STRADDLES KEY ISSUES
The exclusion of the neocolonialist stooge Moishe Tshombe from the conference of "nonaligned nations," which met in Cairo October 5-10 held the headlines in the world press. The action was a popular one although the Egyptian government utilized some rather flimsy pretexts to carry it out. Tshombe's entry into the country was first delayed, then permission was refused his plane to land in Cairo, Finally, when he came despite these rather broad . hints, he was placed under virtual house arrest and held there during the retaliatory anti-Egyptian moves that were made in Leopoldville.
-. To have admitted Tshombe at such a conference would have. created a scandal, He is the ally of the South African fascist . Verwoerd and the Portuguese colonialists as well as being the puppet of the Belgian and American impor halistse He was deeply involved in the murder of 'Patrice Lumumba, No propagandistic magic could succeed in painting this vile agent as "nonaligned."
The "statesmen" assembled at the conference did not care to utterly expose themselves by including such a compromised figure in their deliberations,
Outside the rebuff dealt to Tshombe, the Cairo conference did little that could ‘be hailed by Congo's freedom fighters,
First of all, the conference asked President Kasavubu to come to Cairo as a replacement for Tshombe. But Kasavubu was the one who plotted the first “coup™ in the short history of the Congo's independence, He struck down Prime Minister Lumumba, initiating the agonizing struggle that has martyrized the people of the Congo ever since. Tshombe got his present post through Kasavubuts nomination, In fact Kasavubu bears responsibility for most of the antipopular measures and developments in the _Gongo during the past four years,
‘That is why the leaders of. thé freedom fighters in the Congo have unanimously demanded that Kasavubt be removed from office be-~ fore any serious political discussion-about the futuré of the country's government can be entertained.
By asking Kasavubu to sit in on their deliberations at Cairo, the "statesmen" assembled there, who in their great majority are representatives of the colonial. bourgeoisie or reactionary semifeudal regimes such as the one headed by the Emperor of Ethiopia, "aligned" themselves against the courageous Congolese guerrilla forces.
In addition to this, the conference endorsed MEESUPSS , baken by the Organization of African States to “re-establish peace" in the: Congo. The final resolution correctly denounces the intervention of foreign powers in the Congo, but so far as the stooge government of Kasavubu-Tshombe is concerned, it merely calls on it to refrain from
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recruiting white mercenaries and.to dismiss those now in its pay. What was required was full recognition of the Stanleyville government of the People's Republic of the Congo and active support for it against the Leopoldville puppets.
The conference sought to straddle on many acute issues. For example, it declared that peaceful coexistence between different social and political systems is both possible and desirable, This was an obvious concession to Khrushchevism. On the other hand, the United States came in for implied criticism when "colonialism and neocolonialism" in Latin America was condemned.
One of the clearest statements concerned Cuba, The conference demanded that-the United States lift the economic and commercial blockade of the revolutionary island and evacuate the naval base at Guantanamo. oa
“The final resolution also stated - that "colonized peoples are justified in.resorting to arms to obtain respect of their rights of self-determination and independence."
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