50 Years Later, Lumumba Endures
January 20, 2011 08:25 AM
by R. Asmerom
The name Patrice Lumumba rings a bell amongst those who have followed
the revolutionary politics that colored post-colonial Africa. Lumumba,
the first legally elected Prime Minister of the Republic of the Congo,
was assassinated 50 years ago this month for similar reasons that
Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. were assassinated in the 60s; he
represented an agent of Black liberation and progress.
Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja of The Guardian UK reasons that the multiple
assassination attempts on Lumumba were a natural outcry by the United
States and Belgium, which wanted to maintain control of Congo’s rich
resources in the midst of the Cold War. Lumumba was an advocate for
self-determination after all and following a long history of rape and
pillaging by Belgium, its colonizer, the people of the Congo embraced
the man who would lead them away from such a terrifying past.
“For 126 years, the US and Belgium have played key roles in shaping
Congo’s destiny,” wrote Nzongola-Ntalaja. “When the atrocities related
to brutal economic exploitation in Leopold’s Congo Free State resulted
in millions of fatalities, the US joined other world powers to force
Belgium to take over the country as a regular colony. And it was during
the colonial period that the US acquired a strategic stake in the
enormous natural wealth of the Congo, following its use of the uranium
from Congolese mines to manufacture the first atomic weapons, the
Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs.”
Although, today, the focus on Africa has shifted to the corrupt leaders
who continue to lead their respective countries into disaster, it was
clear in the 60s and 70s who was responsible for putting those corrupt
leaders in power. In a scramble to maintain the disunity of Africa, the
U.S. and other Western countries orchestrated coups and power plays to
buffer their interests in the region. Lumumba died at the young age of
35, only seven months after his country gained independence. His call
for unity and his call to nationalize the nation’s Belgian-owned copper,
gold and uranium mining industry was a direct threat to the economic
interests of outsiders. “The Belgian monarchy and government wished to
continue their gluttonous pillage of the rich resources of the Congo
even after “independence” was given,” said writer Nana-Adwoa Ofori. “It
was their desire to have a “puppet leader” in place so that it would be
easy and effortless to squeeze the Congo of all its riches.”
The irony is that the puppet leader that was place into power, Mobutu
Sese Seko, went on to exploit the Congo just as Belgium had. The native
son came to represent the very worst of corruption and leadership in the
continent’s documented history.
Lumumba’s rule was short lived but his life’s experience has resonated
with so many Pan-Africanists and visionaries around for the world. Just
like other change-seekers including Che Guevera who died at a young age,
Lumumba’s spirit endures. His assassination may not be the most
“important,” but his legacy is one of the most important in African
history.
--
http://atlantapost.com/2011/01/20/50-years-later-lumumba-endures/
Via InstaFetch
January 20, 2011 08:25 AM
by R. Asmerom
The name Patrice Lumumba rings a bell amongst those who have followed
the revolutionary politics that colored post-colonial Africa. Lumumba,
the first legally elected Prime Minister of the Republic of the Congo,
was assassinated 50 years ago this month for similar reasons that
Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. were assassinated in the 60s; he
represented an agent of Black liberation and progress.
Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja of The Guardian UK reasons that the multiple
assassination attempts on Lumumba were a natural outcry by the United
States and Belgium, which wanted to maintain control of Congo’s rich
resources in the midst of the Cold War. Lumumba was an advocate for
self-determination after all and following a long history of rape and
pillaging by Belgium, its colonizer, the people of the Congo embraced
the man who would lead them away from such a terrifying past.
“For 126 years, the US and Belgium have played key roles in shaping
Congo’s destiny,” wrote Nzongola-Ntalaja. “When the atrocities related
to brutal economic exploitation in Leopold’s Congo Free State resulted
in millions of fatalities, the US joined other world powers to force
Belgium to take over the country as a regular colony. And it was during
the colonial period that the US acquired a strategic stake in the
enormous natural wealth of the Congo, following its use of the uranium
from Congolese mines to manufacture the first atomic weapons, the
Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs.”
Although, today, the focus on Africa has shifted to the corrupt leaders
who continue to lead their respective countries into disaster, it was
clear in the 60s and 70s who was responsible for putting those corrupt
leaders in power. In a scramble to maintain the disunity of Africa, the
U.S. and other Western countries orchestrated coups and power plays to
buffer their interests in the region. Lumumba died at the young age of
35, only seven months after his country gained independence. His call
for unity and his call to nationalize the nation’s Belgian-owned copper,
gold and uranium mining industry was a direct threat to the economic
interests of outsiders. “The Belgian monarchy and government wished to
continue their gluttonous pillage of the rich resources of the Congo
even after “independence” was given,” said writer Nana-Adwoa Ofori. “It
was their desire to have a “puppet leader” in place so that it would be
easy and effortless to squeeze the Congo of all its riches.”
The irony is that the puppet leader that was place into power, Mobutu
Sese Seko, went on to exploit the Congo just as Belgium had. The native
son came to represent the very worst of corruption and leadership in the
continent’s documented history.
Lumumba’s rule was short lived but his life’s experience has resonated
with so many Pan-Africanists and visionaries around for the world. Just
like other change-seekers including Che Guevera who died at a young age,
Lumumba’s spirit endures. His assassination may not be the most
“important,” but his legacy is one of the most important in African
history.
--
http://atlantapost.com/2011/01/20/50-years-later-lumumba-endures/
Via InstaFetch
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