Fifty years after the assassination of Congolese leader Patrice Lumumba at the hands of Belgian mercenaries, what lessons can be drawn from his historic example, asks Carlos Martinez* alcolm X, speaking at a rally of the Organisation of Afro-American Unity in 1964, described Patrice Emery Lumumba as "the greatest black man who ever walked the African continent. He didn't fear anybody. He had those people [the colonialists] so scared they had to kill him. They couldn't buy him, they couldn't frighten him, they couldn't reach him." This was three years after Lumumba was assassinated by Belgian mercenaries in the breakaway state of Katanga in southern Congo. Why was Lumumba killed? Because he was a relentless, dedicated, intelligent, passionate anti-colonialist, a Pan-Africanist and a Congolese nationalist; because he had the unstinting support of the Congolese masses; because he stood in the way of Belgian plans to transform Congo from a colony into a neo- colony. Until the mid-1950s, the Congolese nationalist movement had been dominated by the small Congolese middle class. It was not a radical movement, and it was composed of clerical workers, mid-level army officers, supervisors and so on, who were getting a cut of the enormous profits Belgium was making out of Congo. These people opposed direct colonialism in the sense that they disliked white rule and were sick of being second-class citizens in their own country. However, the basic economic institutions of colonialism suited them quite well. They were scared of the Congolese masses -- the peasants and workers who worked in slave-like conditions for a pittance and who bore the brunt of the famines and genocidal actions of the colonisers. These masses wanted control. They wanted the Belgians out, not just moved from the front seat to the back seat. They didn't want white oppressors to be replaced with black oppressors. They wanted freedom and justice; they wanted democracy; they wanted nationalisation; they wanted to be listened to; they wanted to rule. Lumumba was the key figure in mobilising these masses. Joining the nationalist movement around 1955, he quickly grew disillusioned with the middle-class Congolese elite and addressed himself to the most- oppressed sections of society. The peasants and workers of Congo were the sources of his radicalisation. He developed a clear strategy for total decolonisation, which would be brought about by broad political action by the masses. In 1958, Lumumba and others formed the broad-based Mouvement National Congolais (MNC), which immediately established itself as the key organisation in the struggle against colonial rule. The Belgians and their friends in the "international community" were shocked by the pace of development of the nationalist movement. In the mid-1950s, Belgium -- which had long exercised the most vicious type of murderous and plundering rule over Congo -- was confident that it could retain its African colony for at least another century. However, by 1959, the MNC had gained such popularity and credibility that the Belgians knew their time was up. However, they had a back-up plan. This was to try to replace traditional colonialism (white rule, backed by military occupation) with neo- colonialism (black rule in white interests, backed with Belgian money, advisers and mercenaries). Should this plan succeed, Belgium's theft of Congo's natural resources, including massive reserves of coltan, diamonds, copper, zinc and cobalt, could continue unabated. Reading the writing on the wall, the Belgians decided to grant independence to Congo much sooner than anybody had expected, in the hope that this would prevent the further growth of the nationalist movement. The hope was that the movement would be denied the chance to develop a coherent organisational structure and that the country would therefore be heavily reliant on Belgian assistance. However, Lumumba had rallied the best elements of the nationalist movement around him, and he had no intention of capitulating. At the Independence Day celebrations on 30 June 1960, Belgian king Baudouin made it perfectly clear in his speech that he expected Belgium to play a leading role in Congo's future. He chose not to mention such unpleasant moments in history as the murder by Belgian troops of 10 million Congolese in 20 years for failing to meet rubber-collection quotas. Instead, he advised the Congolese to stay close to their Belgian "friends". "Don't compromise the future with hasty reforms and don't replace the structures that Belgium hands over to you until you are sure you can do better. Don't be afraid to come to us. We will remain by your side and give you advice," he said. Baudouin and his cohort were therefore shocked when Lumumba, newly elected as prime minister, took the stage and told his countrymen that "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." Clearly referring to Belgium, Lumumba stated that "we will count not only on our enormous strength and immense riches but on the assistance of numerous foreign countries whose collaboration we will accept if it is offered freely and with no attempt to impose on us an alien culture of no matter what nature." Lumumba, caring nothing for decorousness and the Belgian dignitaries in the audience, concluded by saying, "glory to the fighters for national liberation! Long live independence and African unity! Long live the independent and sovereign Congo!" The historian Ludo de Witte, author of The Assassination of Lumumba, has written of this historic speech that "Lumumba [spoke] in a language the Congolese thought impossible in the presence of a European, and those few moments of truth felt like a reward for eighty