LETTER: People’s war, the Soviets and the ANC
The concept can be traced back to a 1960s short course given by Moscow to guerrilla movements
Carol Paton stated in her feature on Mangosuthu Buthelezi (https://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/politics/2019-09-16-mangosuthu-buthelezi-tambo-tainted-my-legacy/) that the concept of a “people’s war” in SA was a result of an ANC visit to Vietnam in 1978 (“Mangosuthu Buthelezi: Tambo tainted my legacy”, September 16). This is incorrect.
In the late 1960s the Soviet leadership commissioned a short course intended for third world guerrilla movements that looked to Moscow for aid. This course, known as military combat work (MCW), was given to a wide variety of movements that sent missions to Moscow. The MCW explicitly recommends “people’s war” and explains how guerrillas should infiltrate their home country and establish “points of influence” there...
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