Countries of the World/COUNTRYS.BIN/dp/0416/04160.txt

Text File | 1991-06-25 | 30KB | 487 lines

$Unique_ID{COW04160}
$Pretitle{267}
$Title{Zaire
Chapter 1E.   Independence, Secessions, and Assumption of Power by Mobutu}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{H. Mark Roth}
$Affiliation{HQ, Department of the Army}
$Subject{government
congo
un
tshombe
katanga
political
lumumba
kasavubu
belgian
adoula}
$Date{1978}
$Log{}
Country:     Zaire
Book:        Zaire, A Country Study
Author:      H. Mark Roth
Affiliation: HQ, Department of the Army
Date:        1978

Chapter 1E.   Independence, Secessions, and Assumption of Power by Mobutu

The Breakdown of Authority

     The Lumumba government lasted for two months. The first days of
independence were relatively peaceful, although there were clashes between the
Kongo and Yaka ethnic groups in Leopoldville and renewed fighting between the
Lulua and Luba in Kasai Province. The first major difficulty began with the
mutiny of the Force Publique on July 5, 1960.

     The basic cause of the mutiny was the soldiers' expectation that
immediate Africanization would accompany independence. Africanization had been
a frequent demand during 1959 but, because of the opposition by senior Belgian
military officers to swift advancement of Africans, there were still no
Africans in positions of command when independence was secured. Discontented
over the lack of change in policy for advancement, the soldiers mutinied
against their Belgian officers. There were several instances of act of
violence and humiliation of Europeans. An atmosphere of panic and mass
hysteria quickly developed, leading to an evacuation of Europeans from most
areas. On July 10 Belgian paratroopers landed at Luluabourg and
Elisabethville to restore order (see Evolution of the Forces, ch. 5).

     Prime Minister Lumumba was under strong pressure to treat the mutinies as
a political problem, as they were in part directed against him. When a mass
upgrading of the soldiers by one rank and other measures failed to appease the
insurgents, Lumumba agreed that an African should replace the Belgian
commanding officer. Lumumba appointed his uncle, Victor Lundula, commander in
chief, and Joseph-Desire Mobutu as chief of staff. The name of the army was
changed to Armee Nationale Congolaise (ANC), and further reorganization and
Africanization were begun.

     Two related issues at this time resulted in the rupture of diplomatic
relations between the Congo and Belgium. They were the declaration of Katangan
independence on July 11 by Tshombe, an act supported by Belgians in Katanga,
and the landing of Belgian troops at Matadi, Elisabethville, and Luluabourg.
The troop landings were a breach of the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation
signed by the two countries the day before independence. They convinced the
Congolese authorities that Belgium was attempting to reoccupy the country. On
July 12 Kasavubu and Lumumba formally requested military assistance from the
United Nations (UN) to protect the Congo from foreign aggression.

Internationalization of the Conflict

     A UN Security Council resolution on July 14, 1960, responding to the
Congo government's request for aid, called for the withdrawal of Belgian
troops and authorized Secretary General Dag Hammerskjold to take the
necessary steps in consultation with the Congo government to provide military
and technical assistance for the Congolese security forces. Although the first
UN troops landed in Leopoldville the next day, Kasavubu and Lumumba were
dissatisfied with the pace of UN action and threatened to request Soviet help
unless Belgian troops were withdrawn in two days. By July 20 the UN had
several thousand troops under its command, and Lumumba withdrew the threat
when Belgium agreed to remove its troops from Leopoldville.

     In this rapidly deteriorating situation, mistrust, suspicion, and
bitterness increased between the Congolese and the Belgians. The new
government, preoccupied with soliciting external aid, had been unable to
attack the massive problems of organizing its administration, and
administrative problems were compounded by the mass departure of Belgian civil
servants and technicians. In the meantime the Katanga secessionist regime was
consolidating its position. Given the restrictive mandate that the UN could
not interfere in the Congo's internal conflicts, it soon became evident that
the Katanga secession was about to become another major problem for the
Lumumba government.

The Secession of Katanga and South Kasai

     Katanga was already a special case in 1910 when responsibility for its
administration was taken from the private Comite Special du Katanga, which had
been set up under the Free State, and given to a vice governor general. The
administrative reorganization of 1933, bringing Katanga administratively in
line with the rest of the provinces under Leopoldville, was strongly
criticized by many Katangan Europeans. The predominant role Katanga played in
the Congo's economy, contributing almost half of the country's resources in
1957, also promoted regional pride. In the months preceding independence,
pressures grew to preserve a traditional, paternalistic king of society.

     The politically powerful Katangan organization of colonialists-the Union
for Colonization (Union pour la Colonisation-UCOL), founded in 1944 to promote
European colonization, constantly pressed for restoration of Katangan
autonomy. The activist Katangan Union (Union Katangaise) was an outgrowth of a
political committee of the UCOL. In June 1959 the CONAKAT accepted the union
into its membership and, from that time on, advocated an autonomous Katanga
within a federated Congo.

     On August 8, 1960, Kalonji, Lumumba's political enemy, proclaimed the
independence of the Mining State of South Kasai. In late August the ANC moved
against Bakwanga, the capital of South Kasai, an operation in which many
civilians were killed. Military discipline of the ANC broke down, and Kasavubu
ordered the withdrawal of the ANC forces. Meanwhile Tshombe and Kalonji formed
a confederation between Katanga and South Kasai.

The Fall of the Lumumba Government and its Aftermath

     Although the Lumumba cabinet included representatives from most of the
larger parties, it was dominated by a radical coalition led by Antoine Gizenga
and Anicet Kashamura. Opposition from the more conservative group, led by Ileo
and Jean Bolikango, developed over policies adopted toward Belgium, the UN,
and Katanga.

     Against the warning of a number of his colleagues, Lumumba made a trip
abroad with a number of his officials from July 21 to August 8, a critical
time for the country and the new government. After his return Lumumba
intensified his quarrel with the UN authorities, especially when he failed to
secure UN aid to force the end of the Katanga secession. In late August, amid
more intense opposition, Lumumba declared martial law for six months and
arrested a number of his political opponents, including Bolikango and Gabriel
Markoso, editor of Le Courrier d'Afrique, the main Leopoldville daily.

     The decision by Lumumba to accept substantial Soviet aid in order to
attack the secessionist areas brought to a climax the issue of communist
influence, and on September 5 President Kasavubu announced the dismissal of
Lumumba, Gizenga, Kashamura, and three others from the government. He also
appointed Mobutu to replace Lundula as head of the ANC. Ileo was chosen as the
new prime minister and began trying to form a new government.

     Lumumba and his cabinet responded by accusing Kasavubu of high treason
and voted to dismiss him. Parliament refused to confirm the dismissal of
either Lumumba or Kasavubu and sought to bring about a reconciliation between
them. After a week's deadlock Mobutu announced that he was assuming power
until December 31, 1960, in order to "neutralize" parliament.

     When Mobutu made his announcement, the ANC was still in a state of
disorganization. In the weeks after the mutinies, however, Mobutu, as chief of
staff, had managed to establish good relations with the commanding offic