Congo Crisis 1960-1965 - Cold War DOCUMENTARY
the 19th century scramble for africa resulted in a patchwork of european colonies across the continent but by the mid-20th century that patchwork was coming undone as independence movements in those colonies came to prominence and power while each of these regions and countries have their own moments of glory and defeat the story of congo often seems like one of never ending tragedy exacerbated not only by colonial rule but also the superpower rivalry after independence i'm your host david and this week we are going to look at congolese independence and the subsequent congo crisis the first major sub-saharan conflict of the post-war period this is the cold war have you ever thought about building a website either for your business your personal brand or even just for fun well of course you have that's why you need to check out squarespace the sponsor of today's video squarespace gives you a powerful online platform letting you create your own website for seamless engagement with both customers and followers squarespace lets you connect with your audience and generate revenue through gated members only content manage your members leverage audience insights and send email communications all through one easy to use platform build your community through your squarespace website it supports threaded comments replies and likes and lets you use squarespace's powerful blogging tools to schedule and share posts squarespace even lets you display feedback from your social media profiles directly to your website if you've been thinking about creating a website then go to squarespace.com the cold war to start your free trial and get 10 off your first purchase the congo free state was established as a personal holding of the king of belgium in 1885 and over the following decades the people of congo were subject to unimaginable brutality as they were forced to participate in an extraction economy by 1908 international pressure to halt the brutality had grown to the point that the belgian government was forced to take over control of the territory renamed the belgian congo over the following decades economic development in belgium congo grew with rubber cultivation being augmented and then largely replaced by the expanded development of extensive mining operations across the country this was enabled by the construction of port facilities and railway networks across the vast colony now although the economy grew tremendously it was largely to the benefit of the european colonizers and their economic interests the congolese population itself made up of many different ethnic groups was largely used as labor with the colonial authorities little concerned with their well-being beyond the proselytization of christianity despite this however urbanization began to rapidly expand education levels of the congolese increased dramatically and by the 1950s a small but growing congolese middle class was emerging with that middle class came a growing sense of nationalism and a desire for independence but like in so many colonies the independence movement was not a unified one there were numerous political parties who although they all sought the same goal were divided along both ethnic and ideological lines with many differing ideas on how best to remove the belgian authorities from congo the strongest of these parties was the congolese national movement the cnm and was represented by such prominent figures as albert kalonji patrice lumumba and cyril abdullah the cnm had a broad level of support across the entire colony and didn't rely on any single ethnic group for the majority of its support they favored a gradualist approach to independence the next most prominent group was the alliance of bakongo or abaco primarily representing the bacongo people and led by josef casavubu abako considered the cnm to be too moderate in their approach and advocated for the declaration of immediate independence the third most significant party was kanakat the confederation of tribes of katanga led by moyes shambai kanikat derived much of its support from the mineral-rich southern province of katanga the movement towards independence sharply accelerated after rioting broke out on january 4th 1959 in the capital of leopoldville when a non-sanctioned abaco demonstration turned violent it took days for the forced public the colonial gendarmeri to restore order at the cost of dozens if not hundreds of lives the belgian king baldwin responded on january 13th with an acknowledgement of the need to work towards congolese independence but that it would not necessarily be rapid or rash as he put it congo's reaction was one of increasing discontent as demonstrations at riots spread across the colony the force public as well as militia groups organized by the white colonists were heavily involved in suppressing these demonstrations and any congolese demanding independence concerned with the instability in congo a roundtable conference was called by the belgian government in order to meet with the representatives of the major congolese parties the meeting was scheduled to start january 20th 1960 where the belgians hoped to take advantage of the highly fractured nature of the congolese and force them to accept a gradualist approach towards independence but this is not how it played out the pro-independence groups came together to agree amongst themselves for the same demands of the belgians specifically they demanded the immediate recognition of an independent congo and that any decisions made at the round table be legally binding the belgian reaction was one of rapid capitulation the anti-colonial stance of both the united states and the soviet union meant that no international support would be derived from either superpower dipenda the congolese term for independence itself a modification of the french word independence was set for june 30th 1960. this would follow elections to be held in may in the run-up to the elections the fractured political field led to a series of alliances being formed with three main blocks first was abaco and a splinter group of the mnc led by albert kalonji the mnc kalonji then there was the centrist mnc lumumba and finally was kanekat and moishambe still seeking to maintain the relationship with union minier and the riches and power that came with the mining rights in katanga the election results placed mnc lumumba in first place a result of their broad appeal while obako and konicat only managed third and sixth place respectively a centrist constitution was adopted with a semi-presidential system which would see power shared between the president and the prime minister there was no plan however for the belgians to withdraw from congo the congolese hope to take advantage of their skills and knowledge in both technical and administrative fields while the belgians hope to retain their power and influence june 30th 1960 saw belgian congo become the independent republic of congo but it took almost no time at all for serious problems to present themselves to start the commander of the first