 |
|
| |
|
||||
Patrice Emery Lumumba (July 2, 1925 – January 17/18, 1961) was the first Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Early lifeLumumba was born in Onalua in the Kasai province of the Belgian Congo. He was educated at a missionary school and worked in Leopoldville (Kinshasa) and Stanleyville (Kisangani) as a clerk and journalist. Political lifeIn 1955 Lumumba became regional president of a Congolese trade union and joined the Belgian Liberal Party. He was arrested in 1957 on charges of embezzlement and imprisoned for a year. On his release he helped found the Mouvement National Congolais (MNC) in 1958. In 1959 Belgium announced a five year path to independence, and in the December local elections the MNC won a convincing majority despite Lumumba being under arrest at the time. A 1960 conference in Belgium agreed to bring independence forward to June 1960 with elections in May. Lumumba and the MNC formed the first government on June 23, 1960, with Lumumba as Prime Minister and Joseph Kasavubu as President. In his autobiography which was finished in 1957 and published in 1961, Lumumba expressed deep admiration for European culture and a desire to be treated as an equal to the Europeans in their common work of "civilizing" the Congo. At the swearing in of the government in late June 1960, Lumumba gave a speech which was extremely critical of the Belgium colonial admininstration of the Congo. This speech is widely believed to have expedited a series of events which ultimately resulted in the overthrow of his government and his murder. The direct and indirect involvement of Belgium and United States interests was implicated in these events. Overthrow and arrestLumumba's rule was very brief and marked by political disruption from the start. Shortly after giving his swearing-in speech, the province of Katanga under Moise Tshombe declared independence, with Belgian support. Lumumba initally sought the assistance of the US against Tshombe and Belgian interests, however his overtures were rebuffed — then President Dwight D. Eisenhower did not meet with Lumumba during a visit to the US. Lumumba then turned to the United Nations for support. Despite the arrival of UN troops, unrest continued, and there appeared to be little if any international interest in having the Belgians removed from the country. With very few options remaining, Lumumba then sought aid from the Soviet Union. This act was the beginning of the end for Lumumba, as Western interests working with local anti-Lumumba forces moved to depose him. In September 1960, in an act of dubious legality, Lumumba was dismissed from government by President Kasavubu. On September 14, Colonel Joseph Mobutu (later Mobutu Sese Sekoa), supported by Kasavubu, lead a coup d'état ) gained power, and Lumumba was effectively put under house arrest. He attempted to escape to another part of the Congo but was arrested on December 1, 1960 in Port Francqui by troops loyal to Mobutu, and flown to Leopoldville in handcuffs. Mobutu announced that Lumumba would be tried for inciting the army to rebellion and other 'crimes'. United Nations Secretary General Dag Hammarskjöld made an appeal to Kasavubu asking that Lumumba be treated according to due process of law. The Soviet Union denounced Hammarskjöld and the Western Powers as responsible for Lumumba's arrest and demanded his release. The United Nations Security Council was called into session on December 7 to consider Soviet demands that the U.N. seek Lumumba's immediate release, the immediate restoration of Lumumba as head of the Congo government, the disarming of the forces of Mobutu, and the immediate evacuation of Belgians from the Congo. Soviet Representative Valerian Zorin refused U.S. demands that he disqualify himself as Security Council President during the debate. Secretary General Hammarskjöld, answering Soviet attacks against his Congo operations, said that if the U.N. force were withdrawn from the Congo, "I fear everything will crumble." Following a U.N. report that Lumumba had been mistreated by his captors, on December 9 there were reports that his followers had threatened to arrest all Belgians and "start cutting off the heads of some of them" unless Lumumba was released within 48 hours. The threat to the U.N. cause was intensified by the announcement of the withdrawal of their U.N. Congo contingents by Yugoslavia, the United Arab Republic, Ceylon, Indonesia, Morocco, and Guinea. The Soviet pro-Lumumba resolution was defeated on December 14 by a vote of 8-2. On the same day, a Western resolution that would have given Hammarskjöld increased powers to deal with the Congo situation was vetoed by the Soviet Union. After his arrest Lumumba was held in a military prison in Thysville, near Leopoldville. Out of fear that Lumumba would be able to rouse military support for the nationalist cause if he was permitted to live, on January 17, 1961 Lumumba and two aides, Maurice Mpolo and Joseph Okitowas, were flown to Jadotville in the secessionist province of Katanga, under the pretext of being taken to a 'more secure' prison. UN forces in the Congo took no responsibility for these actions, claiming that Lumumba was only under UN protection while he remained within designated premises in Leopoldville. There were reports that Lumumba and his fellow prisoners were beaten by provincial police upon their arrival in Katanga. MurderSometime within the next two months, Lumumba and the two aides were summarily executed. There is strong evidence that Belgium security forces acting with local Katangan forces carried out the murders and subsequent disposal of the bodies. In February 2002, the Belgian government admitted to "an irrefutable portion of responsibility in the events that led to the death of Lumumba". In July 2002, documents released by the United States government revealed that the CIA had played a role in Lumumba's assassination, aiding his opponents with money and political support, and – in the case of Mobutu – with weapons and military training. Filmography
Quote"Americans tend to think of Africa's current wars as remote and irrelevant to our interests. 'Lumumba' recalls that in fact Americans have been centrally involved in events that set the stage for these wars." – Bill Berkeley, "The Rise and Violent Fall of Patrice Lumumba" (op-ed article in the New York Times) Reference
See alsoExternal links
bg:Патрис Лумумба bg:Редактиране на Патрис Лумумба de:Patrice E. Lumumba et:Patrice Lumumba fr:Patrice Lumumba ja:パトリス・ルムンバ nl:Patrice Lumumba no:Patrice Lumumba sv:Patrice Lumumba wa:Patrice Lumumba |
||
|
|
|
|
|
|
Copyright 2008 WordIQ.com - Privacy Policy
::
Terms of Use
:: Contact Us
:: About Us This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Patrice Lumumba". |