BACKGROUND:

Communist Front Activities and Africa Africa, the former “dark” continent, has assumed nation of these evils, orderly political growth will be

great importance in world affairs, a fact which Com- impossible. munist leaclers have long appreciated. Not only is Africa The Soviet leaders are convinced that the scientific a rich source of raw materials and a large potential mar- laws of Marxism-Leninism are applicable to the whole ket for goods, but it has a great strategic importance, human race-Black, Yellow and Red as well as White- and recently its many new nations (more than 35 in the last 15 years) have taken on a key role in the U.N.

and it remains the duty of Communists not to sit back

(see “The Soviet Record in the United Nations,” Oc- and let history do their job for them but to put every

tober 1962, Communist Affairs) and in international possible effort into the acceleration of this process.

affairs in general. Communists, of course, deny that their efforts to ac-

This month, Africa’s importance was dramatized celerate the progress of the people of less-developed SO-

by the first summit conference of independent African cieties towards “socialism” are imperialistic. On the

states (Addis Ababa, May 23-26). The 30 nations rep- contrary, they claim that they have a proud record of

resented signed a charter setting UD an ‘Lorpanization struggle against imperialism. As early as the 20’s they

-*.----*A~ Asian and African nationalist movements against the “colonialist” and “imperialist”

Dear Reader: A’ers. For example, they supported Kemal

The Research Institute on Communist Strategy and n Turkey, they showed sympathy to King

Propaganda has been sending Communist Affairs to in Afghanistan and the early Wafd move-

you as one of the influential persons in your commu- Egypt, and they urged the French Commu-

nity who should be receiving the information it con- :lp the revolt of the Moroccan insurgents of lder Abd-el-Krim.

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the necessity of disseminating our findings as widely as possible, oblige us to maximize our resources. This necessarily includes building up the subscription reve- nues of Communist Affairs.

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~-l~e~~ea~~tatesaas-eagerry wooea-mcan7crrem ship to the extent of alienating some of its Western allies and even segregationists of the U.S. southern states, where integration has continuously been champ- ioned by the federal government. Some U.S. military equipment has gone to a dozen nations, and U.S. eco- nomic aid to a score of countries has been exceeding $200 million in recent years-not counting surplus farm commodities and Export-Import Bank loans-ac- cording to G. Mennen Williams, Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs (interview in U.S. News, June 4, 1962). The reasons for U.S. aid were outlined by Williams, in terms similar to those expressed by Chester Bowles, the President’s former adviser on African, Asian and Latin American Affairs, who wrote July 29, 1962 in the New York Times Magazine:

The emerging nations . . . are wrestling with awe- some problems of illiteracy, ill health, poverty and injustice. Unless their people can be convinced that reasonable progress is being made toward the elimi-

mmunist influence on the nationalist move- s small at first, whether in Asia between the

wars or in Africa and Latin America after n II. However, the Soviet leaders have con- shown good understanding of the leadership led by the intelligentsia in such movements. erstand that it is from this educated elite that s of the new nations arise. 1 I 918 and 1939 the Communists made efforts members of the intelligentsia from the so- lcrdeveloped nations studying abroad. Since ar II much greater efforts along these lines made. Students from such nations have been and some of them have been trained in tech- propaganda and subversion, in Prague, Mos- :her centers in the Soviet bloc*.

Contradictory Faces of the Soviet Union

The Soviet Union has worked hard particularly the past IO years to promote friendship with the African peoples. However, many Africans increasingly recog- nize the contradicting faces shown by the Soviets. The Soviet Association of Friendship with the African peoples was founded four years ago to accomplish a number of purposes: to hold meetings, parties and ex- hibitions; to mark national holidays and jubilees of im- portant African personalities; to do research and spon- sor books on Africa with a Communist angle; and to arrange Soviet visits to African countries and vice versa. The Association has enjoyed a large measure of success. Under the direction of Dr. I. I. Potekhin, the African Institute of the U.S.S.R. Academy of Sciences publishes over IOO books annually and many articles. L

