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Appendix E our Last Stand our Last Stand USArF Has Been Banned!!! Cheche is dead!!!! EdiToriAL NoTE: This is a linguistically edited and reformatted version of the statement issued on 12 November 1970 by the University Students African revolutionary Front of the University of dar es Salaam in response to the banning of USArF and Cheche by the government. The statement was written by Karim F Hirji and Naijuka Kasihwaki. A bleak Day Last Monday, 9 November 1970, was a bleak day for us.The campusTYL committee was hurriedly summoned in the evening to the Vice Chancellor’s office. The following information was conveyed to us: USArF should wind up its activities and Cheche should cease further publication. We were told that this was a directive from the State House. And the reasons given were: (i) USArF is a redundant organization sinceTYL is supposed to have a monopoly of political activities on the Hill. USArF has committed the cardinal sin of meddling in Tanzanian politics by its mordant commentaries on various issues. That USArF does not represent any national body, here or elsewhere, is another reason for discontinuing its existence. (ii) Cheche has to cease publication since its name is derived from Iskra, the Leninist revolutionary journal. So, we were told, Cheche tended to give the impression that Tanzania was building“russian socialism”and not“true Tanzanian socialism.”TANU and TYL have always been ideologically self-reliant, hence such borrowing from“foreign ideologies”could not be tolerated. it is not our intention to dispute the above allegations. We neither have the ability nor the wish to do so.We write to bury USArF and its joint child Cheche, and not to praise them, least of all to glorify them. As to the successes achieved by us, andthefaultscommitted,orthecorrectnessorotherwiseofourideasandaims,we dare not comment. No man shall be his own judge. in the course of our lifetime, we have been branded“extremists,”“fanatics,”“arm-chair theoreticians,”“opportunists,” and all the degrading labels one can think of. of course, these charges emanated from honorable and respected people.Though on some occasions, one could hear exclamations, even from our antagonists, regarding our tenacity and perseverance. But that is beside the point. Below we outline in brief the history of our operations – in order that all be our judges – and judge us from facts, not rumors. 208 appenDiX e A Short history The University Students African revolutionary Front (USArF) was born in the month of November 1967. it began with the Socialist Club which was organized immediately after the proclamation of the Arusha declaration. The Club came out to initiate, organize and conduct socialist debate. it was an initiative of both the progressive students and staff. it is significant to note that this was possible after the Arusha declaration. The Socialist Club, right from its inception, had its limitations. it could at best organize debates. it became all the more obvious that socialist debate must have a purpose. USArF was conceived with the view of translating the socialist debate into socialist revolutionary action. This demanded membership. it was open to all students prepared to take up the challenge. USArF membership has at one time or another included students from Zimbabwe, Kenya, Uganda, Malawi, Malawi, Sudan, Ethiopia and Tanzania. Full membership has always been open to students only; some members of staff have been allowed associate membership though. USArF set out to accomplish the following tasks: a. To work unceasingly for the promotion of a revolutionary spirit within the University, Tanzania, Africa and the World in general. b. To contribute to the success of various Liberation Movements and to work hand-in-hand with progressive forces here and elsewhere. c. To drive home the urgent need for African solidarity as the only means of getting real independence for Africa and of safeguarding that independence. d. To keep a constant vigil against imperialist ideology and propaganda by every possible means. e. To stand firmly within the ranks of the workers and peasants of Tanzania, Africa and the World in their fight against imperialism and for socialism Various methods were used to affect these aims: a. The Front has been an agency for the dissemination of revolutionary ideas at the Hill designed to foster the cause of Liberation Movements and anti-imperialist forces the world over. b. The Front has organized public talks and discussions with regard to the cause, nature and progress of Liberation Movements and other antiimperialist forces in Africa, Asia and Latin America. c. The...

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