They say we have freedom, but what about the scars? | Jody McIntyre There is a reason we must remember people like Patrice Lumumba. Malcolm X described him as “the greatest man who ever walked the African continent”. He fought for freedom, independence and justice, and was a passionate and formidable opponent of colonialism and racism. So, why was he killed?
Last week marked the fiftieth anniversary of the assassination of Lumumba, the first democratically elected leader of the Republic of Congo after helping win its independence from Belgium in June 1960. Lumumba gave a voice to the Congolese masses, who were intent on self-determination and an end to the colonialist rule of Belgium. He rose to political prominence for his refusal to sway from these principles, and for taking his inspiration from the poorest in society, who opposed not only the political manifestation of colonialism, but also the economic system the Belgians had imposed upon them. Of course, this was completely unacceptable to the so-called “international community”. We couldn’t have the wealth of the Congo in the hands of the Congolese, could we? After all, we need their coltan for our mobile phones and DVD players! Democracy becomes irrelevant when Western interests are at stake. The coup and subsequent assassination of Lumumba, backed by the CIA and carried out by Belgian mercenaries, sums up our governments’ attitude towards Africa. Our aim; to replace traditional colonialism, enforced by military rule, with a type of neo-colonialism where Western interests are cloaked in African rule. We soothe our consciences by donating any spare money to “starving children” each year, whilst simultaneously charging interest on IMF and World Bank loans that African countries never needed and will never be able to pay off. It is us who should be paying off reparations to those countries, for years of imperialist rule, raping of their natural resources and treating their people as our slaves. When Lumumba came to power, Belgian King Baudouin urged the Congolese to remain close to what he described as their Belgian “friends”, apparently forgetting about the 10 million Congolese people Belgian troops had slaughtered in 20 years for failing to meet rubber collection quotas. The response of newly-elected Lumumba must have given Baudouin a bit of a shock: “No Congolese worthy of the name will ever be able to forget that it is by struggle that we have won [our independence], a struggle waged each and every day, a passionate idealistic struggle, a struggle in which no effort, privation, suffering, or drop of our blood was spared.” At a time when former Tunisian dictator Ben Ali has been chased out of the country by his own people, and the newly-leaked ‘Palestine Papers’ reveal the extent of the Palestinian Authority’s complete and utter capitulation to US and Israeli demands, we need more leaders like Patrice Lumumba; strong, proud and determined in the face of colonialist pressures. Of course, the media and international community are the first to denounce such leaders. As the French newspaper ‘La Gauche’ noted, “the press probably did not treat Hitler with as much rage and virulence as they did Patrice Lumumba.” But we must struggle nonetheless. Lumumba, and millions of Congolese like him, had to pay with their lives for what they believed in. We must be the bearers of the torch they lit. I would also recommend this excellent analysis Tagged in: Congo , King Baudouin , Patrice Lumumba -- http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2011/01/24/they-say-we-have-freedom-but-what-about-the-scars/ Via InstaFetch -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Sixties-L" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/sixties-l?hl=en.
