political independence October 24. A joyful celebration was staged in Lusaka, a crowd of 100,000 packing into the immense stadium to hear the speeches. Zambia, with a population of 3,600,000, is the thirty-eighth African country to gain sovereignty.
The victory will give fresh inspiration to the freedom fight- . ers in the bordering countries, particularly Angola and Mozambique, which the Portuguese imperialists are seeking to retain, no matter what the cost in suffering and bloodshed. The population in South-
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ern Rhodesia will likewise be. encouraged to strengthen their resis-~ tance to the racist government of Ian Smith.
Zambia. faces difficult problens, however, The South African: Herrenvolk regime of Hendrik Verwoerd is fully aware of the dangeré . ous threat which Zambia's freedom.represents for the apartheid system in South Africa. An unholy alliance between the Portuguese fascist dictator Salazar, Verwoerd and Ian Smith has already been functioning. One of the evidences of this is the relationship among the secret police of the three countries. Political opponents of Verwoerd have been kidnapped as far away ‘as - Lusaka and dragged into south. ‘Atpica.
Farther in thé background stands a still more powerful ‘smper= ialist force -- the United States. American finance capital has . taken a keen interest in Zambia. The country happens to possess fabulous mineral resources -=- it is the world's second largest producer of copper.
In token of Washington's paternalistic concern over Zambia's future, President Johnson sent as his personal representative to the independence celebration a businessman, Charles W. Engelhard. He is reported to be a director of ‘twenty-three South African companies. ~
These include, according to the October 24 New York Times, "the two principal organizations for recruiting segregated labor for South Africa's gold y mines,*.
The Zambia News, in an editorial on the- meaning of such a figure re oresenting America at the independence ceremonies, — said: it was a "poor choice."
In what surely rated as one of the understatements of the year, the editors declared, "There is nothing. in Engelhard's background. that would endear him to Zambia. ft