Patrice Lumumba Patrice Hemery Lumumba July 2, 1925 - January 17, 1961) was a Congolese politician and freedom leader who served as the first Prime Minister of The independent Democratic Republic of Congo (later the Republic of Congo) from June to September 1960. He played an important role in the transformation of Congo from the Belgian colony into an independent republic. Ideologically an African nationalist and a Pan-Africanist, he led the Mouvement National Congolais (MNC) party from 1958 until his death.
Shortly after Congolese independence in 1960, a rebellion broke out in the military, marking the beginning of the Congolese Crisis. Lumumba appealed to the United States and the United Nations to help suppress the Belgian-backed Kenai supporters. Both refused, so Lumumba turned to the Soviet Union for support. This led to the growing differences with President Joseph Kasa-Vubu and chief-staff-Joseph-DÃ © and Sirutu Mobutu, as well as with the United States and Belgium.
Lumumba was later imprisoned by state authorities under Mobutu and executed by firing squads under the command of the Katangan government. After his death, he was widely seen as a martyr for the wider Pan-African movement.
Video Patrice Lumumba
Early life and career
Patrice Lumumba was born on July 2, 1925 to a farmer, FranÃÆ'§ois Tolenga Otetshima, and his wife Julienne Wamato Lomendja, in Onalua in the Katakokombe region of Kasai province, Belgian Congo. He is a member of the Tetela ethnic group and was born under the name ÃÆ' â € ° lias Okit'Asombo. The last name originally meant "heir of the curse" and comes from the words Tetela okitÃÆ'¡/okit ?? ('heir, successor') and asombÃÆ'³ ('damned or a bewitched person who will quickly die'). He has three brothers (Ian Clark, ÃÆ' â € ° Kalema miles, and Louis Onema Pene Lumumba) and one half brother (Tolenga Jean). Raised in a Catholic family, he was educated at Protestant elementary school, a Catholic missionary school, and finally a government post office training school, where he passed a one-year course with a difference. Lumumba speaks Tetela, French, Lingala, Swahili, and Tshiluba.
Beyond his regular studies, Lumumba took an interest in the aspirations of the Enlightenment Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Voltaire. He also liked MoliÃÆ'¨re and Victor Hugo. He wrote poetry, and many of his works have anti-imperialist themes.
He works in LÃÆ' Â © opoldville and Stanleyville as a postal clerk and as a beer seller. In 1951, he married Pauline Opangu. In 1955, Lumumba became the regional leader of Cercles from Stanleyville and joined the Belgian Liberal Party, where he edited and distributed party letters. After a study tour in Belgium in 1956, he was arrested on allegations of embezzlement from the post office. He was sentenced and sentenced one year later to twelve months in jail and a fine.
Maps Patrice Lumumba
MNC Leader
After his release, he helped find the Mouvement National Congolais party (MNC) on October 5, 1958, and quickly became the leader of the organization.
The MNC, unlike other Congolese parties, does not use a specific ethnic base. It promotes platforms that include independence, gradual Africanization of government, state-led economic development, and neutrality in foreign affairs. Lumumba itself has many popular followers, because of his personal charisma, excellent speech skills, and ideological sophistication. This allowed him more political autonomy than his contemporaries in Belgium.
Lumumba was one of the delegates representing MNC at the All-Africa People's Conference in Accra, Ghana, in December 1958. At this international conference hosted by President Ghana Kwame Nkrumah, Lumumba further strengthened Pan-Africanis belief. Nkrumah is personally impressed by Lumumba's intelligence and abilities.
In late October 1959, Lumumba, as organizational leader, was arrested for instigating anti-colonial riots at Stanleyville; 30 people were killed. He was sentenced to 69 months in prison. The start date of the 18 January 1960 experiment was the first day of the Congo Roundtable Conference in Brussels to complete the future of Congo.
Although Lumumba was imprisoned at the time, the MNC won a convincing majority in December's local elections in Congo. As a result of the strong pressure of the delegates who were upset with Lumumba's experiments, he was released and allowed to attend the Brussels conference.
Independence and election as prime minister
The conference culminated on January 27 with the declaration of Congolese independence, and established June 30, 1960 as the date of independence with the national elections to be held May 11-25, 1960. Lumumba and MNC won this election and formed a government, announced on June 23, 1960, with Lumumba 34 year-old as prime minister and Joseph Kasa-Vubu as president. In accordance with the Constitution, on June 24 the new government, unity system, secured a vote of confidence from the Congolese Chamber and the Senate.
