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COURAGEOUS STAND OF CONGOLESE STUDENTS IN BELGIUM
{The November 28 issue of the Be lgian Socialist weekly La Gauche. reports that the Belgian government has taken a scandalous measure against leaders of the Congolese student organization UGEC [Union Générale des Etudiants Congolais}]. "Because they had the courage to denounce the Belgian-American military intervention in behalf of Tshombe, their scholarships have been revoked and they have’ been hit by expulsion from our country. Thus the government converts the demand of the Congolese SGreté into-law and,: without evén ‘letting’ them choose a country to go to, delivers the leaders.: of the UGEC to the murderer Mulongo. Here again is. a prominent feature of a "humenitertan action’ ° ‘of. the Belgian government in this busin- CBS.
’ [The denunciation referred to by = Gauche ‘oceurred at a press conference held November 23 in the Café de 1'Horloge in. Brussels. | Representatives of the. press, radio and television crowded: in, . They were handéed-a statement. It was this that:stung the "humanitarian" Spaak government. A translation of the full text of the statement follows, i SO oe ppb oo
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In face of the- sudden deterioration of the situation in the Congo, the UGEC casts aside its reserve in order to clearly define its position and its line of conduct. The.UGEC. cannot maintain a shameful silence in face of the legitimate rights of the Congolese people whom the racist foreign troops are massacring.
' All of Western opinion has been conditioned in the recent period. to approve Belgian=-American military intervention in the. internal affairs of the. Republic of the Congo. The Belgian. UGEC must clarify the issues and enlighten international opinion, which is’ mistaken on the reasons for the general insecurity prevailing -: today in the Congo. The whites are insecure in the Congo because -of'-an undeclared war being: waged on our people by the Belgian and American governments, :
It was through hypocritical propaganda and under “pretext of
‘struggling against a phantom communism, that the enemies of our people first sought to justify the. bombing and machinexgunning of’. the peaceable Congolese people. It is these warmongers who are. causing mortal anguish to thousands of innocent blacks and honest whites at this moment. Far from assuring the safety of the whites, the increasing military intervention of Belgium and America can only aggravate the insecurity of the whites in the Congo and increase the tension between blacks and whites, The Belgian and American governments who try to explain their direct intervention in the Congo today by referring to humanitarian reasons are the very ones’ who yesterday still justified their intrusion by referring to a so-called struggle against Lumumboist Communisn,
For us, a rebellion fomented by Peking is a myth that fools those who want to be fooled. In facta summary analysis of the social and economic situation of the Congolese people since their accession to independence shows us that the uprising of the villages and the peasants is the normal objective result of a process of ~~ -™ pauperization that began on the morrow of the independence of our country.
Who will deny the continuous deterioration of the Congolese economy since 1960 #4 dislocation of the general infrastructure; _ abandonment of certain basic economic units, inducing increased un+ employment; decline of production; fraudulent shipments of products favored by leaders who stand to profit from it; incompetence, prevarication and corruption. . . All this is translated into an alarming separation between a privileged minority and the Congolese masses whose buying power constantly diminishes as their cost. of living constantly increases, Parallel to this breaking down of the economic: . . machine, for.which the Congolese masses, pay the cost, the social =... structures of the country have been disintegrating since 1960. The hundreds of. millions of frances which were to have contributed to improving public health, to struggling against illiteracy and slums, in brief to raising the material and cultural level of the masses, have been swallowed up in the operation of a plethoric and unproduc-= tive administrative apparatus, as well as in equipping an army of bourgeois soldiers tacking any civic-mindedness.
This bare outline “enables us. to place the objective social and economic frame that has given rise to the movement of popular revolts in which the victims are the beneficiaries of the regime «under the circumstances, the high functionari:s and certain provincial ministers. With regard to this, we can offer the testimony of a Belgian journalist whom one can scarcely accuse of favoring Lumurm. . boism, The witness is Mr. Philippe Toussaint, who, at a conference organized by the League for the Rights of Man on.the subject, "Four Years of Independence for the Congo," declared in substance that it was practically impossible for a normal man to live in the Congolese... countryside without revolting. He added, moreover, that the revolt was never due to inspiration from Peking. but was the consequence of pervasive distress,
In. its origin, the popular uprising thus seems to us to be the violent demonstration of a frustrated people against a bankrupt regime, Consequently what is involved is an internal problem concern-. ing the Congolese nationals alone.To jeopardize the security of the whites was never an essential objective of the popular uprising. Completely to the contrary, the whites were never disturbed in the regions that came under control of the insurgents. .Mr. Spaak himself declared on June 4, 1964, before the Senatorial Commission on Foreign Affairs: "The rebels. in the East Congo have not attacked the Europeans," (See surgpeciiagezine, No, 10-15, week of November 16-24, 1964, page.17. ia
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Likewise in an interview granted. to Philippe Toussaint, an interview published in No, 2385 of Pourquoi Pas?, dated Friday,. August 14, 1964, Mr. Gaston Soumialot, head of the insurgents,, declared in particular: “We are not struggling against the Europeans , but against a rotted fascist regime... ore
What is the origin then of today's general insecurity ‘for the lives of whites living in the regions controlled by the insurgents? The insecurity of the whites is the logical consequence of the Belgian-American military intervention in the internal problems of the Congo, The entire Belgian press on June 7, 1964, the date on which the first Belgian soldiers left for the Congo, Gisplayed a well-founded concern over the consequences of this grave gesture, . In reference to this, the November 18:issue of Europe-Magazine had | the following to say: "Tn Belgium. a. veritable campaign developed in the press: If our pilots engage ‘in operations against the rebels, won't they take vengeance on our fellow citizens living there, often in missions or remote plantations?"
