from inside the train, it's locals who are cruising through seeing how foreigners once again flocked to the market. it's been around since 19 o 5 shopkeeper se tradition is part of the attraction unusable wind is only use, umbrella is not tens. there is no electricity or water in the market, then more people started to visit to the number of members also increased. as the government tries to rebuild its tourism industry leaders, hope for traffic in this market will be part of a wider trend across thailand. katya low missile, the young al jazeera. ah, you're watching al jazeera, these are the top stories. now. the summit of the americas is getting underway in los angeles, but without some key regional leaders. us refuse to invite cuba, venezuela, nicaragua,

citing the human rights record. i selected several means to boycott the event. the timing of the summit coincides with the movement of a migrant caravan nuts, heading north through mexico towards the u. s. border. the migration crisis at the united states southern border will be high on the agenda. a u. s. house committee has heard harrowing testimony from an 11 year old survivor of last month's school shooting in texas. 19 children and 2 teachers were killed during the massacre in evolving. he shaw framed, knows them to me. i thought you didn't come back to ruth. good blood. i is what did you say? regardless of teachers follow covering needs on. i

hope i will need help. and in the hours after that test me, the house of representatives voted in favor of restricting the purchase of a semi automatic weapons to people aged $21.00 and over the also want to ban the sale of some ammunition magazines for the measures have no hope of becoming law as they won't ever come opposition in the senate. the eastern ukrainian city of severity on the ask is now mostly under the control the russian forces of the weeks of fierce fighting ukrainian forces are still holding onto the industrial saying, satellite imagery show, significant damage in spirit on the ukraine. says russia demanding unreasonable conditions without grain exports. turkey has hosted the russian foreign minister for talks on resuming shipments of grain trapped ukrainian ports. ukraine is one of the world's biggest exporters, and many countries depend on it for their food supplies. so he loves off says

rosters, happy for ships to sail freely. as soon as crane d mind that the sea. well those are the headlines. the news continues here on here . that's off the inside story to stay with us. ah. the king and queen of belgium are in democratic republic of congo. diplomat say it's a chance for reconciliation given the scale of atrocities committed on the belgian colonial rule, how much progress can be made. this is inside story. ah

oh, welcome to the program. i'm kim vanelle and legacy of belgian colonialism in central africa and the course of 2 centuries. millions of people are believed to have been killed or mutilated. and what's out one day, democratic republic of congo. the arrival of belgium's royal cobble on their 1st visit to the country is being billed as a way to move forward. but without a long list of historical grievances, any congolese, a skeptical, any real action or accountability can be achieved. you know, i wish that the president takes care of what is important to the con, the lease, instead of making use of expenses by inviting this royal couple. we have important things to settle here, like free education. teachers are not well paid, but the president prefers to invite the belgian king to do what to loot us again. what was it? yes, i am happy with the arrival of the belgians king because he is going to come and

see what they have left us. if the congo has evolved or can backwards, it is like a mother who abandoned her children for years, and she comes back to check how the children are living. so let him come what we don't know what he is going to bring us. if it is to destroy us even more, we don't know if the belgian is well aware of the history in what was then the belgian congo in 2002 brussels formerly apologize for its role in the assassination of patrice. remember the conqueror, lita served as the 1st prime minister off the independence. sam was an important politician until his assassination. in 961 l t m is expected to return a members tooth to the family, stolen by a belgian police officer who confessed to participating in the assassination. the atrocities which included forced labor, torture amputations and rate began in $1885.00 on the king leopold. the 2nd about 10000000 congress died. the king's brutal rule was deemed so cruel that 23 years

later he was forced to relinquish control to belgium's parliament. the congolese was still unable to own land vote or travel freely before declaring independence and 960 democratic republic of congo had become africa. the richest quality that you sent about 70 percent of the world's industrial diamonds. most of the profits, however, went to belgium. brussels has acknowledged some of the abuses carried out during its 75 year roll. many argue its public apologies, have fallen short. ah, let's bring in our guests in london, jonathan offer answer, publisher of africa briefing and said pan african news magazine. in brussel, theodore treyvon, a researcher at the well museum for central africa and author of the book, congo, masquerade. also in london, phil clark, professor of international politics at so last university of london,

