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on the 17th of january, 1961, patrice lumumba, the great fighter for congo's independence, was tortured and then executed. western intelligence agencies, particularly america's cia and britain's mi6 conspired with belgium, the former colonizer of the country and local traiters to overthrow and assassinate lumumba. now, this anti-colonial hero was only 35 years old and could have continued to play a very important role in the post independence progress of his country and africa. as the leader of the congoese national movement, lumumba was chosen by the people to lead an independent congo. emerging

from brutal colonial rule under belgium, unestimated 10 million people were killed during the barbaric colonial rule by these european power over congo. lumumba was determined to use the country's natural resources, which had been subject to decades of colonial and imperialist exploitation for the benefit of the congolese people. this is what angered western powers and they decided to eliminate him. the people of the democratic republic of congo still languish in poverty despite the... is enormous natural resources, now 63 years after the assassination of lumumba, can this country rise and fulfill his dreams of prosperity for the nation and africa as a whole? hello, i'm mubarak kenya and this is africa today, this week we are focusing on the legacy of patrice lumumba, the congoese independence hero, was assassinated 63 years ago an elaborate plot led by the notorious us spy agency, the cia and britain's mi6. remembering patris

lomumba. congolese leader patrice lumba was assassinated six decades ago, but his name remains synonymous with africa's struggle in against imperialism, his speech during the proclamation of congo's independence in june 1960 angered western powers and this led to his eventual assassination. to discuss the legacy of patrice lumumba, we have contacted kambalae musabuli, a political analyst and human rights activist. he's also the spokesperson for the friends of the congo. thanks for joining us today, sir. thank you for having me. we also joined by gidon balaike, the secretary general of african coalition for development. thank you for your time saturday. thank you, it's such an honor to be part of this conversation. now, the us

central intelligence agency, cia and britain's mi6 were the main conspirators with belgium in the assassination of patrice lumumba, so let's start off with mr. masavuli, why did this western imperialist colonial powers decide to sponsor this heinous crime? one of the reasons, there are many reasons, one of the uh reasons, but was assassinated is because he wanted the resources of the congo to benefit the congodes people, he fought for the independence of the congo, it was clear that when congo got its independence that the resources of the land will benefit the congoese, building infrastructure and providing opportunities to congolese. that did not sit well with dwight hanover, the president of the united states at the time, this is at the height of the cold war, congo has cobalt, the united states needs cobalt for its military uh industry, and as many will remember, dwight island did have a speech on january 17, 1961 talking about the

military industrial complex, but what people would not know, even though he made the speech on january 17, 1961, that day he made speech, he cio operatives in the drc killed were participating in the killing of the first democratically elected leader of the congo patrice lumba. lumumba's assassination came less than seven months after independence. no doubt, these assassination impacted negatively on the ideas of national economic unity, economic independence and panafrican solidarity that lumumba had championed. roran lumumba, the son of lumumba says his dad sacrifice. his life for congo and africa. the congose youth should maintain the struggle and fight for our values like my late dad. he chose sacrifice for the country and africa as a whole. he once said if the congo requires a mata then i will be the first one. now let's in bring in gideon

baleke. can we say that the this cia crime shattered the hopes of millions of congolese for freedom and material prosperity? yes. absolutely, the shadow of lumumba still uh to you know continue to be alive today even in the congoese politics, there is huge inheritance of that assassination that can be seen today in the congose politics, as you know lumumba was an revolutionary leader, nationalistic leader, but he was not you know a communist as if most of the western um stakeholder. wanted to tag him, you remember was just a revolutionary person who wanted something greater for for the congo, he was a originary person because he saw the congo of the future and that was seen as a danger for um people who had interest in the congo and

that's why they ended up assassinating him because they didn't want to have a someone who has a critical thinking, someone who think about his people, someone who is a real patriot, they wanted... people that could be easily manipulated and that's why the cia in collaboration with belgium they assassinated patrice lumba, but unfortunately the united states government that controls the cia has never been held accountable, we need the reparation because they have legacy in what is happening currently in the congo. old friend and army chief of general staff mobuto staged his first coup. and dismissed both the president and the prime minister on september 14, 1960. the lesson here is that the destruction and splundering of african after independence cannot be possible without the collaboration of locals. such collaboration

continues to impact negatively on africa. congolese people are clear about the imperialist. gongoles people are clear about people who want to subject them. uh to inhuman conditions, they've always resisted any oppression, unfortunately the forces, the external forces have been able to affect the situation in the congo, specifically for what you said about mubutu, joseph mobutu who was aid to patrice lumba um during the independence movement and then became uh the head of the congoese army uh through the cia uh they were able to coach mobutu to be able to take the reign of uh government in drc his first school where he dismissed both the president and the prime minister to have the military take control was actually guided by the cia so yes there are local uh locals who are cooperating they are a very small