At the beginning of its leadership, Lumumba has two main goals: ensuring that independence will bring about a legitimate increase in the quality of life for the people of Congo and unite the country in a centralized state by eliminating tribalism and regionalism. He is also concerned that opposition to his rule will emerge quickly and must be managed quickly and decisively.
To achieve the first goal, Lumumba considered a comprehensive administrative "rejuvenation", regardless of the risks, would be required. The Belgians were opposed to such an idea, because it would create inefficiency in the Congolese bureaucracy and lead to a mass exodus of idle civil servants that they would not be able to resolve in Europe. All the same too late to impose before independence. Looking for another cue that might excite the Congolese, Lumumba proposed to the Belgian government a reduction in sentence for all prisoners and amnesty for those serving a sentence of three years or less. Ganshof fears such an act would jeopardize law and order and he avoids taking any action until it is too late to fulfill the request. Lumumba's opinion of Belgium is increasingly burdened by infidelity, which also contributes to his fear that independence will not seem "real" to the average Congolese people.
In removing all the ideas of tribalism and regionalism in the Congo, Lumumba was deeply inspired by Kwame Nkrumah's personality and business and by Ghana's ideas about the necessary leadership in Africa. One of the main vehicles he attempted to achieve was the MNC. Lumumba intends to combine it with its parliamentary allies - CEREA, PSA, and perhaps BALUBAKAT - to form a national party with followers in each province. From there he hopes to absorb other parties and become a unifying force for the state.
Independence Day is celebrated on 30 June in a ceremony attended by many officials, including King Baudouin of Belgium and foreign press. Baudouin's speech praised developments under colonialism, his reference to the "genius" of his great-grandmother Leopold II of Belgium, covering the atrocities committed during the existence of the Congo-free State. Belgian Prime Minister Gaston Eyskens, who examined the text, considered this part too far. He really wants to get rid of this reference to LÃÆ' Â © opold II. The king had limited political power in Belgium, but he was free to write his own speech (after being revised by the government). The King continued, "Do not compromise the future with hasty reforms, and do not change the structure Belgian handed over to you until you are sure you can do better Do not be afraid to come to us We will stay by your side, give you advice. "President Kasa-Vubu thanked the King.
Lumumba, who has not yet scheduled to speak, delivered a spontaneous speech reminding the audience that Congolese independence has not been graciously given by Belgium:
[...] For the sake of this Congolese independence, even though it is proclaimed today with a deal with Belgium, a friendly country, with which we are in the same conditions, no congenial citizen worth mentioning will be able to forget that it is a battle that it has won , everyday battles, passionate and idealistic struggles, a battle where we avoid privacy or suffering, and for that we give our strength and blood. We are proud of this struggle, tears, fire, and blood, to the depths of our existence, for it is a noble and just cause, and indispensable to ending the shameful slavery forced upon us by violence. [...]
Most European journalists were surprised by Lumumba's shrill speech. Western media lashed out at Lumumba. Time talks about 'venomous attacks'. In the West, many people see this speech as a call for arming Belgian-Congolese hostility, plunging the Belgian colony into chaos. Prime Minister
Prime Minister
Independence Day and three days later are declared a national holiday. The Congolese people are busy with the celebrations that take place in relative peace. Meanwhile, Lumumba's office was followed by activity activity. A diverse group of people, Congolese and European people, some friends and relatives, rushed about their work. Some perform certain missions on their behalf, though sometimes without direct permission. Many Congolese appear in the office for various reasons. Lumumba, on its part, is mostly busy with long schedules of receptions and ceremonies. On 3 July he announced a general amnesty for prisoners, but never implemented. The next morning he assembled the Council of Ministers to discuss the riots among the Force Publique troops. Many soldiers hoped that independence would result in promotions and material gains, but were disappointed by the slow pace of Lumumba reform. The rank-and-file feel that the Congolese political class - especially the ministers in the new government - enrich themselves while failing to improve the troop situation. Many of the soldiers were also tired of maintaining order during elections and participating in the celebration of independence. Ministers decided to form four committees to study each reorganization of government, judiciary, and army, and the enactment of new laws for state employees. All should pay special attention to ending racial discrimination. Parliament gathered for the first time since independence and took the first official legislative action by choosing more than three times the salary of its members. Lumumba, afraid of the impact that will arise on the budget, is among the few who objected.
