What Do You Know About Congo?

[Auspicious]

-

Yes, what do you know about Congo? I don't know enough, but I know some. I have always been intrigued by this large country that was once ruled by a despot in leopard-skin hat. My interest in Congo was further piqued the first time I read a summarized biography of Patrice Lumumba. As I began to read about him, my heart filled with pride for this bespectacled, fiery African. But I was downcast by the time I was done reading.

The story of Congo is the story of Lumumba. A charismatic, proud man with intelligent defiance in his bones, he radiated the image of this beautiful, large and culturally strong country. At a time of their lives, man and country were young and proud, and evoked enormous promise of a great future ahead of them. At another time, they were betrayed, exploited and repulsively violated, by traitors within, and opportunists without.

I had tears in my eyes reading what happened to Lumumba up till the moment he died. I did not know who to hate more; was it his fellow Congolese who did a Judas on him and exposed him to brutal persecution of the devil-possessed, or those arrogant invaders who plundered and stole from Congo and her peoples while ordering them around and renaming towns and cities after dogs sporting the names of slinky jungle felines?

Years later, the dream of a flourishing and proud Congo remain on hold, as brothers have been set against brothers, to kill, to maim and to rape - creating, possibly, the largest theater of war on earth. But there is hope yet. There are sons and daughters of Congo who have not forgotten their heritage or given up on hope therein. In the midst of all the hate and bloodshed, they use their talents to educate, inspire and unite.

Meet Baloji:


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[emj]

Eherm the bit I know about Congo was from my late Papi .......
I know it is a beautiful African country ....a country that all warm blooded Africans ought to be proud of.

I will drop more thoughts when am done doing justice to this French croissant and latte........

[anwulika]

Ohhh!

THAT Congo...

[Eja]

Modern Congolese history starts with Leopold The Vampire (King of Belgium).

Of the Europeans who scrambled for control of Africa at the end of the 19th century, Belgium's King Leopold II left arguably the largest and most horrid legacy of all.

While the Great Powers competed for territory elsewhere, the king of one of Europe's smallest countries carved his own private colony out of 100km2 of Central African rainforest.

He claimed he was doing it to protect the "natives" from Arab slavers, and to open the heart of Africa to Christian missionaries, and Western capitalists. [A Golden Oldie that is still played today]

Instead, as the makers of BBC Four documentary White King, Red Rubber, Black Death powerfully argue, the king unleashed new horrors on the African continent.

Torment and rape

He turned his "Congo Free State" into a massive labour camp, made a fortune for himself from the harvest of its wild rubber, and contributed in a large way to the death of perhaps 10 million innocent people.

What is now called the Democratic Republic of Congo has clearly never recovered.

"Legalized robbery enforced by violence", as Leopold's reign was described at the time, has remained, more or less, the template by which Congo's rulers have governed ever since.

Meanwhile Congo's soldiers have never moved away from the role allocated to them by Leopold - as a force to coerce, torment and rape an unarmed civilian population.

Chopping hands

As the BBC's reporter in DR Congo, I covered stories that were loud echoes of what was happening 100 years earlier.

The film opens with the shocking images of some of Leopold's victims - children and adults whose right hands had been hacked off by his agents.

They needed these to prove to their superiors that they had not been "wasting" their bullets on animals.

This rule was seldom observed as soldiers kept shooting monkeys and then later chopping off human hands to provide their alibis.

Source

I was so moved, Your Excellency, by the people's stories that I took the liberty of promising them that in future you will only kill them for crimes they commit
John Harris
Missionary in Baringa to Leopold

And below, other bits of info previously posted on this site about goings on in that region :

Rwanda War Crimes Cover-up

Topical - The Congolese Template

But no be only sad stories I know about Congo - Congo/Zaire Classics

[valteena]

As a child what I know and remember clearly is their music which was one of the genre of music my popsy played and we danced to lot in my house hold. We use to call their type of music "Congo music" then, which if I am right is now more known as Makossa.

Now though the country is more known for its protracted brutal conflict and its impact on the country and region which includes the prevalence of rape, other sexual violence and widespread disease and famine.