minority they are back they are finance and they are provided the the necessary support to be able to hold millions of people hostages and this model still unfortunately exist still today where uh africans are still fighting to read themselves or neocolonial agents of the west and they will be successful as we continue in this struggle uh to defeat them so that the people can have a say in the decision making process. in june 2022, the belgian government returned the remains of patrice lumba to his family, unpported to apologize for his mother. his son commented on this move. i can't say it's joyous, but it's positive for us. it's positive that we can finally barry one of ours. now, mr. baleke, was the return of patrice lumba's remains? and the so-called apology issued by belgium enough to atone for these horrendous crimes, they returned the

thief of patrice lumba, that was symbolic, you remember he was burned out in asidic water and killed, assassinated, so the only remaining part was his um was his teeth, and his family has been reclaiming uh that for years so that they could you know bury symbolically uh a party of the body for the uh for their father patrice lumber, so for the family perspective, that was um, you know, that was something great, and we had to, we had to demand for that, and we need as well reparation overall politically, because the role belgium played in the assassination of patrice lumber continues to have repercutions up to date in the congose political sphere and... and you now they misled the congo, like they took the congo out of a trajectory of progress and put it in

the trajectory of um uh corruption and manipulation and neocolonialism. belgium's king flip visited the democratic republic of congo early june 2022 and as expected he flatly refused to apologize for his country's brutal and inhuman. crimes in the congo, king flip only offered what he termed as his deepest regrets for his nations colonial era genocide and extermination of millions of congolese people, including women and children. ici même face au peuple congolais et à ceux qui aujourd'hui encore en souffre. "je désire réaffirmer mes plus profonds

regrets pour ces blessures du passé. king philippe stopped short of apologizing for colonial atrocities angering the people of congo and africans across the world. now, what's your take on this statement by the king? of course, uh, it's we, it's okay to say apology, but congo needs more than apology. congo needs reparation. so from king leo paul." 10 to 15 million people to the colonial rule where uh congolase had to fight world war one and world war ii on behalf of belgium w and they did not even get paid for that operations right that's still a contention from the copper extracted from our land from the uranium taken in the congo and the belgian hands taken in the congo given to the americans for the so-called manatan project and this uranium went to bomb hiroshime nagazaki in japan all that operation. and even colonize that and said that congos cannot be independent. congo needs more than apology. congo needs

reparation. and what does that mean? it means that any corporations from back then to now, we know the names that still exist, must provide to the congolaise. the union miner diotanga, which still exists today under a different name in belgium, made billions of dollars back then and continue to make billions today. and the states right, that's the call, reparations need to be financial, materials and also anything they have ever taken from the congo must return to the drc. congo does not need only apology, congo needs reparation. thank you for that, mr. mosavoli, let's take a short break before we continue with our show on patrice lumba, the congoese independence hero who was brutally assassinated by western colonial powers.

remembering patress lomumba. welcome back and you're watching africa today. our discussion is on the cia led assassination. congolese independence hero patrice lumumba. now, during the cold war era, the united states, which claims to advocate for themport of the most brutal african dictators, for instance, after the assassination of patrice lumumba, the cia installed mobutu seeseku as the president who ruled congo with an iron feasts and even changed the name of the country to zire. here is one of mobut's visits to washington where he met the then us president ronald reagan. and i am pleased to have been able to meet again with president mabutu who's been a

faithful friend to the united states for some 20 years. the president and i took this opport. unity to review the state of us ziarian relations, and we found a large area of agreement on the major points. now, mr. baleke, what's your opinion on us double standards on democracy where it assacinates democratically elected president or leader like lumumba and props up a dictator like mobut? that's you, that's one of the greatest ex 20th century of the american. policy cynicism and neocolonialism, imperialism, um, we had a different context during those days with the cold war, so it was an agemonic war that was being played with african leaders. the progressive forces in the democratic republic of congo are struggling to ensure

that the masses control and determine the affairs of the congo. patrick lumumba gave his life. so that the sons and daughters of the congo would ultimately take ownership of the country's wealth for their benefit and for the benefit of africa overall a congole citizen here speaks on the anti-colonial legacy of patress lamumba and how current leaders have betrayed this legacy. he had left us a great legacy that is working for the people and uh avoiding. influence from from western countries, but we see since uh the second republic, our country is still being dominated by foreign powers. now, despite efforts by progressive forces in the democratic republic of congo to eliminate new colonial influence over the past few years,

we have seen a marked increase of american special forces in eastern dlc. now, mr. musavuli, what? are these us troops doing in these mineral rich region that continue to see deadly rebels roaming across with impunity in the context of the conflict in the congo today and with the congose government, congolese military trying uh to have uh regain sovereignty over the land, they've had uh foreign militaries training, not just the united states but different ones, but specifically for your question in terms of the united states, uh they've been engaged, in military training, particularly in the northeast part of the congo, where they've done training for made flag, beyond even the united states, right now israel has been training the congoese uh forces that we call the republican guards right, whereby in october 2003 he was reported that over 200

idf forces who are training the kongolese army had to leave the drc to go kill palestinians pretty much, they left the congo to go fight in gaza, they are training soldiers who are also committing human rights abuse. the united nations reports that was just released this december documented how the republican guard trained by the idf killed civilians, in numbers up over 100, took their bodies and went to hide their bodies, this is... document reports and no consequences uh for the soldiers who committed these crimes, there have been a few been arrested, but no fundamental consequence in the chain of command that order uh for the killing of the civilians and ability for the israeli soldiers who train uh these troops, so the military training unfortunately is only reinforcing oppressive regimes in the