On the morning of July 5 the General Æ' Janssens, commander of the Publique Force, in response to rising excitement among the Congolese ranks, summoned all troops stationed at Camp LÃ © opold II. He demanded that the army retain its discipline and write "before independence = after independence" on the blackboard for emphasis. That night the Congolese fired the canteen in protest against Janssens. He warned Garble reserve Camp Hardy, 95 miles away in Thysville. The officers tried to arrange the convoy to be sent to Camp LÃ © cas II to restore order, but the men rebelled and seized weapons. The next crisis will dominate Lumumba's reign.
The next day Lumumba dismissed Janssens and promoted all the Congolese soldiers one class, but the uprising spread to the Lower Congo. Although the issue is highly localized, the state seems to be raided by army gangs and looters. This led to a media sensation, which highlights the Europeans who fled the country. In response, Lumumba announced via radio, "Thorough reforms are planned across all sectors, my government will do everything possible to see that our country has different faces in months, weeks." Regardless of government efforts, the insurgency continues. Mutineers in Leopoldville and Thysville surrender only to Lumumba's personal intervention and President Kasa-Vubu. On July 8, Lumumba renamed the Force Publique to "Armà © Congala Congolaise" (ANC). He cultivated his powers by appointing Major Sergeant Victor Lundula as general and commander-in-chief and choosing young minister and former army officer Joseph Mobutu as colonel and chief of staff of the Army. The promotion was made in spite of Lundula's experience and rumors about Mobutu's relationship with the Belgian and American intelligence services. All of the European officers were replaced, with some being retained as advisors. The next day, the rebellion had spread throughout the country. Five Europeans, including representatives of the Italian consul, were ambushed and killed by machine-gun fire in ÃÆ'â € lisabethville and almost all of Europe's Luluabourg population barricaded themselves in an office building for safety. It is estimated that two dozen Europeans were killed in the rebellion. Lumumba and Kasa-Vubu embarked on a nationwide tour to promote peace and appoint a new ANC commander.
Belgium intervened on July 10, sending 6,000 troops to Congo, pretending to protect its citizens from violence. Most Europeans go to Katanga province, which has a lot of natural resources of Congo. Though personally angry, Lumumba forgave the action on July 11, provided that Belgian troops acted only to protect their citizens, follow the directions of the Congolese army, and stop their activities after the order was restored. On the same day the Belgian Navy bombarded Matadi after evacuating his citizens, killing 19 Congolese. This highly inflamed tension, leading to renewed Congolese attacks on the Europeans. Soon Belgian troops moved to occupy towns across the country, including the capital, where they clashed with Congolese soldiers. Overall, Belgium's intervention made the situation worse for the ANC.
The Katanga state declared independence under regional prime minister MoÃÆ'sse Tshombe on July 11, with support from the Belgian government and mining companies such as Union MiniÃÆ'¨re. Lumumba and Kasa-Vubu were rejected on the foundation of ÃÆ' € lisabethville the next day and returned to the capital, just to be addressed by Belgians who fled. They sent a protest of Belgium's deployment to the UN, requesting that they step down and be replaced by international peacekeepers.
The UN Security Council passed the UN Security Council Resolution 143, calling for the immediate transfer of the Belgian troops and the establishment of the UN Operations in the Congo (ONUC). Despite the arrival of UN troops, riots continue. Lumumba asked UN troops to suppress the rebellion in Katanga, but UN troops were not authorized to do so under their mandate. On July 14, Lumumba and Kasa-Vubu broke off contact with Belgium, and sent a telegram to the Soviet Prime Minister Nikita Khrushchev, requesting him to monitor the situation in the Congo.
Lumumba originally wanted technical assistance from Belgium and the West, but wanted to avoid side with the United States or the Soviet Union in the Cold War. By maintaining a policy of "positive neutralism", he hopes to create a unique and independent country. Because the United Nations refused to help subdue Katanga, Lumumba called for Soviet assistance in the form of weapons, food, medical supplies, trucks and aircraft to help move troops to Katanga. His decision to turn to the Soviet Union worried the West, especially the United States.
