. In Angola (pop. 5,700,000), the guerrillas of three separate rebel organizations maintain a steady campaign of harassment, but their strength is dissipated by bickering among themselves.

In Mozambique (pop. 8,000,000), the forces of Frelimo (for Mozambique Liberation Front) have tied down 60,000 Portuguese troops in the northern provinces. In the past two months three top Frelimo commanders have defected to the Portuguese, and this month the colonial authorities felt secure enough to release 400 Frelimo detainees as "rehabilitated." The Portuguese also ordered their commanders to avoid a repetition of incidents like last year's Wiriyamu massacre, in which Portuguese soldiers killed an estimated 60 villagers accused of being Frelimo sympathizers.

Self-Help Projects. At present, half of the Portuguese troops on duty in Africa are recruited from the territories themselves, and 40% are black. Special groups of yellow-bereted black troops are used to "mentalize the masses"--a sort of winning-the-hearts-and-minds program carried out by living with villagers for long periods, organizing self-help projects and pleading the Portuguese cause. Other units, known as flechas (arrows), are made up of rebel defectors who sometimes patrol in captured uniforms and are rewarded with cash bounties for every guerrilla or guerrilla weapon they capture.

Another technique to which the Portuguese have resorted is the construction of aldeamentos--semifortified towns that are reminiscent of South Viet Nam's "strategic hamlets." There are now some 3,500 such settlements in the three territories and they hold more than 2,500,000 people.

At the same time, the Portuguese have been trying to give at least a semblance of regional autonomy to the colonies. Legislative assemblies were elected this year in all three territories, resulting in an all-black assembly in Guinea-Bissau, a legislature with a non-white majority in Mozambique and one with a white majority in Angola (where the electorate is 80% black).

The seat of power, however, will remain in Lisbon, where it has been located for 500 years. As a Portuguese official in the Angolan capital of Luanda put it recently, "The issue of independence simply does not arise." Although only Angola provides a net profit for the mother country (through oil, coffee and diamond exports), the Portuguese are determined to maintain their presence in Africa, however great the cost.

* By 94 votes for, to 14 (including the U.S.) against, with 21 abstentions.

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