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11-036 Modern History of Zaire - II
Vol. 11- No. 36
2005
Lead: Chaos greeted the establishment of the new Congo Republic in the early 1960s. How the nation would emerge depended on the struggle between the followers of Joseph Kasavubu and Patrice Lumumba. Intro: A Moment in Time with Dan Roberts. Content: Premier Patrice Lumumba was an African nationalist and throughout his career focused on the unity of the Congo rather than autonomy of for its regional areas. His great rival was President Joseph Kasavubu who valued increasing the power of local identities and regional jurisdictions as opposed to national priorities. In a confused burst of political chaos in the closing days of June,1960. Lumumba was elected premier and Kasavubu President. They were locked in an uneasy embrace as the Congo began to disintegrate. Long-time separatist, Moise Tshombe led the province of Katanga to declare its independence and in that he was supported by Belgian troops flown in to protect Europeans, but principally to prop up this rebellion. Thereafter, Kasavubu and Lumumba jointly appealed to the United Nations for support troops and mediation, but the U.N. forces refused to overthrow Tshombe. This was a serious complication and as a fallback position Lumumba contacted the Soviet Union for logistical support. His appeal to Moscow for planes and trucks to get his troops east to Katanga probably sealed his fate. He was captured by the Kasavubu faction and turned over the Katangan rebels who murdered him in January 1961. Out of the chaotic shifts of power in fall 1965 a strong man emerged, Colonel Joseph Mobutu. In 1965 he deposed Kasavubu, quelled the Katangan revolt in 1967, renamed the country Zaire in 1971, allowed the establishment of a multi-power government in 1991 and was himself deposed in 1997. At the University of Richmond, this is Dan Roberts. Resources Epstein, Howard M. Revolt in the Congo. New York: Facts on File, 1965. Legum, Colin. Congo Disaster. Cloucester, Mass.: Peter Smith, 1972. Merriam, Alan P. Congo: Background of Conflict. Evanston, Ill.: Northwestern University Press, 1961. Nelson, Samuel Henry. Colonialism in the Congo Basin, 1880-1940. Athens, Ohio: Ohio University Center for International Studies, 1994. http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/cg.html Copyright 2005 by Broadcast Partners, LLC LAC081205
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