On July 24, Lumumba went to New York City, where he met with UN Secretary General Dag Hammarskjöld. The African delegation, who had extended the original invitation, suggested arranging a meeting with the American State Department in Washington, D.C. President Dwight D. Eisenhower was on vacation at the time and could not meet Lumumba. He has a long interview with Secretary of State Christian Herter, who disappointed the Belgian government. Lumumba expressed his dissatisfaction with Belgian troops in Congo and sought American help. Herter reiterated that the US will help Congo only as part of a larger UN effort. According to David Van Reybrouck, while living at Blair House, Lumumba requested that the CIA liaison send him a blonde prostitute. The request ended badly.
On August 9, Lumumba proclaimed an Æ' >Â exception exception in all of Congo. He then issued two orders in an attempt to reaffirm his dominance on the political stage. The first bans the formation of associations without government sanctions while the latter affirms the government's right to ban publications that produce material that is likely to make governments worse. On 11 August, the Courrier d'Afrique printed an editorial stating that the Congolese did not want to fall "under the second type of slavery". The editor was quickly arrested and four days later the publication of the day stopped, followed shortly afterwards by sending deadly commands to the Belga and Agence France-Presse wire services. Press restrictions garnered a wave of harsh criticism from Belgian media. Lumumba also established the nationalization of Belga, creating Congline Agence Congolaise Presse. On August 16 he announced the installation of a © gime militaire espÃÆ'Â © cial for six months, including the establishment of a military court.
Lumumba immediately ordered Congolese troops under Mobutu to stop the insurgency at Kasai Selatan, which is home to the strategic rail network needed for a campaign in Katanga. The operation was successful, but the conflict soon turned into ethnic violence. Soldiers were involved in the massacre of Luba civilians. The people and politicians of South Kasai hold Lumumba personally responsible for the actions of the army. Kasa-Vubu publicly announced that only the federal government can bring peace and stability to Congo, destroying the weak political alliance that Lumumba has with him and tilting political support in a country far away from the Lumumba unitary state. Ethnic tensions escalated against him (especially around Leopoldville) and the Catholic Church openly criticized his government.
Even with the quiet South Kasai, the Congo lacks the necessary strength to reclaim Katanga. Lumumba has called the African Conference at Leopoldville from 25-31 August, but no foreign heads have emerged and no country has promised military support. Lumumba demanded once again that UN peacekeepers helped in suppressing the insurgency, threatening to bring in Soviet troops if they refused. The UN later rejected Lumumba using its powers, and the possibility of direct Soviet intervention became increasingly possible.
Deposition
President Kasa-Vubu began to fear Lumumbist coup d'état. On the night of September 5, Kasa-Vubu announced by radio that he had sacked Lumumba and six government ministers for the massacre in South Kasai and to involve the Soviets in the Congo. Upon hearing the broadcast, Lumumba walked to a national radio station, which was under UN bodyguards. Although they were ordered to ban the entry of Lumumba, UN troops allowed the prime minister to enter, as they had no specific instructions for using violence against him. Lumumba denounced his dismissal of radio as illegitimate, and in turn labeled Kasa-Vubu a traitor and declared him ousted.
He went on to Parliament and launched into a debate in which he, in the words of US Ambassador Clare Timberlake, "destroyed the points raised by the opposition" and "made Kasa-Vubu look ridiculous." The newly appointed prime minister, Senate leader Joseph IlÃÆ'Â © o, failed to get a vote of confidence, which Lumumba won in the Senate on September 8, 41 through 2 (with 6 abstentions). However, Parliament does not support Lumumba's dismissal of Kasa-Vubu, creating a constitutional crisis. Many African diplomats and newly appointed head of the newly-appointed Rajek Rajeshwar try to get the president and prime minister to reconcile their differences but fail. On September 13, Parliament held a joint session between the Senate and the Assembly. Although some members do not meet the quorum, they choose to provide Lumumba emergency power.
On September 14, a coup organized by Colonel Mobutu politically paralyzed Lumumba and Kasa-Vubu. Lumumba was placed under house arrest the following day at the Prime Minister's residence. The UN force was positioned around the house to prevent his capture in the hands of Mobutu's forces, which formed an outer circle around the dwelling to prevent his escape. On November 24, the UN decided to recognize Mobutu's new delegation to the General Assembly, ignoring the indigenous Lumumba who was appointed. Lumumba decided to join Deputy Prime Minister Antoine Gizenga at Stanleyville and lead a campaign to regain power. Three days later he escaped from LÃÆ' Â © opoldville.
