SATURDAY POST 03/29/2014 Patrice Lamumba the Trail Blazer In high quarters here, it is clear cut conclusion that if (Lamumba) continues to hold high office, the inevitable will result and will (have) disastrous consequences… for the interest of the free world generally. Consequently, we conclude that his removal must be an urgent and prime objective. (Former United States Central Intelligence Agency head, Allen Dulles) In last Saturday’s post we talked about the division of Africa. Central to the removal of minerals and other resources from eastern and central Africa was the Congo River. After the division, the Congo River basin ended up in the hands of the country of Belgium and into the personal portfolio of the Belgian King Leopold II. His personal claim to the land and resources were a part of the Berlin agreement of 1885. The Congo River basin was fertile land and the river emptied into the Atlantic Ocean which allowed for relatively easy transport of goods from the interior of Africa to the Atlantic and to Europe. Some of the products produced in the Congo were rubber (remember the industrial revolution), timber, uranium, gold, diamonds, zinc, copper, palm oil among others. The Belgian Congo was ruled by Belgium from 1908 until 1960. The entire African population was corralled into forced labor to work the plantations and build roads, bridges and buildings. Leopold sought to monopolize the trade in rubber from central and east Africa. Note the industrial revolution. Male rubber trappers and porters were mercilessly exploited and driven to death. Leopold’s agents held the wives and children of these men hostage until they returned with their quota. Those who refused or failed to supply enough rubber often had their villages burned down, children killed and their hands cut off. Most of the pictures available show the right hand being lopped off. Most people are right handed. Patrice Lamumba was a native Congolese born July 2, 1925 and died January 17 1961. He was a clerk in the service of the government and did not exhibit much in the way of revolutionary goals. Lamumba had a slow rise in the political realm. His ultimate awakening may have come when he attended the All African Peoples Conference held in Accra Ghana in December 1958. The conference was organized and hosted by President Kwame Nkruma of Ghana. Nkruma was the first president of an independent African nation after the division. Lamumba’s political party won an election in May 1959 and he was declared Prime Minister. The people had a choice. Remain under Belgian rule or seek full independence. Lamumba fought for full independence much to the displeasure of the Belgian authorities. Independence was granted and Lamumba became the second leader of a free African nation after the division of the continent. On September 14, 1960, Lieutenant General Joseph Desire Mobuto(Mobutu Sese Seko) organized a coup that deposed Lamumba. The latter was first placed under house arrest. He escaped but was eventually recaptured. He was taken to another part of the country by helicopter and by Belgian troops under the guise of taking him to safety. He was executed soon thereafter. It is still unclear how he was executed and even exactly when although the is a small window of time between when he was “rescued” and the world found that he was dead. Reports suggest that he was executed via firing squad. There is more recent parallel to the rescue scenario. February 2004 Haiti was in unrest. The United States military went in under the guise of rescuing Jean Bertrand Aristide, the then duly elected President of Haiti. Not only was Aristide rescued, he was wisked out of the country. He spent a short time in Jamaica and eventually settled in South Africa. Be careful who comes to rescue you. Everything that has ever happened is still happening.
Posted on: Sat, 29 Mar 2014 13:25:30 +0000
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