SOUTH AFRICA: The Transkei Puppet Show

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For Matanzima, the advantages of independence are fairly obvious. "We know what is best for us. Independence means the end of the color bar imposed by South Africa and repeal of all South African laws that do not suit our needs. When the time is opportune, we will apply for membership in the U.N., and if it rejects us, we will accept it with a smile —but we will also view it with the contempt it deserves." For South Africa, on the other hand, the eventual independence of all nine black homelands (the others have so far resisted) could theoretically provide a solution to its central dilemma. Through a bit of constitutional legerdemain, the country's 18 million blacks would become foreigners in "white" South Africa, entitled to citizenship and political rights only in the homelands, although fewer than half of them live there. By giving 70% of its population political power in only 13% of its land area, Pretoria could claim white control over the rest of the country. So in the early morning hours of next Tuesday, bonfires on the hilltops will spread the word that the Republic of Transkei is born, whether the Xhosas want it or not.