We Did Not Wish to Wage a Colonial War

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"We Did Not Wish to Wage a Colonial War"

Anticolonial Conflicts: Belgium and the Congo

Speech

By: Louis M. Scheyven

Date: May 15, 1961

Source: Vital Speeches of the Day.

About the Author: Louis M. Scheyven served as the Belgian Ambassador to the United States during the early 1960s. Vital Speeches of the Day is a bi-weekly magazine that has archived speeches delivered by leaders since 1934.

INTRODUCTION

The independence of the Belgian Congo, later known as both Zaire and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, came unexpectedly in 1960 with no preliminary armed struggle. Influenced by independence movements in other parts of Africa, the Congolese began to press for an end to Belgian colonial rule. Belgium, hoping to avoid the same sort of conflicts experienced by the French in colonial Algeria and Indo-China, declared Congolese independence in July 1960. Fighting broke out almost immediately afterward throughout the Congo, however, as rival African tribal factions vied for control.

Congo was the second largest country in Africa with a population of about 40 million people in an area of over 900,000 square miles (2,331,000 sq. km) in Central Africa in 1960. In the European scramble for the wealth of Africa during the nineteenth century, Congo had first become the private project of Belgium's King Leopold II. When the Belgian government hesitated to become involved in colonization for fear of causing controversy, Leopold annexed the area in 1879. His rule over the Congo Free State is notable for its brutality, including slave labor on rubber plantations that cost the lives of millions of Congolese. In 1908, Belgium took control of the area, which became known as the Belgian Congo.

Belgium helped maintain control over their colony by providing little aid for African education and by restricting Congolese participation in the government to clerical work.

The Belgians had initially assumed that independence would be a lengthy process, perhaps hoping to maintain control over the region for as long as possible. However, independence movements in Africa in the late 1950s sparked an awakening of Congolese nationalism.

The Belgian government noted that French efforts to maintain control over its colonies in Algeria and Indo-China had become extremely costly and that the regions erupted in anti-colonial warfare. In contrast, quick British withdrawal from the Sudan and Ghana were conducted peacefully. Belgium adopted a policy of speedy withdrawal from the Congo. In December 1957, the Belgians permitted limited municipal elections. In 1958, the Belgian government created a commission to study constitutional reform. Meanwhile, secret Congolese political organizations were forming including the Mouvement National Congolais (MNC) led by Patrice Lumumba. The MNC, the first truly national Congolese movement, sought independence by peaceful means.

However, many Congolese were upset with the slow pace of Belgian-led independence reforms. In 1959, a mix of political frustration and anger over racial discrimination prompted Congolese rioters to attack Europeans in Leopoldville. In a conference held in response to the rioting, various Congolese political leaders demanded self-government by 1961. The Belgian government responded with a four-year plan for transition to independence that led to more Congolese rioting. Mid–1960 elections were held that enabled Lumumba to form a government. On July 1, 1960, the independent Republic of the Congo was established.

PRIMARY SOURCE

The purpose of my statement is mainly to answer two questions which are repeatedly raised against the Belgian policy in the Congo. 1) Why did Belgium grant independence to the Congo so quickly? 2) Why did Belgium not prepare the Congolese for self-government?

Of course, we knew in Brussels that the Congolese were not yet ready for independence, but we have been subjected to heavy internal and external pressure. I need only to remind you of the Bandung Conference in 1956, of the Accra Conference of December 1958. Furthermore, in 1960 alone, 17 new African states reached the status of independence. As far as internal pressure is concerned, riots broke out in Leopoldville in January 1959 and 47 people were killed. On October 30th 1959, riots broke out in Stanleyville, the stronghold of Patrice Lumumba: 70 people were killed and hundreds wounded. On the other hand, the General Assembly of the United Nations approved, last December, by 89 votes, a declaration on the granting of independence to colonial countries and peoples. It stated that (quote) "the lack of political, economic, social, or educational preparedness should never serve as a pretext for delaying independence . . . " (unquote).