public lieutenant general emil janssens of belgian refused to allow wage increases or promotions for the congolese members of the force this refusal resulted in the black officers of the force public to mutiny an action that quickly spread across the new country the government made an attempt to halt the mutiny but the violence continued to spread and even broke down along racial lines janssen's was dismissed by lumumba and replaced by victor lundulla who was promoted from sergeant major to major general in charge of the forced public which had been renamed army national congolese the anc the new army chief of staff was former sergeant major joseph desiree mobutu remembered that name by the way belgium looking to protect its citizens the former colonizers who still retained their former positions of power deployed paratroopers on july 9 a decision that was never discussed with the new congolese government as is so often the case in these situations the deployment of belgian troops only escalated the levels of violence between the belgians and the congolese white people in the country were targeted and attacked triggering a mass exodus from the country with belgians fleeing the country as refugees in the mnc a split occurred with casavubu being okay with the belgian troops being deployed while lumumba opposed it calling on all congolese to defend the new republic against the attackers so this all seems pretty grim right well then it got worse on july 11th mwa's shambai of konicat declared the independence of the mineral-rich katanga province now the state of katanga with elizabeth ville as his capital chamber became its new president katango was home to several large belgian mining firms including the uno migner the oat katanga the umhk often referred to as simply uno migner the secession of katanga and its minds was supported by muno who was afraid lumumba would nationalize the mining industry and with yunyun minier's support came the backing of the belgian government unofficially anyway chambe for his part claimed the independence of katanga was necessary to protect the baluba people the majority ethnic group in katenga the situation was spiraling quickly and was drawing a great deal of international attention largely focused on the deployment of belgian troops the outrage was great enough that by july 14th the un security council called for a belgian withdrawal of its troops from congo to be replaced by a u.n force which would be tasked with restoring order both the united states and the soviet union voted in favor of the plan and the congolese themselves also wanted this to happen but and there's the but the congolese had the impression that the un troops would be used to quell the rebellion in katenga while the u.n mandate looked at that as an internal matter which it would not get involved with and then things got even worse for the new state albert kalanji lumumba's ally within the mnc declared the independence of south kosai another mining rich province in the south of congo that happened on august 9th it had taken just over a month for the former colony to begin to disintegrate that this happened so quickly is highly indicative that the colonial stability was ephemeral only there through the iron will of the belgian authorities and backed up by force of arms as congo was being pulled apart from within patrice lumumba decided to personally seek outside assistance and traveled to the united nations in new york in july of 1960 while in the u.s he hoped to meet with
and convince the united states government to provide assistance to the congolese to put down the rebellion in katanga he held extensive meetings with u.n secretary general doug harmersholt who encouraged him to be cautious in his actions lumumba also met with u.s officials where he did secure a promise of assistance but it would not be direct instead the u.s would only provide aid and support through the united nations force onoc whose mandate did not include putting down the rebellion in katanga lumumba even took a side trip to ottawa to meet with the canadians to seek their support but was met with the same reaction so what made the west so reluctant to support lumumba well they believed years worth of belgian reports that lumumba was not only anti-white and anti-western but that he was also secretly a communist so having been rebuffed by the west but still requiring assistance to restore congo's territorial integrity lumumba made the next logical step he reached out to the soviet union seeking not only technical assistance and arms but also the possibility of the deployment of soviet troops but he did this without the approval of his political partner in the mnc joseph kasovlubu who began to fear that lumumba was planning a coup d'etat to take oversold dictatorial power in the new country the soviets for their part agreed to lumumba's requests for technical assistance and arms including aircraft which were immediately put to use in south kosai resulting in a massacre of the majority buluba people who dominated the region but moscow also provided diplomatic support for lumumba and the republic of congo at the united nations they demanded that onoc troops be put under the control of the congolese government as the emerging congo crisis broke on the world stage president eisenhower criticized moscow for its unilateral actions lawrence devlin the cia chief of station in leopoldville described the situation in congo as a classic communist takeover by september 5th casavubu with the support of the army chief of staff mobutu decided to act and began the process of deposing lumumba by making a radio announcement that he was dismissing both lumumba as well as six key ministers but lumumba simply refused to step down and in a radio broadcast of his own called on the congolese parliament from which he had a great deal of support to support the deposition of casa vubu declaring that he was in no way a communist but was only being painted as one for his anti-imperialist position he ordered mobutu to arrest kazavubu both men had now ordered mubutu to arrest the other so mobutu's reaction was to carry out a coup of his own on september 14th he began to form a technocratic government with himself at the head this government was to last until the end of 1960 during which the politicians were to sort out their differences mobutu moved to arrest lumumba but was prevented by anarch troops although this did now mean lumumba was under house arrest by the u.n for his own protection