That I suppose is not just the story of Congo alone but the story of Africa generally. What a sad sad sad situation.

[Magic]

Congo. It depends on the age group. I think Lumumba stands out. A very sad story for Africa that unfortunately is still on today. Read more about Lumumba, that could be any country in Africa. There was also the story of Nigerian soldiers. Ironsi got a very good distinction as a military officer in that region.

Anwulika,

Oh, which Congo?

[Obugi]

Auspy,

Our beloved country America played....and still plays....a big part in the destruction of the Congo.

The Lumumba you speak of, his murder was facilitated by the USA.

Anyway.....

!Get Yours!
Obugi

[Mutti]

They came last in the second all africa games and sang a farewell song during the closing ceremonies

[superego]

Here is audio:

[emj]

Okay am back....me like this artiste.....inspite of any foolishness going on in dem country...



During the 60s the country was commonly known as "Congo-Léopoldville" and "Congo-Brazzaville", The Congo and Congo.

See link.. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democra...c_of_the_Congo



There's of course another well known Congo....only Alhaji Gwobes and my uga Massa can describe that to you.....pls visit the elders Discobar in the Penthouse...


Cheerios

[anwulika]

Anwulika,

Oh, which Congo?

Ask Auspicious and Bill Carson.I don't know either just hear them say Congo this and that...

What I know about Congo? Rhythmic music from Papa Wemba and Koffi Olomide and that their men are to effeminate for my liking.

[emj]

There's a human rights activist in a group i belong to and most of her posts are about the atrocities going on in that Republic....she is very passionate about her country:

DR Congo: New Rwandan-Ugandan incursions reinforce the M23

Members of the Civil society in eastern Congo are informing us that Rwandan and Ugandan troops are strengthening armed group M23. In fact, on Thursday 9 August, there was a massive entry of Rwandan soldiers in Eastern Congo. These troops have a plan as to support the M23 in the launch of next simultaneous attacks on Kibumba and Goma.

The M23 soldiers were seen with new brand Jeeps, new equipment of war, with Motorolas and other new communication tools.

On the other side, on the same night, they also noticed the presence of two battalions of the Ugandan army, The Uganda People's Defence Force (UPDF), whose chief commander is Museveni's brother, General Salim Saleh.

North Kivu civil society has notified the Congolese government, which has not reacted so far, and also informing the international opinion to these new threats of M23. At the same time, they'd like to bring to the attention of the UN Security Council on the scale of the Rwandan-Ugandan aggression against the DR Congo and requests urgent actions to be taken to avoid further massacres of the Congolese populations and new humanitarian disasters.

The M23 maneuvers supported by Rwanda and Uganda demonstrate clearly the failure of the Kampala Summit. Whereas the DRC counts on the next "international neutral force", Rwanda and Uganda are still strengthening their M23 foals on the front lines.

The M23 principal goal is to force the Congolese government to give in to the negotiations with them and prevent any implementation of any international neutral Force that could eradicate the M23, FDLR and other negative forces.

Rwanda and Uganda, crafty old devils, hypocritical are against the idea of deploying any neutral force, and take advantage of the truce observed on the front lines to strengthen their aggression against DRC.
Kléber Kungu

More stories in this link:
http://therisingcontinent.wordpress....-congo-crisis/

[M. Akosa]

Congo..oh !
As in the country ? Do you mean DRC ? Capital city is Kinshasa.
Yes, what I know about it much is the music, which is my favourite dance rythm. They have produced so many talented and great musicians. I can't name one and leave out the other. Equally all of them are good, depending on individual taste and age group.

But please don't confuse politically with Republic of Congo, also known in the past as Congo Brazzaville.
From what I have read and also heard from my dad's personal experience of going there among the elite Nigerian military and police contingent peace keeping force, before Nigeria's own independence are stories and account of a very beautiful and abundant blessed land and people.
But also seriously unstable due to tribal and ethnic differences, languages, class and connections; with the people in power and government heavily influenced and manipulated by external forces and dominated by colonial powers. Even up till today, maybe ?