With logistical support from the United States and Belgium, Mobutu's forces captured Lumumba in Lodi on 1 December. He was transferred to Port Francqui the next day and flown back to LÃÆ' Â © opoldville. UN troops do not interfere. Mobutu claimed Lumumba would be tried for inciting soldiers to rebellion and other crimes.
UN response
The Secretary-General of the United Nations Dag HammarskjÃÆ'¶ld applied to Kasa-Vubu who requested that Lumumba be treated in accordance with the legal process. The Soviet Union condemned Hammarskjöld and the First World as responsible for the arrest of Lumumba and demanded his release.
The UN Security Council was summoned to trial on 7 December 1960 to consider Soviet demands that the UN seek immediate release of Lumumba, Lumumba's immediate recovery as head of the Congolese government, Mobutu's disarmament, and immediate evacuation from Belgium from the Congo. The Soviets also called for the immediate resignation of HammarskjÃÆ'¶ld, the capture of Mobutu and Tshombe, and the withdrawal of UN peacekeepers. HammarskjÃÆ'¶ld, responding to Soviet criticism of his operations in the Congo, said that if UN troops were withdrawn from the Congo "I am afraid everything will collapse."
The threat to the UN was intensified by the announcement of their contingent withdrawals by Yugoslavia, the United Arab Republic, Ceylon, Indonesia, Morocco and Guinea. The pro-Lumumba resolution was defeated on December 14, 1960 with a vote of 8-2. On the same day, a Western resolution that would give HammarskjÃÆ'¶ld an increase in power to handle the Congolese situation vetoed by the Soviet Union.
Last day and execution
Lumumba was first sent on December 3, 1960 to the Thysville military barracks, Camp Hardy, 150 km (about 100 miles) from LÃÆ' Â © opoldville. He was accompanied by Maurice Mpolo and Joseph Okito, two political colleagues who had planned to help him in setting up a new government. They are malnourished by the prison guards according to Mobutu's orders. In Lumumba's last document, he wrote a letter to Rajeshwar Dayal: "In other words, we live in very unlikely conditions, moreover, they are against the law." On the morning of January 13, 1961, discipline at Camp Hardy wavered. Soldiers refused to work unless they were paid. Some support the release of Lumumba, while others consider him dangerous. Kasu-Vabu, Mobutu, Foreign Minister Justin Marie Bomboko, and Head of Security Service Victor Nendaka personally arrived at the camp and negotiated with the troops. Conflicts are avoided, but it becomes clear that holding controversial prisoners in camps is a risk too big. Harold d'Aspremont Lynden, former Minister of Belgian Colonies, ordered that Lumumba, Mpolo and Okito be brought to Katanga State.
Lumumba was forced to restrain himself on a flight to Elizabethville on January 17, 1961. On arrival, he and his colleagues were detained at Brouwez's House where they were brutally beaten and tortured by Katans and Belgian officers while President Tshombe and his cabinet decided what to do with him.
That night, Lumumba was driven to a secluded spot where three firing squads had gathered. A Belgian investigation commission found that the execution was carried out by the Katanga authorities. It was reported that President Tshombe and two other ministers were present, with four Belgian officers under the command of the Katangan rulers. Lumumba, Mpolo, and Okito marched on a tree and shot one after the other. The execution is expected to have occurred on January 17, 1961, between 21:40 and 21:43 (according to Belgian reports). The Belgians and their colleagues then wanted to get rid of the corpses, and did so by digging and chopping bodies, then dissolving them in sulfuric acid, while the bones were milled and scattered.
Announcement of death
No statements were released until three weeks later, despite rumors that Lumumba was dead. His death was officially announced through Katangan radio on February 13, when it was alleged that he was killed by angry villagers three days after escaping from Kolatey prison.
After the announcement of Lumumba's death, street protests were organized in several European countries; in Belgrade, the capital of Yugoslavia, protesters fired the Belgian embassy and confronted police, and in London, the crowd marched from Trafalgar Square to the Belgian embassy, ​​where protest letters were sent and where demonstrators clashed with police. In New York City, demonstrations in the UN Security Council turned violent and spilled into the streets.