**&e “Communists Woo Afro-Asian Students,” October issue of Conimunist Affairs, p. 15.

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The Soviets are making other efforts to win the Afri- can to their side. Until 1958 there were almost no Afri- can students in Russia, but the number now is over 2000, all with full scholarships. The Patrice Lumumba University, segregated as it is, still holds an important value both for propaganda and as a symbol of Soviet friendship. In 1959, the first large group of African students to arrive in Moscow were very warmly wel- comed; banquets, flowers, etc., were offered in their honor. And such activities quickly became news in African papers and on radios. It is important to note that within this comparatively short time (1g5+tg63), the Sotiet radio broadcasts to Africa have been stepped up, using a number of leading African languages such as Swa’hili in order to get across Communist views. Radio Moscow has recently initiated a “competition” to teach Africans Soviet history and Russian at the same time. One 1962 broadcast helped listeners to “guess” the date and place of the Bolshevik Revolution.

The Soviet government, in its attempt to woo the Africans, has invited African leaders to visit the U.S.S.R.; and every visit furthers Communist propa- ganda: the African is shown extreme hospitality and sympathy in his struggle against colonialism; he sees Soviet industrial progress and military power; and re- ceives a shower of promises of moral and material aid.

A classic example was the elaborate welcome given to the Emperor Haile Selassie in 1959. He was greeted by thousands of people, feted with impressive dinners; economic and cultural agreements were made-a long- term loan of $100 million at a low interest rate and a three-year (lgsg-1962) agreement for cultural co- operation were signed. The emperor was awarded the honorary doctor of jurisprudence degree by the Mos- cow State University. And as a send off, according to African Report of October 1959, crowds stood yelling in the street with posters written in his mother tongue; this Soviet gesture made a deep impression on the Emperor and those who accompanied him.

Similar receptions and pledges of aid were given to delegations from Guinea (lg61), Mali (1g6z), Liberia (-1962) and Togoland (1962). The Soviet propaganda lme with respect to Africa was summarized by Deputy Premier Mikoyan, when he told the Guinean delega- tion: “The U.S.S.R. in conducting its policy of peace and cooperation between the peoples, invariably sym- pathized with the African Peoples’ struggle against the shameful system of colonialism.” He added that the peoples of Africa had a true and dependable friend in Soviet Russia*.

Soviet Deeds Don’t Match Words The friendly image, however, is rather blurred by

frequent shifts in Soviet policy and by the treatment the African student experiences in the Soviet Union. Soviet deeds are often less friendly than Soviet words. As early as Oct. 3, 1960 three students, Theophilus Okonko (Nigeria), Andrew Amar (Uganda), and Mi- chael Ayih (Togo), wrote a letter to all the heads of African governments complaining of constant dis- crimination, threats, lack of freedom even to form an African Student Association; and the same complaint included an accusation that a young Somali student was

.*Afnkun Report, August 1961.

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beaten unconscious (in May 1960) simply because he had asked to dance with a Russian girl*. In April 1962 a major disturbance erupted at the Lumumba Uni- versity between the Soviet authorities and a group d- Kenya studcnls. Some sludrnts were arrested and others placed under restrictions. Miss Margaret Keny- atta had to fly to Moscow to intervene and help the release of the students, according to reports**.

These are only a few of the known complaints open- ly expressed by African students in the Soviet Union. For similar incidents in other Communist countries see Communist Affairs, Vol. 1, No. 3, Oct. 1962 and Vol. I, No. 5, Feb.-Mar. 1963. As a result of such incidents, most Africans still studying in Communist countries remain unconvinced that communism has obliterated racial discrimination, as claimed. What is clear about Soviet-African relations now is that there is a signi- ficant amount of “sand in the wedding cake,” as Afri- cans say.

Communist Penetration Techniques in Africa

The Communist view on Africa is that the African peoples have become part of the ‘<general front of the anti-imperialist and democratic camp headed by the Soviet Union,” as expressed in Narody Afriki (Peo- ples of Africa) issued by the Institute of Ethnography of the U.S.S.R. Academy of Sciences (Moscow, 1954).