years of domination. For the first time in the history of the country, a Congolese had addressed the nation and set the stage for the reconstruction of Congolese history. By this one act, Lumumba had reinforced the Congolese people's sense of dignity and self confidence." The Belgians, along with the other colonialist nations, were horrified at Lumumba's stance. The Western press was filled with words of venom aimed at this humble but brilliant man -- a man who dared to tell Europe that Africa did not need it. The French newspaper La Gauche noted that "the press probably did not treat Hitler with as much rage and virulence as it did Patrice Lumumba." In the first few months of independence, Belgium and its Western allies busied themselves in whipping up all kinds of political and regional strife, leading to pro-Belgian armies being set up in the Congolese regions of Katanga and Kasai and these then declaring themselves to be independent states. This was, of course, a massive blow to the new Congolese state. Meanwhile, behind the scenes, the Belgians, along with their friends in France and the US, and with the active support of the leadership of the United Nations, developed plans for a coup d'état that would remove Lumumba from power. This took place on 14 September, not even three months after independence. Yet, even under house arrest Lumumba was a dangerous threat to colonial interests. He was still providing leadership to the masses of the Congolese people, and he still had the support of the majority of the army. Therefore, the Belgians connived with the CIA and with their stooges in Congo to murder Lumumba. That Belgium was the most responsible for Lumumba's death is amply proven in De Witte's The Assassination of Lumumba, and the UN leadership was complicit in the sense that it could easily have put a stop to this murderous act. Lumumba, along with three other leading nationalists, was assassinated by a firing squad led by white Belgian officials in the Katangan police force after several days of beating and torture. When the news of Lumumba's murder broke out, there was outrage around the world, especially in Africa and Asia. Demonstrations were organised in dozens of capital cities. In Cairo, thousands of protesters stormed the Belgian embassy, tore down Baudouin's portrait and put Lumumba's up in its place, and then proceeded to burn down the building. Sadly, with Lumumba and other leading nationalists out of the way, the struggle for Congo's freedom suffered a severe setback that was not to be reversed for over three decades. There are many important lessons to learn from this key moment in the history of anti- colonial struggle, lessons that many people have not yet fully taken on board. As Che Guevara said, "we must move forward, striking out tirelessly against imperialism. From all over the world, we have to learn the lessons that events afford. Lumumba's murder should be a lesson for all of us." To this day, Western governments and media organisations use every trick in the book to divide and rule oppressed people, to stir up strife, and to create smaller states that can be more easily controlled. To this day, they use character assassination as a means of "justifying" their interventions against Third World governments. One has only to look at how they have painted Aristide in Haiti, or how they paint Chavez, Castro and many others. To this day, "UN intervention" often means no more than intervention on the side of the oppressors. To this day, the intelligence services use every illegal and dishonest means to destabilise countries and cause confusion. We have all been guilty of falling for these tricks. Nevertheless, over the past decade there have been historic advances, advances that point the way towards a different and brighter future. The political, economic, military and cultural dominance of imperialism is starting to wane. As British journalist Seumas Milne pointed out at a recent meeting, the "war on terror" has exposed the limits of Western military power. Meanwhile, the economic crisis has started to discredit the entire neo-liberal model. The rise of China, the wave of progressive change in Latin America, the emergence of other important Third World players -- these all indicate a very different future. In Congo itself, progress is being made, although it often seems frustratingly slow, principally because the West is still sponsoring armies in support of its economic interests. But, as De Witte writes, "the crushing weight of the [Mobutu] dictatorship has been shaken off". The importance of this cannot be overstated. As we move forward together against imperialism, colonialism and racism, we should keep Lumumba's legacy in our hearts and minds. As Lumumba wrote in his last letter to his wife: "neither brutal assaults, nor cruel mistreatment, nor torture have ever led me to beg for mercy, for I prefer to die with my head held high, unshakable faith and the greatest confidence in the destiny of my country rather than live in slavery and contempt for sacred principles." "History will one day have its say; it will not be the history taught in the United Nations, Washington, Paris, or Brussels, however, but the history taught in the countries that have rid themselves of colonialism and its puppets. Africa will write its own history, and both north and south of the Sahara it will be a history full of glory and dignity." "I know that my country, now suffering so much, will be able to defend its independence and its freedom. Long live the Congo! Long live Africa!" * The writer is a London-based political analyst who focuses on issues on racism and culture, and runs the website Beat Knowledge.