Foreign involvement in his death
Both Belgium and the US are affected by the Cold War in their position towards Lumumba. He seems interested in the Soviet Union, although according to Sean Kelly, who covered the event as a correspondent for Voice of America, this is not because he is a communist but because the Soviet Union is the only place he can find support for his country's efforts to break free colonial government. The US is the first country to be solicited by Lumumba. Lumumba, for its part, not only refused to be a communist, but said he found colonialism and communism equally reprehensible. He recognized his personal preference for neutrality between East and West.
Belgian involvement
On January 18, panicked by reports that the burial of the three corpses had been observed, members of the execution team went to dig up the corpses and move them to be buried somewhere near the border with Northern Rhodesia. Belgian Police Commissioner Gerard Soete later admitted on several accounts that he and his brother were leading the original dig. Police Commissioner Frans Verscheure also took part. On the afternoon and evening of January 21st, Soete and So's Commissioner dug the body of Lumumba for a second time, cut it with a hacksaw, and dissolved it with thick sulfuric acid. In a 1999 interview on Belgian television in a program about Lumumba's killing, Soete featured bullets and two teeth that he claimed he had kept from Lumumba's body.
According to the Belgian Commission 2001 investigating Lumumba's murder: (1) Belgium wants Lumumba arrested, (2) Belgians are not too concerned with Lumumba's physical health, and (3) despite being told of the dangers to Lumumba's life, Belgium takes no action to prevent its death. The report concludes that Belgium did not order the Lumumba killing.
Lumumba's execution was carried out by a firing squad led by Belgian Captain Julien Gat; another, Belgian Police, Verscheure, has an overall command of the place of execution.
Ludo De Witte found written orders from the Belgian government that requested the execution and documents of Lumumba in various settings, such as death squads.
In February 2002, the Belgian government apologized to the people of Congo, and acknowledged the "moral responsibility" and "undisputed part of responsibility in the events that led to Lumumba's death".
United States engagement
The 2001 report by the Belgian Commission mentioned that there were previous US and Belgium plots to kill Lumumba. Among them was an effort sponsored by the Central Intelligence Agency to poison him, who came on the orders of US President Dwight D. Eisenhower. The CIA chemist, Sidney Gottlieb, the key man in this plan, discovers toxins that resemble toothpaste. In September 1960, Gottlieb brought a poison bottle to Congo with plans to put it on Lumumba toothbrush. However, the plot was later abandoned; allegedly because the head of CIA Station for Congo, Larry Devlin, refused permission.
As Kalb pointed out in his book, Congo Cables, records show that many communications by Devlin at that time urged the removal of Lumumba. Also, the head of the CIA station helped direct the search to capture Lumumba for his transfer to his enemies in Katanga; Devlin is involved in arranging Lumumba transfers to Katanga; and the head of the CIA base in Elizabethville in direct contact with the killers that night, Lumumba was killed. John Stockwell wrote in 1978 that a CIA agent had a body in the trunk of his car to try to get rid of him. Stockwell, who knew Devlin well, felt Devlin knew more than anyone else about the murder.
The inauguration of John F. Kennedy in January 1961 caused fear among Mobutu factions and within the CIA that the incoming administration would divert its aid to imprisoned Lumumba. Pending his presidential inauguration, Kennedy became convinced that Lumumba should be released from custody, though not allowed to return to power. Lumumba was killed three days before Kennedy's inauguration on January 20, though Kennedy will not learn murder until February 13th.
Church Committee
In 1975, the Church Committee continued to record with the findings that the CIA chairman Allen Dulles had ordered Lumumba's killing as "an urgent and major purpose". Furthermore, unclassified CIA cables cited or mentioned in Church reports and in Kalb (1982) mention two CIA plots specifically to kill Lumumba: poison plots and shot plots. Although some sources claim that the CIA plot ended when Lumumba was captured, which was not mentioned or displayed in CIA records.
The committee later discovered that when the CIA had conspired to kill Lumumba, it was not directly involved in the actual killing.
US. government documents
Unclassified documents reveal that the CIA had planned to kill Lumumba. These documents indicate that the Congolese leaders who killed Lumumba, including Mobutu Sese Seko and Joseph Kasa-Vubu, received money and weapons directly from the CIA. This same disclosure indicates that at that time the US government believed that Lumumba was a communist and feared him because of the Cold War.
In 2000, a newly-disclosed interview with Robert Johnson, who was the helmsman of the US National Security Council at the time, revealed that US President Eisenhower had said "something [to the CIA chairman Allen Dulles] for the effect that Lumumba should be eliminated. "The Interview of the Senate Intelligence Committee investigation on a covert action was released in August 2000.