What more can I say here to you Auspy ?
I guess it is also a very complex country like our own Nigeria, depending on how you see it ? and what you are really interested in or looking for.
I have also heard that it is a very good place to "do business" but at the same time also seriously under developed country, with majority of the citizens oppressed and very poor.

[Bill Carson]

Lomana Lualua is from Congo.

Papa Wemba from Congo is the original gangster.

Katanga is In Congo.

Congo first represented Black Africa in FIFA World Cup (don't quote me biko).

The largest Diamond ever was stolen from Congo to Belgium (don't quote me again).

According to my NGO 80% of Congolese women have been raped.

Congolese men bleach more than Nigerian women.

SuperHeGoat's Boko Haram killed more Christians within a year than the Belgium's succeeded in chopping off the hands of Congolese natives in a whole decade.

"When we were Kings" the best Boxing docu was made in Congo.

Big George Foreman met his Waterloo in Congo.

My Literary hero Norman Mailer has been to Congo.

[Abraxas]

Hi, Sister Mine, Rt. Hon. (Countess) EMJ!

Okay am back....

There's of course another well known Congo....only Alhaji Gwobes and my uga Massa can describe that to you.....pls visit the elders Discobar in the Penthouse...


Cheerios

You have started... Make I no talk, sha...

Any way, shine on, ojare, (life no get triplicate.....)!

Muchas gracias, mi hermana.

Don Juan-Carlos ABRAXAS (III)
Grand Commander of the Shining Star of the Congo (GCSSC)

[Uncle Sam]

After watching a historical movie on Patrice Lumumba I must confess that I found the man lacking in diplomacy and intelligence. He was equally very stubborn, believing errorneously that he knows better than everybody else. That is perhaps one of the reasons his advisers abandoned his ass. He had just one plan to getting independence. He was ALWAYS having Plan A on the table. A man fighting for what he was fighting for (even if driven by greed) should have Plan B, C, D and even E.

By the way, even if the movie I watched was a historical narrative from a particular perspective, I also read other perspectives.

[DeepThought]

That is perhaps one of the reasons his advisers abandoned his ass

I don't know which perspective you've read O, but the one I know, not only did they refuse to abandon him, they stayed by his side and died with and for him, even when offered their freedom

As for intelligence, no amount of intelligence will save anyone who decides to become a martyr. Are Xtians not worshiping one today? Was he unintelligent? Perhaps sometimes people who are better than some of us have to die for what they believe in

[superego]

...
SuperHeGoat's Boko Haram killed more Christians within a year than the Belgium's succeeded in chopping off the hands of Congolese natives in a whole decade...

I kno u missed me.

Congo Holocaust. Watch my videos for details. 25 Million killed by Leopold, the Hitler of Africa.
Congo is the symbol of the cruelty of the European slave deportation.

We here should be discussing getting Leopold's statues off Belgian streets, where their being erect is an ongoing insult to Africa and humanity.

Did you every ask yourself why they cut hands and can't live in peace in Congo? Well, perhaps you should read about 'Leopold's Ghost'.

The Jewish Holocaust was precedented and superseded by Leopold's 30M Holocaust of Africa's Congo




To President Obama

NewsRescue recently published an article on the Pope's recent comments, calling the European Hitler's Holocaust of European Jews, an unprecedented event in history.

Click to see article

Our editorial team, discussed how such a statement by the Pope of the world was either- intentionally markedly mis-informative, markedly dishonest or markedly ignorant. Everyone interested in the not too distant history knows of the then Belgian King, Leopold II and as written in a very famous book- 'King Leopold's Ghost', his role in formalizing the colonization and so-called 'civilization' of Africa, and in his quest to build Belgium, his abuse of Congo in the heart of Africa. Atrocities that are some of the most vile and wicked in human history, resulting in a holocaust of at least 25-30 million central African deaths, and permanent mutilation and psychological damage to the 2-5 Million who remained.

