RISING WEST GERMAN INFLUENCE IN AFRICA
| By Ilizwe Lesizwe
A few weeks ago it was announced in Bonn that the budget of the West German War Ministry envisages for “economicemilitary co-operation" and "military development aid" 150,000,000 German marks for 1964, to assist in maintaining neocolonialism in Africa, According to Die Welt this means that appropriations for this item have increas-~ ed more than tenfold within two years; i.e., since 1962,
The following are just a few facts on the stepped-up military penetration of Africa by Bonn militarists: West German weapons are used against the freedom fighters in Angola and Mozambique; in Nigeria, there are West German Air Force officers; in Malagasy, there are West German naval units; in South Africa, West Germany is support~ ing the Verwoerd Herrenvolk government in rocket~ and poison«gas . production.
The German .militarists are especially interested in Africa as a rich source of strategic raw materials, as a training ground for troops and as a military base,
They first began operating through their NATO ally Portugal, Salazar gave them concessions to exploit the rich mineral sources of Angola. The Krupp enterprise and the federal government invested £100,000,000 [$280,000,000] in.various concerns in Angola. In return, Salazar received military equipment, including aircraft with launching devices for rockets as well as trucks and arms for his colonial war, A further $150,000,000 credit was granted by Bonn to Portugal to enable the fascist Salazar regime to continue and even to intensify its oppressive campaign, Salazar was again ready to grant further concessions, He ‘placed military bases in Portugal at the disposal of the West German "Bundeswehr," where especially Air Force units, including West German paratroops, are trained, Most probably, it is only the expected wave of protest that prevents Erhard from sending troops of his own directly to Angola, .
Herr Jaeger, vice-president of the Bundestag and leading member of the Bonn government party, the Christian Democratic Union, showed the drift of West German dreams around Portugal in the following cynical declaration after a visit to Portugal and Angola: “If Portugal continues to possess these territories for another decade, it will have won the struggle for them; because within one or two decades so called sovereign Africa will perish in chaos, since these states are not able to govern themselves," What arrogant imperialist contempt for Africans is expressed in these abominable words] oo
In 1957, the Bonn military journal, Wehrkunde, recommended that in view of the atomic menace to European industrial centers, advan~. tage be taken of relations with France to install "a peripheric arms production in North Africa,"
German members of the Foreign Legion who served in Algeria were
employed as instructors by the Bundeswehr to enable them to pass on the experience they had gathered in Africa. As early as 1960, the British Defense Minister announced that the Bonn Bundeswehr could use military bases in East Africa, particularly in Kenya.
Today the German imperialists are attempting to penetrate Africa directly by means of their military development aid, as can already be seen in Nigeria and South Africa. Some time ago, the Bundeswehr journal, Visier, expressed its great interest in "ideal training grounds in South Africa as follows: "The Namib desert near Walvis Bay in the former colony of German South West Africa is an ideal train-~ ing ground for desert warfare. The desert offers space enough for tactical training with service ammunition. Unlike here, no training ground problem exists there. n
The news that West Germany is taking part in the development of ‘pocket production in South Africa was a great shock to Africans. Several West German firms, among them Messrs. Boelkow, near Stuttgart, are already engaged in the development of rocket and other power units, and have sent technicians and scientists to Pretoria,
on February 27 the Deutsche Zeitung, a German economic newspaper, published a letter received from Pretoria, South Africa, under the heading "South Africa Wants Emigrants." It revealed the following facts: "The Lufthansa brings about 50 German emigrants each week to South Afrida, ..... Each mgnth about 1,000 British emigrants receive permits to leave for South Africa: .. 30, 000 -~ Italians, Greoks, ‘Dutch, Belgians, Portuguese and Swiss citizens -- emigrated to South Africa last year. . ... However, these are not yet enough to satisfy the enormous need for people and workers, The steel and machine industry has a. shortage of 2,000 skilled workers, ... By 1970 South Africa will need 2 5345, 000 skilled technicians. ... a third of the South African population are Germans, ... " (As -can be seen, the coloured peoples are not human beings, only the whites are coun= ted and regarded as the “population” here,) "A beautiful suburb with one=family houses -- about 1,500 -= is being built on the level ground, wheré Sophiatown (Johannesburg ) once stood, (For this reason 70,000 Africans had to be driven out of their homes and a whole township transplanted to Meadowlands, miles away; in short, to make place for European emigrants, )
Due to the high percentage of Germans in South Africa, West Ger= many counts on being able to play an important role there in the future,
Bonn press chief, Herr von Hase stated at a press. conference that "military assistance haa been agreed upon in detail" with NATO, Hence the whole Bonn military penetration of Africa is a carefully prepared NATO campaign which, among other things, is aimed at incorporating Africa as a strategically important area in the military preparations of Western imperialism,
THE BLACK.MUSLIMS IN AMERICA
By