The present policy is not to establish new Commu- nist parties in Africa, but rather for the Communists to align themselves with African neutralist and nation- alist movements-so long as these do not conflict with Communist aims. The aim is subversion of those groups and eventual control of them.

This strategy is detailed by the Department of State in its January 1962 report, World Strength of the Com- munist Party Organizations, as follows:

In Africa, the main Soviet thrust continued to be directed toward the encouragement of left-wing na- tionabst movements, on the assumption that they will prove susceptible to Communist penetration and capture.

The 1962 report adds that Communist movements of some significance exist

in Morocco, Tunisia, Sudan, Madagascar and the Union of South Afrioa, but the emergence of full- fledged communist movements has not yet paralleled the constitution of new states in the area south of the Sahara. African nationalists who reject Communist overtures

are attacked in propaganda. The reaction of newly- independent nations against former colonial powers is encouraged and exploited in the political, cultural and economic fields, with the aim of making African coun- tries friendly toward the Communist bloc.

One obvious and vital field for Communist subver- sion is trade unionism. Much energy has been spent by Communists in attempting to gain control of the African trade union movement-especially by using the international “front” organizations.

A “front” organization is a movement which pre- tends to be independent but is in fact secretly financed and controlled by Communists who take their orders

‘Time, October 3, 1962. l *Asian Student Journal, April 2 I, 1962.

from Moscow. These organizations, widely discredited in Europe and the United States, cover such activities as those of organizations representing trade unions, youth, women, scientists, students, teachers, lawyers and journalists, and the struggle for peace. Among the best known are the World Peace Council (WPC), the World Federation of Democratic Youth (WFDY), the International Union of Students (ITJS) and the Wo- men’s International Democratic Federation (WIDF) .

WFTU Is Front to Subvert Unions

For their maneuvers against Africa’s trade unions, the Communists have employed the resources of the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU), which they dominate. But because the organization is gener- ally known to be Communist-controlled, they have de- liberately sacrificed formal affiliation between the Afri- can Unions and the WFTU, preferring instead to keep their hand hidden by appearing to support but in fact constantly maneuvering to control, what was intended to be an independent trade union organization, the All African Trade Union Federation (AATUF.)

President Keita of Mali has been active in exposing Communist maneuvers to influence new African States through their trade unions. In January, 1963, address- ing a meeting of trade unionists in Bamako, he de- scribed the process as “another kind of assimiliation- ideological assimilation.” President Keita urged trade unionists to retain their independence and work to- gether for national construction rather than to take part in a class struggle alien to African ideals.

He meant simply that outsiders, knowing little about African feelings and ignoring African desires for a purely African culture, were trying to involve them in a struggle that had no real place in Africa. The dangers to African independence from communist im- perialism were further underlined in February by President Nyerere of Tanganyika, who warned a meet- ing of the Afro-Asian People’s Solidarity Organization of a “second scramble” for Africa.

It was clear from the birth of the All-African Trade Union Federation (AATUF) that Communists would attempt to gain control over it. One of its founders was Abdoulaye Diallo, recognized as West Africa’s leading Communist, trained in WFTU. Diallo organized the AATUF inaugural conference in May 1961 and en- sured that a large proportion of those attending were Communist sympathizers; some were even expatriates who had been living in Communist countries and were in no sense representative of African trade unions.

Since then the WFTU has shadowed the activities of the AATUF, in spite of the latter’s declared policy that its members should not have other international affilia- tions. The aim has been to isolate African trade union- ism from Western associations and maintain indirect contacts with Communist causes through the WFI’U. This was made clear by the Ghanaian trade unionist, John Tettagah, a secretary of the AATUF, in the Ghana Trades Union Congress News BuIletin of Jan. 9, 196,3. He declared:

Our aim of creating the All-African Trade Union Federation does not suggest the break of our in- ternational solidarity.

