Into the Vacuum

(2 of 2)

Despite the improved political outlook, there is growing concern over the activities of the left-wing Mouvement Militant Mauricien, a Maoist group headed by Paul Berenger, 25, son of a well-to-do middle-class Franco-Mauritian family.

Periodically, rumors that the M.M.M. is receiving smuggled Red Chinese weapons sweep sleepy Port Louis, but so far nothing has been proved. Berenger, who holds a degree in philosophy from the University College of North Wales in Bangor and is a veteran of the Paris street riots of May 1968, openly admits that he wants to overthrow the present Mauritian government. The M.M.M. claims about 10,000 hard-core members, but its program has wide appeal to the island's young and unemployed, who still number 50,000.

Seeking to ease the island's difficulties, Mrs. Gandhi last week offered technical aid in improving the island's airport and expanding its agriculture. That should solidly anchor New Delhi's presence on Mauritius. With Britain committed to a military withdrawal east of Suez, which will turn the Indian Ocean into a 28-million-sq.-mi. power vacuum, other nations are soon likely to be seeking footholds for themselves.