Now, the sad recurrence during Obama's recent amend making trip to and speech in Cairo, Egypt, - his referring to the Jewish holocaust as 'unprecedented' [Speech text and video], brought about the need for us to re-post this article and inform Mr president, that the Jewish holocaust is Not unprecedented, and that if Africans are humans too, then it was actually surpassed in the not too distant past, in an event that remains a deep scar for all humanity, as the royalty that carried out this atrocity are still celebrated. And worse yet, mere recognition of its occurrence and resolution is not even ever considered.

To the President, the Pope and all others who don't know and really need to know;- we believe that for you to appreciate that the Holocaust of Africa's Congo and the slave trade Holocaust in itself supersedes the Jewish ~6 Million Holocaust, we must prove to you that Africans are human beings... and were human beings when leopold took Congo as his personal property and robbed and marauded the nation to build Belgium.

We hereby submit evidence of Homosapien-ism, and even undeniable evidence of advanced development and civilization of the Congo people.


Read more: http://newsrescue.com/the-jewish-hol...#ixzz23g8vVAAu

[anonimi]

Thanks Uncle Sam.
Most of us Africans do not understand the need for being pragmatic when you do not have the means YET to stand up to your oppressors - economically, military wise and politically i.e. international clout.
The Chinese must surely be able to teach us a thing or two about this given their delicate dealings with the US and their former very brutal colonial masters - Japan.
The Yorubas have a saying: Bi owo omode o ba ti te eku ida, ko gbodo bere iku to pa baba e, which roughly means a child should not try finding out how is father died till he has the means of retaliating.

[emj]

Hi, Sister Mine, Rt. Hon. (Countess) EMJ!


You have started... Make I no talk, sha...

Any way, shine on, ojare, (life no get triplicate.....)!

Muchas gracias, mi hermana.

Don Juan-Carlos ABRAXAS (III)
Grand Commander of the Shining Star of the Congo (GCSSC)

Habahaba Uga massa... na who born me self.......I just say make I hail you because you no get rival .....Abi ke...you be the Grand Commander of the whole world.....

Abeg forgive me for disturbing your siesta with our lovin sista ......I trowey pohunpohun ..I trowey hardhat ....come kneel down dey hail you...

Ahem........I no go talk again.

[Auspicious]

Lomana Lualua is from Congo.

Papa Wemba from Congo is the original gangster.

Katanga is In Congo.

Congo first represented Black Africa in FIFA World Cup (don't quote me biko).

The largest Diamond ever was stolen from Congo to Belgium (don't quote me again).

According to my NGO 80% of Congolese women have been raped.

Congolese men bleach more than Nigerian women.

SuperHeGoat's Boko Haram killed more Christians within a year than the Belgium's succeeded in chopping off the hands of Congolese natives in a whole decade.

"When we were Kings" the best Boxing docu was made in Congo.

Big George Foreman met his Waterloo in Congo.

My Literary hero Norman Mailer has been to Congo.

Bill Carson Baba O!

You are a bully, but a funny one!

Hey, lemme ask: Norman Mailer or Gore Vidal, who's better?

Meanwhile, this Baloji guy is something else:


--

[Bill Carson]

Hey, lemme ask: Norman Mailer or Gore Vidal, who's better?

Auspy,

I once wanted to chat with you about Gore Vidal, very Ironic you brought his name up. I read "Live From Golgotha" several years ago and since then I fully lost my religion (not that I ever had much).

Back to your question. Gore Vidal to me represents American Aristocracy that are rarely seen, also while witty (In a very European way) I find Gore slightly disturbed. Norman Mailer is probably the greatest American writer of his generation; his writing captured the beauty of the greatest empire ever (Unlike Vidal that exaggerates the demise of USA).

[DeepThought]

Dead, living, free, or in prison on the orders of the colonialists, it is not I who counts. It is the Congo, it is our people for whom independence has been transformed into a cage where we are regarded from the outside... History will one day have its say, but it will not be the history that Brussels, Paris, Washington, or the United Nations will teach, but that which they will teach in the countries emancipated from colonialism and its puppets... a history of glory and dignity

.

— Patrice Lumumba, October 1960

US:
Some of the denigrating comments one reads here are expected and would not have been disturbing except when they come from a person like you.

