Significance of Soviet aid

The value of Soviet backing for the various movements is great, and thus the way is clear for Moscow to exert its influence on them and extract what it can in fringe benefits. This situation, advantageous to the Soviets, leaves the movements open to verbal attack from their enemies. Training is perhaps the most important form of aid for both the donor and recipient. For the movements, the learning of techniques is more pertinent to their situation than receiving equipment. For the Soviets, training offers their best opportunity to indoctrinate the potential cadre. Formal instruction in guerrilla strategy and tactics has been the most fruitful method for transmitting Communist ideas on guerrilla warfare. Virtually every major African guerrilla movement has sent selected recruits to the Soviet Union and other Communist states for intensive training.

The type of training administered by the Soviets was recently outlined to a journalist by two ex-guerrillas in Mozambique. The first studied political warfare at the Central Komsomol School in Moscow during 1966-67. The principal subjects were political science and economics, the history of Communism, and laws of nature. Students at the school came from several African states. This guerrilla was selected for advanced study in political subversion, including how to carry out a coup d’йtat and how to subvert an army. The second former guerrilla was sent to Moscow in 1965 and was later sent to a ten-month course at the Guerrilla Warfare Training School in the Crimea. The training was in guerilla tactics and weapons, with periods of political teachings. All the students were African. These are just two of the many Africans (estimated in the hundreds) that undergo training in Moscow and the Crimea each year.⁷ Training and indoctrination continue to be a vital part of the overall Soviet policy toward the liberation movements.

Cuban training assistance may be in collaboration with Soviet efforts. The Cubans did much to popularize guerrilla warfare. Cuban policy has strongly supported revolutionary causes in Africa, and Cuban academies with Communist/revolutionary themes are reported to train over 700 students from black Africa at a time.

The Africans, the Russians, and

The Organization of African Unity

Most guerrilla leaders view the aid they receive from the Soviets as Moscow’s duty in its role as leader of socialist nations. At the same time they remain sensitive to being identified with Communism. Amilcar Cabral, the late guerrilla leader from Portuguese Guinea has stated that the aid his group receives from the socialist countries is a historical obligation. Agostinho Neto, the Angolan revolutionary leader, maintains that his organization is not subordinate in its policy to any foreign power and that any statements to the contrary are propagandistic fantasy. He states that people fighting for their independence will take aid from wherever they can, even from the Devil himself.

The Organization of African Unity (OAU), through its African Liberation Committee (ALC), has sought to be the chief vehicle for aiding and influencing the movements. Most of the funds for the movements is channeled through the ALC, which has tended to function more as a political organization. OAU/ALC recognition is important to the movements, but it is secondary in overall importance to Soviet support. According to Cabral, the OAU responded to his requests for weapons and supplies, but quantities were insufficient to meet his needs. Cabral’s strongest thanks were reserved for the U.S.S.R. The OAU/ALC, being weak in resources, cannot carry as much weight as the Soviets when it comes to material assistance, but it remains a respectable showcase for the voices of African liberation free from the tinge of Communism.