, Ali Yata, Secretary General of the Moroccan Com- munist party, went even further. He said that inde- pendence did not mean isolationism, and that the AATUF’s international policy coincided with that of the WFTU. In the December 1961 edition of the World Marxist Review, Ali Yata made it clear that the eventual Communist aim is for the AATUF to be engulfed by the W’FTU. He added: “The moment for this is not yet ripe.”

The possibilities of more direct influence being brought to bear on African trade unionists through backdoor association with Communists are illustrated by another passage from Tettagah’s article in the Ghana TUC News Bulletin of Jan. g. He said:

Through our fraternal relations with various trade unions all over the world, the Ghana Trades Union Congress has in two years sent over 60 boys and girls to Socialist countries to study medicine, engineering and other academic courses.

Though only a comparatively small number of unions have sought direct WFTU affiliation, this was part of a deliberate attempt to present the AATUF as an independent non-affiliated organization; yet it is in fact maintaining undercover WFTU influence. The danger of Communist control and take-over is still there, but many responsible African trade union lead- ers, who are concerned with preserving the independ- ence of their countries and with keeping faith with the workers they represent, have seen the danger. And they are not prepared to trade their independence for an alien ideology.

The All-African Trade Union Federation (AATUF)

The conception of a Pan-African Trade Union Fed- eration has existed since I 957, when Sekou Tour6 of Guinea set up the “Union Generale des Travailleurs de 1’Afrique Noire” (UGTAN) to cover French West Africa. The Communists apparently intended. to ex- ploit UGTAN as the nucleus of an outwardly neutral All-African trade union federation.

Contacts between WFTU and UGTAN were devel- oped to the extent that in early 1960 a “Worker’s University” to train “African anti-imperialist and anti- colonial cadres,” was established outside Conakry, (Gui- nea) with WFTU financial aid.

At the Constituent Congress of the AATUF, held in Casablanca in May 1961, a long-smouldering dispute over “dual affiliation” of trade union groups was won by the extreme leftist element. The dispute over “dual affiliation” centered on whether AATUF members could also afliliate with international trade union bodies. The union sponsors of AATUF, the extremist group within AAPC, insisted on disaffiliation, to force a complete break with the non-Communist International Confed- eration of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) , to which many other members, especially from East Africa, belonged.

Discrimination in the delegations invited and other undemocratic methods, such as “voting” only by accla- mation, were used by the sponsors to insure the results they wanted. Finally the extremists manipulated the adoption-also by “acclamation’‘-of a charter embody- ing their ideas, but only after several important dele-

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gates including Tom M’boya, had walked out. The charter’s key clause prevents a member union of the AATUF from being an affiliate of any international trade union organization, such as the ICFTU.

But the charter did not remain unchallenged. Ahmed Tlili, then Secretary-General of the Union Generale Tu- nisienne du Travail, and Lawrence Bortha of Nigeria’s Trade Union Congress, complained that most Africans invited were fellow travellers, and included a number of expatriate Africans resident in Communist countries.

Dissatisfied with the results of the Casablanca Con- ference, African workers’ delegates to the forty-fifth International Labor Organization (ILO) conference in Geneva in June 1961, agreed to convene in Dakar a more representative all-African Conference. According- ly, the African Trade Union Confederation (ATUC) was formed at Dakar in January, 1962. Most African countries, with the exception of the Casablanca Group, were represented.

Since the AATUF Charter came into being, WFTU has emphasized the value to African trade unions of “collaboration” (but not affiliation) with WFTU. De- spite its ban on external affiliation, some AATUF offi- cials have maintained links with Front organizations. For example, the AATUF Malian Secretariat member, Lazare Coulibaly, is also a member of the Administra- tive Committee of the WFTU’s Building Workers Trade Union International.

Communists Also Exploit Pan-Africanism

Pan-Africanism-the natural desire of the African peoples to co-operate for mutual benefit-likewise has become a target for Communist penetration and ex- ploitation.