Let them be called foolish, let them be called arrogant, let them be called whatever they may, but let it not be said, when history is written that there were no Africans who would willingly and knowingly lay down their lives for what they believed in and for their fellows, especially those of us who are either too cowardly or unlighten to do so. Many of us are not worthy to tie the boots of some of these great men, of whom Lumumba was just one.

Patrice Jesus Lumamba, some of us are proud of you look forward to your return.

Amen

[Auspicious]

..I read "Live From Golgotha" several years ago and since then I fully lost my religion (not that I ever had much)..

LOL!

I know the feeling; been there, still oscillating.

It's gotta be between one (or more) of them who did it:

G. Carlin, B. Maher, G. Vidal, C. Hitchens, A. Hirsi Alli, among others.

Some argue Vidal is more masterful in novels than he is at essays.

I know him only by essays, and I admire his aristocrat intellect and scathing wit.

But I agree he's sorta crazy - then again, many such folks are crazy.

Here he is an example of him throwing folks off, forget the borrowed British accent:



Yeah he's crazy alright.

I know nothing at all about Norman Mailer.

But then again I am not one whom you'd describe as "well-read" in general.

Still, I often read of comparisons between the two, and saw at least one encounter between them.

Here, sounded like an encounter between Eja and err..let's see, Ewuro(?) on NVS:



I say Ewuro because I can't think of another 'radical intellectual' to oppose Eja at the moment.

Oh, yes, HERE'S ONE: Eja Vs. Nero Africanus (where the hell is the latter??)

Well-well, maybe Christopher Hitchens had something in mind when he wrote the essay "Vidal Loco"

Hate him or love him, Vidal was engaging.

As for Norman, I don't know enough about the man -

But the little I saw of him effused a certain kind of insecurity next to Vidal(?)

I can't wait to learn more of Norman Mailer though - thanks!

We derailed this thread enough. I might launch a thread on Vidal.

[Bill Carson]

LOL!

I know the feeling; been there, still oscillating.

It's gotta be between one (or more) of them who did it:

G. Carlin, B. Maher, G. Vidal, C. Hitchens, A. Hirsi Alli, among others.

Some argue Vidal is more masterful in novels than he is at essays.

I know him only by essays, and I admire his aristocrat intellect and scathing wit.

But I agree he's sorta crazy - then again, many such folks are crazy.

Here he is an example of him throwing folks off, forget the borrowed British accent:



Yeah he's crazy alright.

I know nothing at all about Norman Mailer.

But then again I am not one whom you'd describe as "well-read" in general.

Still, I often read of comparisons between the two, and saw at least one encounter between them.

Here, sounded like an encounter between Eja and err..let's see, Ewuro(?) on NVS:



I say Ewuro because I can't think of another 'radical intellectual' to oppose Eja at the moment.

Oh, yes, HERE'S ONE: Eja Vs. Nero Africanus (where the hell is the latter??)

Well-well, maybe Christopher Hitchens had something in mind when he wrote the essay "Vidal Loco"

Hate him or love him, Vidal was engaging.

As for Norman, I don't know enough about the man -

But the little I saw of him effused a certain kind of insecurity next to Vidal(?)

I can't wait to learn more of Norman Mailer though - thanks!

We derailed this thread enough. I might launch a thread on Vidal.

Auspy,

Thanks for that clip (walahi, I never knew both had ever crossed path). Norman Mailer articulates America from all that made America great, not just from the Puritans that emigrated and became majority. He creates a higher culture from popular culture, he articulates and easily plant's the Jewish American, Black American, Irish American and Italian American culture into one Big Apple.
Thereby putting across a powerful argument that the beauty & greatness of American popular culture is almost exclusive to it's minorities. If you ever read any of his memoirs you will notice he elevates his subject into an Avant-garde.

Let me stop, I am getting nostalgic & can't afford reading a Mailer's book this weekend.

[Uncle Sam]

.


Some of the denigrating comments one reads here are expected and would not have been disturbing except when they come from a person like you.

Deepthought,

I hope you did not miss the import of my comments-which simply was his leadership style.