Far from taking into account this proper worry, the Belgian ‘and American governments did the contrary. They increased their military aid to the disputed Léopoldville government, sending war. matériel to the Congo and troops to support the Congolese National Army. In the ranks of these troops are to be found men. like Colonel Logiest, head of the Belgian military mission to the Congo, who gained a dismal reputation in the repressive operations .in the. Ruanda, and Colonel Vandewalde, whose name is connected with the Katanga secession and the acts of genocide committed in the North Katanga.
“Even worse, the influx into the Congo of racist mercenaries from South Africa, Rhodesia and Portugal, whose hate for the black man’ -is universally known, could only increase the ‘tension between Congolese and whites,
And yet a reasonable solution, the resolutions of the OAU [Organization of African Unity] could open a way for a negotiated peaceful solution, But the American government objected to accepting this well-considered African solution, refusing to accept the. ad hoe commission (set up by the OAU.
As for the Congolese government, advised by the Belgians, it never wanted the ad hoc commission of the OAU to come to Léopoldville, Still worse, it rejected the Addis Ababa resolutions, resolutions > which were solemnly subscribed to by Mr. Tshombe, In discarding the OAU resolutions, the Congolese government falsified the facts of the problem and opted for a military solution of an essentially political problem, This irresponsible decision was the cause of the calamities: “that have befallen our people today.
' The American government bears heavy responsibility for the hecatomb of the Congolese population. Through its growing military
intervention, it encouraged the Congolese government to refuse any negotiated and peaceful solution, It furnished BK-26 bombers, T=-28 planes, helicopters, heavy matériel and well-trained troops... It bears responsibility for the resumption of bombings, massacres, and cleaning-up operations, operations which signified death for thousands of peaceable citizens handed over to the vengeful fury of the mercen~ ary racists,
“The main victims of these massacres are often poor children: | less than fifteen whom the mercenaries view as potential rebels,
The summary executions of prisoners or of citizens simply regarded as suspects as was the case at Bukavu will not soon re~estab-= lish political stability and peace in the Congo. ,All the exactions of the mercenaries, the whole Belgian-American ‘intervention, will only increase the tension between blacks and whites in the Congo --something that is not wished by either the peace-loving Congolese or the honest whites.
In addition, we should like to express our surprise over certain ambiguous attitudes. At the present moment, the military inter-. vention is spoken of as above all due to humanitarian reasons. The . equivocal silence, even indifference adopted by the International - Red Cross, the UN, the League for the Rights of Man and Western public opinion.in face of the massacres of thousands of Congolese leaves us perplexed, Yet these massacres are perpetrated thanks to the arms and troops made available mainly by the Belgian and American govern- | ments,
The latest is 1,500 paratroops transported in American planes to a British base located on Ascension Island on the way to intervention in the Congo. This unilateral intervention in the internal . problems of the Congo, far from saving human lives, will aggravate the general insecurity and lengthen the already long list of innocent victims, above all among the blacks,
That’ is why we, Congolese students in Belgium, organized in the UGEC, conscious of our duties in regard to our people, lift our voices to protest and to declare that the solution of the problems of our country are not to be found in either the American bombers or in the racist foreign troops, We tell Western and international public. opinion that the only ones responsible for the despair being aroused in the Congo are the governments that: follow a policy of military interference in the internal affairs of the Congo. Responsibility for the death of thousands of innocent Congolese and whites is borne by those who send war matériel to the Congo and who violate the right of self-determination of the Congolese people,
The Belgian UGEC rejects all the barbarous military solutionsof an essentially political problem. It also rejects all the miracle solutions worked: out in Washington and Brussels, solutions in contradiction with the aspirations of our people. :
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Drawing inspiration from its motto, from its principles, and taking into account the constructive resolutions of the OAU, the Belgian UGEC opts for a Congolese solution of the Congolese problems, Conscious of its vanguard role, it demands:
(1) An immediate halt to the bombings and extermination of peaceable and innocent populations;
(2) The immediate expulsion of the mercenaries and all the foreign political advisers of the Congolese government 3
(3) The withdrawal of all the Belgian and American troops and their war matériel;
(4) The immediate cessation of all American and Belgian military aid to the Congo;
(5) Respect by foreign powers of the right of the Congolese people to self-determination. .