a very warm welcome to you all. thank you. thank you for joining us. you know inside story. i'd like to begin with you phil clark, if i may, returning the tooth of the 1st congolese prime minister. i mean, the whole thing just speaks to the brutality of all belgian rule. i guess colonialism at that time. what does it return mean? what does it signify? i think the return of la members to really is a reminder of just how much belgium and particularly that the belgium monarchy, to build belgium leadership sol from conger are including the physical remains of someone who is politically important as, as patrice lombard. so it's a reminder that this wasn't just about the massive theft of physical goods, the looting of, of congress wells, or it was also that the best of human lives. and, and of course, this is also

a reminder of the importance of luba english history or a sense of what was last this described, missed opportunity in connolly's politics. this revolutionary leader who was assassinated with the complicity of the belgian regimes or other external of his tooth is enormously up politically relevant and something that has resonated down through the decades about to pass over to jonathan off i answer, what's your take on the significance of this and talk to me a little bit more if you can about your sort of thoughts on patrice, the mom. but why he the scene is set to such a threat by, by the west. if still need to reach out to you, sam is to be near the symbolic. ok, i'm in. without it he sucked us was horrible. to have it set up. i was, he said, a good any shambles i term. maybe try to repair repair oh, mix home our immense for the m, egregious are true cities, me to doubt. jared,

the real of a kinda opposed to 2nd who i may use a go as pissed off people. right. and a little bit about him in the, in the, in the gotta be immediate, postpone after it in africa. i mean, we had in co, my gonna, we are the other reddick out. it is. and he's the west. so as a free and do for get out there, the cold war was also running the kogler between the west and distributed was running short. every at each side was jostling for influence on the continent. and when he comes to a congo, a man, netflix, google, you puzzle as it was known in those days. and it had massive immune resources asked, we'd, we'd know today. ok, so the word feel was that they're not lumen by. what's are going to kyle tomorrow. was a safety if somebody who wanted to,

i said it could go to pittsburgh just political, but i think it's economic independence and he feared me that it was shipped a was shipped to the east. so what you have to do was to eliminate it at a one by and one, but loss and arm it's massive, restored. it wasn't that last doctoral. m m m, m cook, but the whole of africa. well, federal tough on there being various statements and apologies to some extent by the belgians over the years. have any of them taken in the full extent of, of the atrocities that were committed? have any of them taken full responsibility? can that be done? you know, the yeah, there's a big difference in between french and english about the world that you've used, which is apologies. and that's the big debate today. is king philip going to

express once again his regrets or is he going to express an apology? because if he expresses an apology, that could result in belgium having to make financial restitution to congo. and that's, that's something that we don't know what's going to happen. but the, the king's visit is certainly not unanimously welcomed either in concord orleans and the, the right wing party, the n v. a in belgium is opposed to the king's visit to congo now. and they're certainly opposed to making any apologies because that could have a financial obligation to the taxpayer. now we have to realize that this visit is taking place in a very, very bad important context of belgium politics and in congo lease politics at the same time. not this is a diplomatic convergence. it's a major accomplishment for president jesse kennedy. and as

a reminder to your audience, jesse kenny was not exactly elected president, he, when he became president to deal making with that with the company like another another actress, 3 years ago. and the same thing with king philip. now there's a lot of divergence in belgium about whether or not he should be traveling to congo in what's the whole nature of this big debate, which is restitution? there was a mask that was just unveiled in the yard and the yacht history museum in kinshasa that came for new sam. and you know, this thing about restitution is very much a way of clarifying belgium's colonial past. and there's a lot of emotional, lot of ideology, and we're seeing this not only in belgium, but we're also see it in congo. sell her work to our phillips visit is not

universally welcomed. ah, jonathan alphonse, i'd like to come back to you as we talk about in the colonial past. but what are the ongoing impacts of colonialism on democratic republic of congo today? what, what, what is the legacy? how is it continuing to be felt it to scooter, to look at, we see it. oh, cool. and oh, crust much known it with the kettle piece in or since it depend there's in that you 60 currently we see what's good on the eastern part of the country. i mean, all i mean, you, dick dick give by you for that is all about control of quin gosh. vast dutch rugged resources. ok. and i believe other to the actress in can go to day