His goal like Awo's and Zik's and Mandela's was noble. No question about that. Zik, Nkrumah, Awo etc understood the word COMPROMISE and they knew when and when not to compromise.

I am judging Lumumba's leadership qualities- nothing else. Compromise was not one of those qualities. The man is stubborn and that does not mean stubbornness is a bad quality but not knowing when to compromise makes stubbornness a bad quality.

I do not know for some reasons we (you and I) seem to admire different qualities in leaders. For example you admire Buhari/Idiagbon (correct me if I am wrong) and I detest those duo.

Abeg, no vex if my choice of words describing Patrice angered you. And thanks for the compliment.

[valteena]

.

— Patrice Lumumba, October 1960

US:
Some of the denigrating comments one reads here are expected and would not have been disturbing except when they come from a person like you.

Let them be called foolish, let them be called arrogant, let them be called whatever they may, but let it not be said, when history is written that there were no Africans who would willingly and knowingly lay down their lives for what they believed in and for their fellows, especially those of us who are either too cowardly or unlighten to do so. Many of us are not worthy to tie the boots of some of these great men, of whom Lumumba was just one.

Patrice Jesus Lumamba, some of us are proud of you look forward to your return.

Amen

DT now you're raising up my lately suppressed PanAfricanist spirit with the above. Reading about the Lumumbas, Garveys and I know some will not believe it but yes Robert Mugabe among others were a source of inspiration for becoming a Pan Africanist in school those days and still is actually. Anyway, it has made me remember this song by Sonny Okosun that I use to enjoy when in that PanAfrican mood . Enjoy.

[Auspicious]

-

Dear Uncle Sam,

Given what we know of the brutality of those who colonized Congo,

There is NOTHING to compromise - you don't compromise with pure, heartless evil!

The day I read his independence day speech, I developed a new respect for his memory. His speech followed the irresponsible one earlier delivered at the same event by the representative of the Belgian monarch at the ceremony, meaning it was mostly a speech delivered ex-temporary.

For proper context, here is what wikipedia recorded of the event, prior to Lumumba's speech below:

Independence Day was celebrated on June 30 in a ceremony attended by many dignitaries including King Baudouin and the foreign press. Lumumba delivered his famous independence speech after being officially excluded from the event programme, despite being the new prime minister.[4] The speech of Belgian King Baudouin praised developments under colonialism, his reference to the "genius" of his great-granduncle Leopold II of Belgium glossing over atrocities committed during the Congo Free State.[5] The King continued, "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, give you advice."[6] Lumumba responded by reminding the audience that the independence of the Congo was not granted magnanimously by Belgium:[6]

And then Lumumba's turn to speak:

Victorious fighters for independence, today victorious, I greet you in the name of the Congolese government. All of you, my friends, who have fought tirelessly at our sides, I ask you to make this June 30, 1960, an illustrious date that you will keep indelibly engraved in your hearts, a date of significance of which you will teach to your children, so that they will make known to their sons and to their grandchildren the glorious history of our fight for liberty.

For this independence of the Congo, even as it is celebrated today with Belgium, a friendly country with whom we deal as equal to equal, no Congolese worthy of the name will ever be able to forget that is was by fighting that it has been won [applause], a day-to-day fight, an ardent and idealistic fight, a fight in which we were spared neither privation nor suffering, and for which we gave our strength and our blood.

We are proud of this struggle, of tears, of fire, and of blood, to the depths of our being, for it was a noble and just struggle, and indispensable to put an end to the humiliating slavery which was imposed upon us by force.

This was our fate for 80 years of a colonial regime; our wounds are too fresh and too painful still for us to drive them from our memory. We have known harassing work, exacted in exchange for salaries which did not permit us to eat enough to drive away hunger, or to clothe ourselves, or to house ourselves decently, or to raise our children as creatures dear to us.

We have known ironies, insults, blows that we endured morning, noon and evening, because we are Negroes. Who will forget that to a Black one said "tu", certainly not as to a friend, but because the more honorable "vous" was reserved for whites alone?

We have seen our lands seized in the name of allegedly legal laws, which in fact recognized only that might is right. We have seen that the law was not the same for a white and for a Black - accommodating for the first, cruel and inhuman for the other.