Communist exploitation of the Afro-Asian People’s Solidarity Council, later the Afro-Asian People’s Soli- darity Organization (AAPSO) , is a danger which should not be ignored. The AAPSO was set up in Cairo in 1957, with the Soviet Union and China obtaining per- manent representation on its secretariat.

Several other new Pan African organizations appear to be in danger of manipulation by international Com- munist Front organizations. They are primarily the AAPC (All-African People’s Conference) and the PAYM (Pan-African Youth Movement).

The All-African People’s Conference, the first real manifestation of Pan-Africanism and one from which most Pan-African organizations have developed, was formed to co-ordinate efforts by which the independent countries would assist others to obtain freedom.

Although some 300 delegates attended the Accra in- augural meeting of AAPC in 1958, the only leading political figure from outside Ghana was Tom M’boya of Kenya. Soviet interest was made clear by the pres- ence of a delegation of observers led by Professor I. I. Potekhin, the leading Russian Africanist who subse- quently became head of the Soviet-African Institute in Moscow. Since 1958 there have been ever larger Soviet bloc delegations at the AAPC meetings.

The first conference adopted a moderate “Declaratinn on Imperialism and Colonialism” which recognized that independence could be won by peaceful means and guaranteed support for all such action. Support was

also promised, however, for all those “forced to retaliate by the violent action by which they are subjected and exploited.”

Between the Accra meeting and the second AAPC Conference in Tunis in lgGo, the Steering Committee met three times. At those times inner dissensions were revealed when several meetings were boycotted by anti- Communist representatives. Backed by an extremist faction, consisting at first of delegates from Guinea, Ghana and Egypt, Abdoulaye Diallo, eventually be- came Secretary General. Diallo, a Guinean well-known as a Communist leader, is a former World Peace Council (WPC) member and former Vice President of another Communist organization, the World Federa- tion of Trade Unions (WFTU) . He soon managed to secure increased authority for his office so that he was empowered to “take any action which hr deems to be within the purposes and objectives of the conference.”

Meanwhile, before the third AAPC Conference in Cairo in March 1961, the nations whose representatives previously had taken an extremist line-Guinea, Ghana, and the United Arab Republic-with Mali and Morocco formed the “Casablanca group.”

This group, which became increasingly representa- tive of extremist thought in Africa, then presented a solid bloc at Cairo. With such support and under the guidance of Diallo, the conference adopted a resolution on “neo-colonialism.” A sharp anti-Western line be- came evident.

In line with Communist propaganda, other resolu- tions called for the convening of conferences to estab- lish Pan-African federations of trade unions, women, youth and farmers. An African press agency and in- formation center was also proposed.

The Pan-African Youth Movement (PAYM)

The idea of a Pan-African Youth conference was first put forward at a meeting of the non-Communist World Assembly of Youth (WAY) in Bamako (Mali) in 1959.

The following March, an Executive Committee meet- ing of the communist World Federation of Democratic Youth (WFDY) in Conakry nominated a small com- mittee to promote an all-African youth conference, pro- posed at the WAY meeting. WFDY Bureau meetings late in 1960 supported an “African Youth Congress” to set up an “autonomous organization” with a center in Guinea. A meeting in Accra (Ghana) in October 1961, was attended by A. Diallo and 25 representatives from Guinea, Ghana, Mali, Niger, the two Congos, Nigeria, Gambia, Tunisia, Angola, Basutoland, the Algerian Revolutionary movement (FLN) and the exiled wing of the Union des Populations du Cameroun (UPC).

Originally planned for January, 1962, the Pan-Afri- can Youth Conference eventually opened on April 26 and was attended by representatives of about 25 African States, radical groups being well represented. Observers from the two communist youth organizations, WFDY and International Union of Students (IUS), attended.

The conference passed a number of resolutions con- demning Western “coloni~llis~n” and “neo-colonialism” in Africa and supl)orting “liberation struggles” in An- gola, Mozambique and South Africa. The Youh Move- ment is to remain ostensibly free of all international

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