me approach to some external forces who was a coupon control m m m m congress or resources. so the impact and all it's a romantic, it's until if i can for this is sam is, is sincere. in his approach to m. m. coogel, who must go further? i mean, i talk to, i mean, government and always your leaders and get you the brutal republic just to make sure that there is peace in within the whole country. i mean, the israel can go, i mean, is i wish i was bloody always one are going on. all, all the other. sure. work. therefore you need to do what will happen during the school near types. it really intermediate push to produce bureau is sir richard. richard to do that for the so b o, o fell clock human rights watch. i suggested that financial reparations from

belgium, which would essentially be paid by the belgian taxpayer, would actually be balanced by the economic benefits that may have been derived from colonialism on which belgium continues to thrive. how does belgium continue to thrive economically from its exploitation of, of a democratic republic of congo and, and how could belgium take full responsibility? what could that look like? you only have to walk the streets of brussels to see the amount of, well, the belgium derived from conger from the end of the effect from the colonial period onwards. and we're talking about the systematic transfer of enormous wealth from one african economy to a european economy. and this is left for the congolese studies are really in a very impoverished position, really since the end of the colonial period. so there's no question that belgium, others, congo, an enormous reparations package. and there's

a global picture here as well. we're also seeing germany having to deal with the question of reparations to namibia that herrera genocide, the british government, has had to pay reparations to the victims of mal atrocities in kenya. this is what is speaking the belgian government at the moment. i know that there is a zeitgeist around reparations. what belgium is trying to do to certain extent is do and will piece meal response for atrocities in the past that that kind of commission of inquiry into atrocities are committed right across central africa. there is the repatriation of mosques and other autistic artifacts back to countries like the d r. c, i think is a whole on the part of the belgian or warranties that that will be enough to if we have this commission of inquiry and we send a few objects back to congress that will draw a line on the history. that's not the view in congo, that's not the view in the other building colonies in the region like rwanda and

burundi. the view there is out what we want to see something more tangible. we want to see something much more systematic, much more material, much more financial, and it needs to be on a scale that is comparable to the wealth that belgium stole from these countries in the 1st place, these kind of symbolic, these kind of cosmetic responses, simply one target kind of thing i found, i can see you shaking your head, there was something you want to to, to ask. yes, i agree. i absolutely agree. why do this up with what it is? if look, i said, yeah, i mean like i said, they are disputed at the return of the term artifact, say to whatever the also somebody needed to go further i, we measured a weird creature to ship and at was o'clock mission their, their, their repairs internet in namibia from gemini as well. yes. beg yeah. but jumped economy literally was built on the spoils of bice, under this partition of the congo. so if the king has dim your right

express regrets, but for the short of all, we'll get that you more good as to fiddler and see how we can offer economic riches to ship to the country for the countries. did they do a trip on? no said that after colonialism ended in the i see it was about reconstituting the colonial space that belgium and france can you kind of talk me through that o, z. first of all, i'd like to clarify. i'd like to follow up on what my practice, this is just menchie and that is that we have to bear in mind that belgium today is one of the countries in the world with a very, very high growth rate, very high savings rate, very high human development convex congo, on the other hand, is usually pretty much on the bottom at the bottom of the barrel. so there's

a tremendous dispatch there. the. this fact however, needs to be nuanced by current dynamics in congos relations with other countries. belgium is a very, very small commercial partner of the d. c today compared to china in the south africa. lots of other partners have really taken the place of belgium in commercial exchanges. congo is an important part of the belgium belgian psyche. if, if the belgians in important countries, they associate that importance with the law that they had in this amazing, the rich and culturally diverse country that many, many belgians were familiar with. you know, everyone. so i'm american, i've lived in belgium for many years. i cannot go to any kind of event when i

meet someone that said, or you know what my uncle was to congo. my father was an administrator and you know, there's a very, very deep social connection between belgium and conklin. this is so the beginning of the response to your question about recall a nice space because after independence there was, there was a new scramble for character. i mean africa no. ready we're really in the, in the context of cold war politics where you had a really, really severe, looming crisis between the east in the west. cuban missile crisis knows it was m p l a n n gola had a marxist lin industry geem across from contrasts kind of a browser. so you know, when i was a new crucible, how politics could be defined?