The UGEC remains convinced that immediate cessation of Belgian- American military intervention in the Congo constitutes the sole genuine basis for the re-establishment of general security. Left to themselves, the Congolese people will be able, we are convinced, to solve their problems,
The UGEC appeals to international opinion and all peace-loving peoples to use their influence with the Belgian and American governments to get them to inmediately cease interfering in the internal affairs of the Congo,
In addition, the UGEC wishes to assure the Congolese people that it supports them completely and without reservation, The UGEC will always stand on the side of the Congolese people in their just struggle for genuine independence and peace,
For the Supreme Council:
| The Permanent Secretary: Théo Tango,
For the Central Committee of the
Belgian UGEG: -
The. ‘Chairman: Oswald Ndeshyo,
The ‘Secretary of Information and
Political Affairs:
” Serge-Pontien Tshilenge.
. The Secretary of the Interior:
' Francois Beltohika.
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THE TRUTH ABOUT THE "HUMANITARIAN REASONS"
The immediate world-wide: outburst. of anger. and indignation over the murderous military intervention mounted in the Congo by imperialist Belgium, Britain and the United States for "humanitarian reasons," has given: the criminals pause.
The Spaak government decided to withdraw 600 paratroopers for the time being and defenders of the Johnson administration are busy trying to explain. away the blood that .spattered the White House.
A striking instance of the contradictions in the imperialist propaganda was provided by the November 30 issue of the New York Times Linternational edition]. On page 7 in the section called "The News of: the Week in Review," we are told the following:
“Week before last, the U.S., Belgian and British Governments took the first step in a hurriedly conceived 'contingency plan,' U.S. Air Force transports airlifted a battalion of Belgian paratroopers to Ascension Island, a British possession in the South Atlantic, for a possible rescue operation, Co Se
" premier: Tshombe consented, “At the same time the Ue .S. agreed to meet with a Congolese rebel emissary in Nairobi, Kenya, to negotiate for the safety of the white hostages. The Stage was set.for.. the events of last week," - These two paragraphs: were written in accordance with the official Belgian=-American line that what was involved was a sudden, emergency situation, requiring a "hurriedly conceived" rescue opera= tion for "humanitarian reasons." Still it should be noted that at least one lie is inadvertently exposed, The initiative in all this did not come from Bshombe, He "consented," a decision in strict accordance with his puppet role. ;
But now turn to page 4 and read the column by Arthur Krock, who for decades has been known for his pipe lines to the State Department and the White House. He complains about the enormous pub-= licity given to the operation in hope of lessening the political repercussions that might be touched off on an international scale, He argues that the operation should have been organized secretly and sprung as a lightning blow, taking everyone by surprise, In the process he offers most convincing proof that there was no sudden emer= gency, the military intervention having been planned over a consider= able length of time with the most cold-blooded calculation. Here is what he says:
"The chronology of events leading up to the action at Stanleyville begins at Brussels in the-.week of Aug, 10, 1964. The subject of conversations between Under Secretary of State Harriman and Foreign Minister Spaak was that ttechnical assistancet might be given to Premier Tshombe to cope with the rise in rebel activity in the Congo
that the Communist nations especially mainland China, were promoting by various means. At a news conference on Aug. 19, Assistant Sccretary of State Williams disclosed that the United States Government had offered to help pay for military operations to restore law and order in the Congo,
"By Nov. 10 the necessity for repression of rebel activity prompted Spaak to visit Washington for discussions of the situation with Secretary of State Rusk and other high United States officials, Eight days later, accompanied by a gust of newspaper headlines and dispatches derived from official sources, 600 Belgian [sic] were flown in United States aircraft to Ascension Island, a British pos~= ession, with prior permission from London,
"On Nov. 23 the Belgian paratroopers landed at Kamina in the Congo, preparatory to landing at Stanleyville, in another widely publicized action.
"On Nov. 24 the United States-Belgian decision to fly the paratroopers into Stanleyville was made at last, a day before it was officially announced by Spaak at Brussels. This was the only actionbefore-the-fact in the entire procedure, but it was too long delayed to avert whatever possibility there may have been of preventing the | atrocities inflicted on the hostages by the Congolese rebel forces,
Krock's theme, based on his own “humanitarian” outlook, is that the operation was botched through all this lengthy publicity and thus failure occurred in achieving the "humanitarian" purpose of the operation, while the aim of softening the international political repercussions likewise apparently failed.
Note what is revealed in passing by this Washington columist. Tshombe, whose "request" for the use of paratroopers was designed to give a cover of "legality" for the military intervention is scarcely mentioned, Everything was decided in conversations between top officials in Brussels and Washington.
Note, too, the themes of these conversations: How "to cope with the rise in rebel activity. .." The alleged "necessity for repression of rebel activity. .." A U.S. offer "to help pay for military operations to restore law and order in the Congo."
Thus we can gather, as we read, that the real objective of the use of paratroopers was, like the hiring of white racist foreign mercenaries, to help suppress a popular uprising of the Congolese people against a hated puppet government kept in power by foreign imperialists,
The propaganda about a sudden emergency military operation to save the lives of hostages was just propaganda and no more than that.
In fact, in the final analysis, what is implied by these admis-
sions "out of their own mouths" is that the Belgian-British-American imperialists were willing to sacrifice the lives of some hundreds of white "hostages" for the sake of a military strike against the truly Congolese government. which had been established at Stanleyville.
‘SPAAK TURNED DOWN OERER FO SAVE