THERE COULD be no greater indictment of imperialism and the debt crisis than the outbreak of cholera in Latin America.
The epidemic is already the worst this century - a ghastty throwback to a time when drugs were scarce and ineffec ease. tive.
More than 1000 people have died of the disease in Peru since February. Another 150,000 are affected by the disease. It is not confined to the towns but has reached the farthest-flung villages. It has spread from Peru to Ecuador, Colombia, Chile and Brazil. Experts think that 3 million people will contract the disease in Brazil in the next few years. No. 1 May 1, 1991 The disease has hospitalised 140,000 people in Peru, in addition to those who have died. Peruvian health minister Carlos Vidal says he expects there to be 10,000 fatalities and that there are 300,000 carriers of the disCholera is exclusively a disease of the poor. In areas with silenced now. proper sewage and clean water it is almost impossible for the disease to spread.
World Health Organisation experts say it will take 15 years to eliminate the disease. With proper sanitation and nutrition it could be eliminated in months. The tens of thousands who will die are victims of imperialism and the debt crisis it has inflicted on the continent. activist was quoted in Vrye heads can take decisions (like in the 1950s) and the rest must fol- interim govemment. low. It is high time that the ANC leadership recognises that negotiations are about the aspirations, the emotions and the dreams of people.
The way in which negotiations are being conducted now excludes us. We have shed our blood for democratic institutions Secretary Alfred Nzo. and we are not going to be This reflects the views of a large section of ANC members and supporters in the townships.
Suspicion arises because a deadline, 9 May, was originally set for the resignation of the two ministers and govemment action a serious force. to halt the township killings.
This was despite the ANC December conference decision that the deadline should be 30 April. 'The goalposts are being constantly pushed back because In order to contain this fervour 'pragmatics', has supported the This new position was adopted at a meeting between the ANC and the Pan African Congress (PAC) in Harare in mid-April. The an- Poland (see page 13). nouncement came from the PAC General Secretary Benny Alexander and was reluctantly confirmed by the ANC's General This will strengthen the 'radicals' in their fight for leadership. It also underlines the point that rank-and-file pressure can keep the leadership in line.
One side-effect of the growing disillusion with the ANC leadership is that the PAC has become Only two years ago, the PAC was almost written off in South African politics. The new strength of the PAC forced by Israelis on the West Bank. the ANC to agree to such a joint meeting. It was the first since the PAC-ANC split in the 1940s.
The country is ruled by an alliance of the 'Socialist' Party - the old CP - and the Union of Democratic Forces, which includes 19 groups from the extreme Meanwhile Japanese company Suzuki is to open a plant in Hungary to produce 60,000 cars a year. General Motors and Ford already plan Hungarian operations. GM is also pushing to open a plant in Hungary has passed a law to give huge compen sation in state bonds and land to those who had their property confiscated by the former communist regime. Hungary's extremely successful co-operative farming sector is being dismantled and the land given back to peasant smallholdings.
Palestinians - no deal AS COULD HAVE been predicted, shuttle diplomacy by US Secretary of State James Baker has come up with nothing for the Palestinians. Doing something for the Palestinians was a US promise during the Gulf war. But Baker has found the Israeli government unwilling to make the slightest concession, especially on the issue on new settlements and land seizures A special meeting of PLO leaders in Tunis, called to review the outcome of the Gulf war, rejected proposals to oppose the US diplomatic initiative.
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