In 2013, the US State Department acknowledged that President Eisenhower authorized the killing of Lumumba. However, documents released in 2017 reveal that the American role in Lumumba's killing is only being considered by the CIA. CIA chief Allan Dulles has allocated $ 100,000 to complete it, but the plan was not done.
Engagement English
In April 2013, in a letter to London Review of Books, British lawmaker David Lea reportedly had discussed Lumumba's death with MI6 officer Daphne Park shortly before he died in March 2010. Park was posted to Leopoldville at the time Lumumba's death, and later became the semi-official spokesperson for MI6 in the House of Lords.
According to Lea, when she mentioned the "uproar" surrounding Lumumba's kidnapping and killing, and given the theory that MI6 might have "something to do with it," she replied, "We did it. The BBC reports that, then, "Whitehall sources" describe MI6's involvement claims as "speculative".
Political ideology and rhetoric
Lumumba does not support a comprehensive political or economic platform. He was the first Congolese to articulate a narrative about Congo as opposed to Belgian traditional views of colonialism, which highlighted the plight of the indigenous population under European rule. Lumumba is alone among his contemporaries in encompassing all the Congolese in his narrative (the other limiting their discussion to their respective ethnic or localities), offering the basis for a national identity based on the survival of victims of colonialization, dignity, humanity, strength, and unity. This humanism also includes the values ​​of egalitarianism, social justice, freedom, and the recognition of fundamental rights.
Lumumba views the state as a positive advocate for the welfare of society and intervention within the Congolese community necessary to ensure equity, justice and social harmony.
Legacy
"Despite his brief political career and tragic death - or perhaps because of them - Lumumba entered history through the front door: he became a flag and a symbol He lived as a free man, and an independent thinker All he wrote, said and did was the product of someone who knows his call to become a liberator, and he represents to Congo what Castro did for Cuba, Nasser for Egypt, Nkrumah for Ghana, Mao Tse-tung for China, and Lenin for Russia. "
Historiography
Lumumba's position in African historiography is not well established. The academic discussion of his legacy was largely limited to the final stages of Mobutu's reign in Congo. Belgian literature within decades after the Congo Crisis described him as incompetent, demagogic, aggressive, ungrateful, un diplomatic, and communist. Most African historians, such as Jean-Claude Willame and David Van Reybrouck, see Lumumba as a stubborn and unrealistic idealist without a real program that distances himself from his contemporaries and alienates the West with radical anti-colonial rhetoric. They see it as very responsible for the political crisis that resulted in its downfall. A minority, like Jean-Paul Sartre, shared the belief that Lumumba's ideals were not achieved in 1960 but still regarded him as a Congolese martyr of independence in the hands of certain Western interests and victims of events in which he had little control. According to historian Ludo De Witte, these two perspectives exaggerate the political and isolation weaknesses of Lumumba. The exploitation of Lumumba is usually celebrated as the work of him as an individual - not a larger movement - because long after his death several political entities have attempted or successfully incorporated his ideas into a comprehensive political program.
Political impact
Due to his relatively short career in government, rapid transfer of power, and controversial deaths, Lumumba's political legacy has not been widely discussed. His downfall harms the movement of African nationalism, and he is generally remembered only for his murder. Journalist Michela Wrong said, "He really became a hero after his death, in a way that has to wonder if he will become a hero if he stays and runs the country and faces all the problems that run the country as big as Congo will surely be brought." popular Lumumba often throw away his politics and reduce him to symbols. The ideological heritage of Lumumba is known as Lumumbism (French for Lumumbism). Instead of a complicated doctrine, it is usually framed as a set of fundamental principles composed of nationalism, Pan-Africanism, impartiality, and social progresivism. Mobutism is built on these principles, but accommodated ethnic and tribal ethnic cleavages, which reject Lumumbism . According to historian Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja, Lumumba's "greatest legacy... for the Congo is the ideal of national unity. Nzongola-Ntalaja further argues that, as a result of Lumumba's high praise of the independence movement and his work to end Katang's secession, "Congolese people tend to remain firm in their defense of national unity and territorial integrity, hell or high water. "
Following the suppression of the 1964 and 1965 insurgencies, much of Lumumbis's ideology was confined to isolated intellectual groups facing repression under the Mobutu regime. Lumumba's popularity center in his lifetime has decreased gradually in loyalty to people and his ideas. According to the Africanist Bogumil Jewsiewicki, in 1999 "the only true surviving Lumumbist core lies in Sankuru and Maniema, and its loyalty is questionable (more ethnic, regional, and sentimental than ideological and political)."
