Programme & Constitution of the Communist Party of Lesotho

Source: Programme & Constitution of the Communist Party of Lesotho, Hoover DT 2618.C65 1960

Staff Person: Maury York

Description:

Lesotho is a small country completely surrounded by South Africa. Known as Basutoland during its period of control by the British, the Kingdom of Lesotho achieved independence in 1966. The Basuto National Party ruled the country for its first two decades. After seven years of military rule, constitutional government was restored in 1993. Violence and bloodshed, in part a result of intervention by troops from South Africa and Botswana, later disrupted the country. Today constitutional rule has been restored in Lesotho. Its impoverished people are chiefly engaged in subsistence agriculture and, according to a profile published by the CIA, the inequity in the distribution of national wealth is a problem.

Published by the Communist Party of Lesotho, this pamphlet advocates independence and self-government for Basutoland as a means of achieving the benefits of communism. It is one of hundreds of pamphlets, books, and periodicals in the Special Collections Department’s Hoover Collection on International Communism.