We have witnessed atrocious sufferings of those condemned for their political opinions or religious beliefs, exiled in their own country, their fate truly worse than death itself.

We have seen that in the towns there were magnificent houses for the whites and crumbling shanties for the Blacks; that a Black was not admitted in the motion-picture houses, in the restaurants, in the stores of the Europeans; that a Black traveled in the holds, at the feet of the whites in their luxury cabins.

Who will ever forget the massacres where so many of our brothers perished, the cells into which those who refused to submit to a regime of oppression and exploitation were thrown [applause]?

All that, my brothers, we have endured. But we, whom the vote of your elected representatives have given the right to direct our dear country, we who have suffered in our body and in our heart from colonial oppression, we tell you very loud, all that is henceforth ended.

The Republic of the Congo has been proclaimed, and our country is now in the hands of its own children. Together, my brothers, my sisters, we are going to begin a new struggle, a sublime struggle, which will lead our country to peace, prosperity and greatness.

Together, we are going to establish social justice and make sure everyone has just remuneration for his labor [applause].

We are going to show the world what the Black man can do when he works in freedom, and we are going to make of the Congo the center of the sun's radiance for all of Africa.

We are going to keep watch over the lands of our country so that they truly profit her children. We are going to restore ancient laws and make new ones which will be just and noble.

We are going to put an end to suppression of free thought and see to it that all our citizens enjoy to the full the fundamental liberties foreseen in the Declaration of the Rights of Man [applause].

We are going to do away with all discrimination of every variety and assure for each and all the position to which human dignity, work and dedication entitles him.

We are going to rule not by the peace of guns and bayonets but by a peace of the heart and the will [applause].

And for all that, dear fellow countrymen, be sure 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 [applause].

In this domain, Belgium, at last accepting the flow of history, has not tried to oppose our independence and is ready to give us their aid and their friendship, and a treaty has just been signed between our two countries, equal and independent. On our side, while we stay vigilant, we shall respect our obligations, given freely.

Thus, in the interior and the exterior, the new Congo, our dear Republic that my government will create, will be a rich, free and prosperous country. But so that we will reach this aim without delay, I ask all of you, legislators and citizens, to help me with all your strength.

I ask all of you to forget your tribal quarrels. They exhaust us. They risk making us despised abroad.

I ask the parliamentary minority to help my government through a constructive opposition and to limit themselves strictly to legal and democratic channels. (PRAY, UNCLE SAM, IS THIS NOT COMPROMISE??????!!)

I ask all of you not to shrink before any sacrifice in order to achieve the success of our huge undertaking.

In conclusion, I ask you unconditionally to respect the life and the property of your fellow citizens and of foreigners living in our country. (PRAY, UNCLE SAM, IS THIS NOT COMPROMISE??????!!)If the conduct of these foreigners leaves something to be desired, our justice will be prompt in expelling them from the territory of the republic; if, on the contrary, their conduct is good, they must be left in peace, for they also are working for our country's prosperity.

The Congo's independence marks a decisive step towards the liberation of the entire African continent [applause].

Sire, excellencies, mesdames, messieurs, my dear fellow countrymen, my brothers of race, my brothers of struggle - this is what I wanted to tell you in the name of the government on this magnificent day of our complete independence.

Our government - strong, national, popular - will be the health of our country.

I call on all Congolese citizens - men, women and children - to set themselves resolutely to the task of creating a prosperous national economy which will assure our economic independence.

Glory to the fighters for national liberation! Long live independence and African unity! Long live the independent and sovereign Congo! [applause, long and loud]

---

[superego]

a speech of much note. But the devil will not let him...

[Uncle Sam]

Auspy,

I will settle down soon and I will read your last post to me. I can guess that it will be educational. I keep learning in this our NVS market.

[DeepThought]

Thanks Uncle Sam. I hope you change your mind on Lumumba.

Regarding qualities of leadership, I actually don't admire Idiagbon/Buhari as much as you think. They were mostly hypocrites and the second coming of Buhari is even worse than his first.