Political party
At least a dozen Congolese political parties claim to have spawned Lumumba's political and spiritual heritage. The image of Patrice Lumumba continues to be an inspiration in contemporary politics of Congo. In the 2006 elections, some claimed to be motivated by his ideas, including the People's Party for Reconstruction and Democracy (PPRD), a political party initiated by the ruling President Joseph Kabila. Antoine Gizenga, who served as Deputy Prime Minister of Lumumba in the post-independence period, was a 2006 Presidential candidate under the Integrated Lumumbist Party (Parti Lumumbiste UnifiÃÆ' Â © (PALU)) and was appointed prime minister at the end of the year. His campaign platform is based on the idea of ​​Lumumba. Other political parties that directly utilize his name include Mouvement National Congolais-Lumumba (MNC-L) and Mouvement Lumumbiste (MLP).
Family and politics
Patrice Lumumba's family is actively involved in contemporary Congolese politics. Patrice Lumumba married Pauline Lumumba and had five children; FranÃÆ'§ois is the oldest followed by Patrice Junior, Julienne, Roland and Guy-Patrice Lumumba. FranÃÆ'§ois was 10 years old when Patrice died. Before his imprisonment, Patrice arranged for his wife and children to move into exile in Egypt.
Lumumba's youngest son, Guy-Patrice, born six months after his father's death, was an independent presidential candidate in the 2006 election, but received less than 10% of the vote.
In popular culture
Lumumba's image often appears in social media and is often used as a call in social resistance demonstrations. His figure is prevalent in art and literature, mostly outside of the Congo. Among his most prominent works featuring him are AimÃÆ'Â © CÃÆ' © saire's 1966 play, Une Saison au Congo , and the documentary Raoul Peck 1992 and 2000 feature films, Lumumba, la mort d'un prophÃÆ'¨ te and Lumumba , respectively. In popular paintings he is often paired with the concept of sacrifice and redemption. Lumumba is relatively absent in Congo writing, and its appearance is often subtle or ambiguous. In tribute to Mobutu, Lumumba is usually described as an advisor for the first. The writer Charles Djungu-Simba observes, "Lumumba is rather regarded as a remnant of the past, in spite of its famous past".
Tributes
- In 1966, the image of Patrice Lumumba was rehabilitated by the Mobutu regime and he was declared a national hero and martyr in the Democratic Republic of Congo. With the president's decision, Brouwez House, the scene of Lumumba's brutal torture on the night of his murder, became a pilgrimage site in Congo.
- A major transport artery in Kinshasa, Lumumba Boulevard, is named in his honor. The highway passes through a junction with a giant tower, Tour de l'Echangeur (the main landmark of Kinshasa) to commemorate it. In the square of the tower, Kabila's regime first erected a tall Lumumba statue with raised arms, greeting people coming from N'djili Airport.
- The People's Union of the Soviet Union was renamed "Patrice Lumumba Rakyat Friendship University" in 1961, but later renamed the "Friendship of the People of the University of Russia" in the post-Soviet landscape in 1992.
- In 1964 Malcolm X declared Patrice Lumumba "the greatest black man ever to walk on the African continent".
- Lumumba is a popular name for long hot or cold hot chocolate with rum.
Note
Bibliography
See also
- Portal Democratic Republic of the Congo
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References
External links
- Speech and writing by and about Patrice Lumumba, at the Marxists Internet Archive .
- Patrice Lumumba: 50 Years Later, Given US Backed Killing - video report by Democracy Now!
- SpyCast - December 1, 2007: About the Task to Congo-Peter Chat with Larry Devlin, head of the CIA's legendary CIA station in the 1960s.
- Africa Within. Rich source of information about Lumumba, including reprint of Stephen R. Weissman's article July 21, 2002 from Washington Post .
- BBC Lumumba apology: Mixed feelings of Congo.
- The Mystery of the History of the Lumumba Murders.
- Lumumba and Congo on YouTube Documentary Lumumba's life and work in Congo.
- The BBC An "On Today" text. It features an audio clip from a BBC correspondent about Lumumba's death.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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