The only way to prevent the Congolese from becoming independent was to wage a colonial war: as we Belgians have been fighting so long for our own independence, we were not ready to wage such a war, and of course, it was out of the question to get the support of anyone including the United States. So we took two important steps: First of all, on a proposal made by the Belgian Government, the Belgian Parliament agreed to earmark without strings $100,000,000 during the year 1960 alone for the Congo and the Trusteeship Territories of Ruanda-Urundi . . .

You are fully aware of what happened a few days after the independence of the Congo: the mutiny of the Force Publique, the raping of hundreds of Belgian women, the exodus of a large number of my countrymen, the appeal for help made by Lumumba to Moscow and Peking, the chaotic conditions which are now prevailing in some parts of the Congo, the dissention which has existed between some of their leaders and the intervention of the United Nations.

My Government is ready to recall the Belgians mentioned in the U.N. Security Council resolution of the 21st of February 1961. But in order to carry on, the Congolese need the help of foreign technicians and so far, the United Nations has only been able to recruit 196 foreigners for civilian operations in the Congo, while the need for technicians in the private as well as in the public field is much greater.

As Mr. Loridan, Belgian Ambassador to the United Nations, stated on the 6th of this month in the meeting of the General Assembly:

The independence of the Congo was proclaimed by Belgium without any reservation, limitation, or afterthought. It is an accomplished fact.
Belgium wishes to respect the sovereignty of the Congo and refuses to engage in any intervention in the internal affairs of that country.
Belgium wishes to consolidate friendly relations with the Congo and to develop its cooperation with that country on a basis of esteem and complete equality. Belgium condemns any unilateral military aid or assistance furnished to the Congo in any form whatsoever.

As Mr. [Adlai] Stevenson stated in 1957, we have to meet the great challenge of emerging Africa. Your country, Gentlemen, is the leader of the Free World and you will, I feel convinced, meet that great challenge. You may rest assured that you will always find Belgium at your side.

SIGNIFICANCE

Congo has suffered from the legacy of colonialism. During the colonial era, police were used to quell disturbances, put down protests, and arrest political agitators. These practices were echoed after independence as rival politicians, political parties, and tribes clashed with each other over old and new differences. In July 1960, fighting in Leopoldville occurred between members of the Bakongo and Bayaka tribes. Later that month, Lumumba ordered the arrest of members of a rival provincial government led by Albert Kalonji. In Coquilhatville, several people were killed in riots that began when workers demanded a pay raise. On July 5, 1960, soldiers at a military garrison south of Leopoldville mutinied, killed Belgian officers (who were still in Congo at the request of Lumumba), and attacked resident Europeans. The mutiny spread, with many Europeans fleeing to the French Congo and Belgium sending additional troops to protect Belgian nationals.

The instability in the Congo prompted the United Nations (U.N.) to take action. On July 13, 1960, the UN Security Council approved a resolution condemning armed aggression by Belgium against Congo, calling for the withdrawal of all Belgian troops from Congo, and authorizing a U.N. intervention force of African troops to restore order. On July 29, Belgium withdrew its troops. Several Congolese politicians blamed Lumumba for the disorder and the Katanga province attempted to secede from Congo. Instability continued in Congo for the remainder of the twentieth century.

Congo, as a fledgling state, did not have the means to address major concerns such as creating employment opportunities and housing, or the development of adequate health care and educational systems. In January 1961, Lumumba was murdered by political opponents. In December 1961, the U.N. condemned the use of mercenaries in the continuing Congo bloodshed. In April 1967, the Congo became a one-party state under the dictatorship of Joseph Mobuto. In the early 1970s, Congo was renamed Zaire as part of an Africanization program that eliminated foreign-sounding words and place names. Foreigners were expelled from the country and tribal conflicts continued. In 1991, Belgian troops returned to the Congo to attempt to restore order. After several attempted coups, numerous uprisings, and violent ethnic clashes, Mobuto fled into exile in May 1997.

At the start of the twenty-first century, the Democratic Republic of the Congo was still attempting to establish a democratic form of government. The nation possesses considerable resources, especially uranium, diamonds, and copper, but political instability, ethnic partisanship, and brutal conflict have prevented the formation of a stable government and economy.