mabutu ordered the cessation of diplomatic relations with the soviet union and any other east bloc nation and expelled soviet personnel from the country by november 24th the united nations had recognized the mobutu regime as the legitimate government of congo now lumumba only remained under house arrest until november 27th when he left leopoldville and traveled to stanleyville modern-day kisangani where he hoped to rally support alongside his ally antoine gazinga but on december 1st lumumba was arrested by agents of the mobutu regime as this happened gizenga declared that his government represented the free republic of the congo and was the legitimate leadership instead of mabutu gizenga reached out to moscow asking for soviet troops to help his cause but all he received was some material support only a few days later on january 17th a joint decision by mabutu kasavubu and shambae was made first kasavubo was restored to the office of prime minister secondly however and far more importantly patrice lumumba who had been transported to elizabethville present-day lumumbashi was executed by firing squad while the political situation was beginning to stabilize somewhat in leopoldville as 1961 progressed things were becoming more tense in catanga between u.n forces there and local katangin troops in response to the escalating violence the un made the decision to act adopting resolution 161 allowing for active participation of u.n troops to prevent a civil war in congo which was interpreted to include military operations in katenga while the u.n continued to try a negotiated settlement over the course of 1961 anak troops were engaged in trying to maintain some sort of peace including the arrest of foreign mercenaries being employed in katanga september of 1961 also saw a company of irish un troops captured and held hostage after being attacked at the town of jadoville this is the subject of the book and later movie siege of shadowville well worth checking out if you haven't already also in september of 1961 while engaged in shuttle diplomacy between the various factions the plane carrying the u.n general secretary doug hammershould crashed killing all aboard the crash has spawned a great many theories including pilot error engine failure sabotage by union minier being shot down by the kgb or shot down by a mercenary pilot flying for the katangad rebels none of these theories have ever been conclusively proven uthant was selected as hammershot's replacement as secretary general and he took a much more stringent and direct approach towards resolving the crisis in congo by april 1962 as a result of a series of operations conducted by onuk forces the rebellion in south kasai had been put down and by early 1963 the same had been accomplished in katenga meanwhile the claimed government that kazinga as lumumba's successor had declared in stanleyville was also defeated despite support it was receiving from both the soviet union the united arab republic and the prc and so stability peace and prosperity was brought to the congo actually no not at all although the fighting had stopped mostly the process of reconciliation still had to be accomplished a new constitution was adopted in 1964 making the office of president more powerful than the prime minister and also devolving more power to the regions this increased federalism was designed to decrease the risk of ethnically based separatism president kassavubu interestingly appointed moaz chambe as the prime minister but even these steps failed to bring the desired stability to congo between 1963 and 1965 two further major rebellions took place the kuilu rebellion in the kuili region led by lumumbas and maoists and then the simba rebellion again conducted by lumumbas forces but included in yeezy rebels from neighboring rwanda as well as ugandan support both the symbol rebellions and quilo rebellion received some basic support from the socialist world while casavubu was being backed by the west ultimately a lack of discipline and vision for the entire country led to not only infighting amongst the rebels but a lack of general support across the congo and the rebellions collapsed in the face of government military offensives supported by both the united states and belgium paratroopers the defeated rebels then shifted to conducting a low-level guerrilla insurgency instead of direct rebellion something that would continue to plague congo into the present day general elections were held in 1965 and were won by moaz shambes congolese national convention who expected to become the prime minister president kassavubu however instead appointed evarist kimba of the congolese democratic front as prime minister the ensuing deadlock dragged on for months as parliament refused to confirm kimba as pm government and governance was paralyzed as a result on the 24th of november the 35 year old chief of staff of the armed forces joseph desiree mobutu conducted a bloodless coup and declared a state of emergency he dissolved parliament banned political parties and declared that democracy would be restored in five years mobutu's second coup ended the congo crisis but in no way ended the suffering of the people of the congo mabutu would go on to establish himself as the permanent one-man ruler of the country using his position to amass a vast personal fortune at the expense of the congolese people the massive bloodletting involved in the congo crisis upwards of a hundred thousand casualties quickly made the congo a symbol of the complexity and difficulties inherent in much of the african decolonization process the speed with which the independence movement gained success meant that there was no opportunity for the inexperienced elites to learn how to find consensus without resorting to force of arms they were also subject to the manipulation by outside powers who looked to gain influence over the resource-rich new country the ethnic strife that came with the congo forged deep long-lasting animosities that also spilled across international borders including into places like rwanda and angola congo was even used by other nations in africa as the example of what not to do as new countries worked to prevent regions from declaring independence like had happened in katanga and finally the congo crisis was a high water mark for the united nations with the formation and deployment of onok it was the first u.n mission to explicitly permit the use of force to uphold its mandate and was the first mission to enforce both a no-fly zone and an arms embargo as it went on to bring an enforced stability to the country congo renamed zaire in 1972 was staunchly anti-soviet under mobutu and enjoyed a warm relationship with the united states who was most interested in securing access to the uranium mines in congo required for the u.s nuclear
personnel interestingly mobutu also fostered a relationship with the prc looking to prevent soviet interests in central africa but all of these are possible topics for future episodes we hope you've enjoyed this episode and to make sure you don't miss our future work please make sure you subscribe to our channel and have deployed troops to the disputed zone around the bell button to make sure it remains safe and pressable please consider supporting us on patreon at www.patreon.comgoldwar or through youtube membership we can be reached the email at thecoldwar channel gmail.com this is the cold war channel and as we think about the cold war i will leave you with the words of jfk in the final analysis our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet we all breed the same air we all cherish our children's future and we are all mortal
2022-06-28 12:45