and at the same time, belgium, badly needed to keep control primarily of the mining interests it had in catawba. and this is why there was the kind of succession it was the assassination or the mysterious murder of you once again, your secretary, doug hamis cold. so, you know, there was a lot going on and so belgium did have a very, very dubious role. here. of course, they were more agents of the american cia when it comes to movies, assassination, when it came to the kind of session. so, you know, belgium, i think, is very much an actor, but also very much a victim of the whole way that i had called what politics unfolded. and they probably didn't think that carefully enough. and this is why we were

countering so many problems. now how to deal with belgium's colonial past, which is creating a lot of emotional, a lot of ideology in belgium today. you know, we've had a number of statues of king leopold removed from the ocean cities. there's a big debate now about renaming streets that were named after let's say, pretty much horrible people that were responsible for all kinds of the trustees. so there's this debate, but then there's also quite a large segment of the belgian population that feels misrepresented because this lobby will say that well, in 1960, in independence, the belgian congo had the same standard of living as canada in south africa, in terms of hospital beds in terms of primary education in terms of so that

the debate in belgium itself is very, very stratified, that formal belgy lobby of colonial administrators is to control. and they're probably looking to visit. and i just want to pick up on something that you said a theodore and and pass it over to phil clark. belgian as a victim from from coldwell politics. i mean i haven't heard that before. is that something that is kind of discussed in academic circles when exploring the post colonial legacy? not typically, no, i mean why the belgium tends to be talked about in these devices is firstly in terms of its colonial legacy. so that precedes any of these cold war dynamics that theodore is talking about, that, that, that's where the exploitation begins. that that's where the pillaging of kimberly's wealth of begins. but then what we see is belgium continuing to middle in congress

politics, even after the end of colonialism and, and i travel to congo regularly. i was just there 18 months ago. and the perspective amongst many congolese is that belgium influence negative influence in the country continues right up until the present in terms of very tight deals with mining companies, meddling in political affairs, the mistreatment of the congo is diaspora living in belgium today. so really what we're talking about is i story all brought. i'm an equal relations between belgium and congress from the colonial period through the cold war, all the way up until the present. tough enough, i answer when we talk about reparations and, and sort of reckoning with colonial passed beyond d r. c. we've been talking when we mentioned the german government apologizing for the genocide in namibia. how does belgium compare to other form of

colonizing powers in its attempts to apologize to make reparations to, to grapple with its, with its quite violent past. and i can give you the, in the, in the, in progress as uncle butter. i know the me, user, the atrocities say which adults to their mo, mo, an old whitish in kenya. a year or 2 ago. am some again the sentence and some of the surviving victims and osu de bridges go bench in or into high culture, a one. so even if the british nor did didn't turn directly apologize for the atrocities met out, but after the moment at least am the i called yesterday. sherry in a low and a half a. m a. m because im good. ok. so you do not have to and directly,

maybe for the guys, but am there are other means in or a political buquet, you know, but if you do apologize, you need to follow up, right? i think it will need to be in all and i will be that mission of guilt should go follow that up with some sort of a recompense, richer composition, and that kind of thing. so m dot away, i see that you should be all federal tough on where we're nearing the end of the program. we've got a minute or so left, but i just want to ask you, is there a shift in the way that form a colonial powers? are approaching this reckoning with their pastor, approaching how to take responsibility to take accountability. that's an important question, but i would also, i would 1st like to like to clarify that everything about this debate, about belgian relations with congo. when you notice of approximately

1550 percent of the conference population is 16 or 17 years old or younger. so that the vast majority of the lease a very, very far removed from these high level political discussion about diplomatic restitution in apology to let you know, these are people that live in the fend for yourself. economy a live from hand to mouth on a day to day basis. and they probably really not bad, very concerned about what our, what king philip is going to say in parliament. these are people that are struggling to feed themselves to feed their families. and it's true, their congo has been victimized over many, many years. but this is not, this is not an excuse for our really weakness in the whole panoply development initiatives that is both organized and orchestrated by

congos international partners and by cleavages within the congolese elite themselves that are very, very, very, very clever at keeping society them. stratified so to place blame strictly on one actor, i think would be really doing a disservice to the debate. it's a shared responsibility. thank you very much to all our guests, jonathan, off on sir theodore telephone and phil clark and thank you for watching. you can see the program again any time by visiting our website. i'll just there a dot com and further discussion go to our facebook page. that is facebook dot com, forward slash ha inside story. you can also join the conversation on twitter. handle is an inside story for me, kim vanelle, and the whole team here in bo huh. bye for now. ah,

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