congo who uh when these soldiers are trained they are going to also harm the uh population what demanding the end of the conflict, they want peace, they want stability, and after two decades of war uh, we do not need more military press and military training, what we need is a canability for crimes taking place and holding uh usli and israeli allies on the african continent accountable. according to diplomatic messages between brussels and its former colony, lumumba, the new born republic's first prime minister was a man to be eliminated, so there is... shadow of doubt that these assassins are well known, the people of congo believe that justice will one day be served, and those who assassinated patris lamumba will pay. for their heinous crime, the biggest form of justice we could give to practice lamumba as congolose revolutionary is um you know to um perpetuate

his legacy and they kill lumumba but they didn't kill the idea of lumumba he was killed but his idea has never been killed and that's the greatest thing you know you could see lumumba is a patriotic figure not only in the congo but all across africa. so he is still a symbol up to date of resistance against neocolonialism and that's the greatest legacy, but i think the greatest achievement and the greatest gift we could give to patrice lumumba is to liberate the congo from all the hashes of imperialism, to liberate the congo from all corruption and incompetent leaders that are manipulated from western or eastern angles is to liberate the congo from all um the bad things that are happening in the country and to make it a free, a really independent country, prosperous country that definitely work for the interest of all congolase people who deserve to live into dignity, that's the best way to honor the

memory of patrice. last month, the people of the democratic republic of congo voted in a general election where the incumbants won. felix tesesketi was reelected as drc's president for second term, but the opposition contest. that these results due to numerous violations in the electoral process. this country has great potential and vast mineral and natural resources valued as an estimated $24 trillion dollars. the democratic republic of congo has been facing political instability and armed violence since 1996 with an estimated 6 million people killed since the conflict began. western tech giants continue to profit from kongo's conflict minerals while locals suffer a congole civilian affected by conflict in the mineral reach drc speaks here on his suffering. we

have suffered lot, hunger, disease, death, women are raped, and the least goes on. we don't want this life of begging. at home, we had fields, cattle, and we lived very well. the most important thing is to stop the war so that we can return home. now the dream of patrice lumumba was that congo's immense natural resources should bring prosperity and peace for the congoese. this dream is yet to be achieved. mr. musavule, you have the last word today. now is the current government of the drc moving towards lumumba's dream? you clearly stated it, congo is the largest african country, the second largest african country by size after algeria and by population. is the fourth largest african country by population right and has so much wealth from his fauna and flora uh from his

resources on the ground, the minerals, the gold, the cold town, the team, the cobalt, uh, this mineral use in all these tesla vehicles, congo is the number one producer of cobalt in the world, so you can drive an electric vehicle without congos cobald in it, it's virtually impossible, but this wealth is only benefiting the... elite, the congoese people are still in the pursuit of the ideals of patr, this is why since 2006, as you watch all the presidential elections, you still see congoles protesting, organizing, saying that they want leaders will represent the will, so the congoese people have not given up on the ideas of ulumumba, they are fighting, but what is important in their context of fighting to liberate the country, well as our guests say the the people of congo are still... struggling to ensure that the aspirations of patrice lumumba are attained. i like to thank our guests, kambale, mosavuli and gidon baleke for their incisive analysis

today. my name is george zongol telaja, professor of african studies at university of north carolina at chapo hill. i was asked by the ohio university press to write the book and patist lumba in a series of books and great african leaders, patrice lumumba was young man who became the first prime minister of the congo at his independence and j. june 30,

1960, his main goal as a national leader was to utilize the natural resources of the congo, my country to improve the living conditions of our people, the powers that be outside of africa, namely in the united states and western europe wanted to undermine democracy. in the congo, in order to continue the control they had over our resources. since they they saw, lumumba is an obstacle to their own goals, they had to get rid of him. and that's it for this week's edition of

africa today, it's always great having you at the show, drop us a line through our social media handle appearing on the screen and you can watch this episode on all our previous shows on our website pressv.ir thanks lot for watching and goodbye for now. enduring and surviving the genocide of the century happening in the largest open air concentration camp on earth in gaza does not

stop the afflicted people of palestine. from remembering past massacers committed by the genocidal zinast regime, day of gaza, which was named by the islamic republic of iran on january 19, 2009, right after a 22 day of aggression against the gaza strip where 1500 people rose martters as a direct result of zionist billigerance. today we commemorate day of gaza as 70% of the strip is carpet bombed with us made top notch laser guided death projectiles that has taken the lives of more than 20. civilians in less than 100 days of genocide. day of gaza this week on the media stream. 10 years of chaos and war in syria, the ruins left in syria. who benefits

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you're pressing your headlines, yemany army says has targeted an american ship in the gulf of aiden with appropriate enable missiles and support of palestinians in gaza. rocky prime minister once again calls for the withdraw of us. verses from his country, saying is crucial for iraq's security and stability, human rights experts sams israel's measures in gaza is violation of international law, calling them highly illegal and unlawful.