Transcript File

The Congo Crisis (19601964)
Julie Cantillo
Kevin Peng
Nii Soja Torto
Leaders of the Congo & their Objectives + Ideology
Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba
- Wanted to suppress the rebellion in Katanga
- Allied with the USSR
- Seen as an obstacle by western business
leaders who wanted access to Congolese
mining
Joseph Kasavubu
- First President of Congo
- Allied with the West in order to
get UN support
http://i1.wp.com/www.myafricanow.com/wpcontent/uploads/2015/04/democratic_republic_of_congo_Joseph_Kasa-
Moise Tshombe
- Leader of Katanga
- Wanted to split from Republic of Congo
- Allied with Belgium and the West
- Eventually became Prime Minister for a while
Joseph Mobutu
- 2nd President of Congo
- Allied with the US and supported by the West
- Eventually ruled all of Congo through coups
- Was inhumane leader, but still supported by US
Objectives of Foreign Powers
Belgium
1. Interested in protecting whites still living in the Congo
2. Interested in rich natural resources
a. Not particularly involved in preparing the Congo to be a strong democratic state
UN (The Organisation des Nations Unies au Congo (ONUC))
1. Wanted to help the Republic of Congo form a stable government
2. Called for the withdrawal of Belgian troops
3. Would fight against opposing forces should they engage in battle
Foreign Leaders and the Goals of their Nations
US (Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Johnson administration)
1. Wanted the Republic of the Congo to form a stable, pro-Western, central government
2. Supported the UN’s efforts to remove Belgian troops to resolve crisis and avoid Soviet
intervention
3. Wanted to remove Lumumba, supported Mobutu
4. Interested in rich natural resources (Uranium)
USSR (Khrushchev administration)
1. Wanted it to become a pro-USSR, communist government.
2. Rich natural resources
Origin and Development of this Conflict
1. Congolese election of president Joseph Kasavubu
and prime minister Patrice Emery Lumumba
(radical nationalist) prior to independence
2. DROC Independence from Belgium: June 30th,
1960 after negotiating post-colonial mining rights
3. July 5th: Members of Congolese army rebelled at
Thysville military base demanding increased pay
and the removal of white officers from their ranks
a. News of this rebellion inspired other Congolese to rebel on
other bases
Origin and Development of this Conflict
5. Belgium intervened militarily without permission of Lumumba or Kasavubu to
restore order. (Illegal act as DROC was indp country).
6. Congolese soldiers found leadership in radical nationalist Patrice Emery
Lumumba
7. The Congolese government appealed directly to the UN, who then created
an intervention force dubbed the Organisation des Nations Unies au Congo
(ONUC) and sent troops in accordance with Resolution 143.
8. ONUC called for withdrawal of Belgian troops.
Origin and Development of this Conflict
9. At the same time, Moise Tshombe controlled the southern region of Katanga,
which was incredibly rich in resources (60% of world’s uranium and 80% of
world’s industrial diamonds). Tshombe, thus, had Europe’s support. Lumumba
felt that UN had sided with Europeans after UN Secretary Hammerskjold refused to
help Lumumba defeat Tshombe in the south.
10. Lumumba appealed to Soviets. This was prime time for a Soviet communist
takeover. In an attempt to mitigate the spread of communism, the US attempted to
intervene.
11. The CIA chief in Kinshasa recognized that Lumumba had to be removed from
power. Kasavubu dismissed him under pressure from Western nations, but
Lumumba and his large base of support opposed it.
Congolese citizens showing their support for Lumumba
Origin and Development of this Conflict
12. Lumumba established a government in Stanleyville and the USSR
provided him with weapons. In November of 1960, he was arrested by Joseph
Mobutu’s (Kasavubu’s successor) forces and later killed.
13. In 1961, there were four different groups that claimed a certain degree of
autonomy in Congo. (One in Stanleyville; one was a break away republic led by
self-appointed King Albert Kalonji; one under Mobutu; and the one in Katanga).
14. The UN Security council gave UN forces the right to use force to prevent war
in Congo. All areas except Katanga under Tshombe agreed to unite in
government under Cyrille Adoula, who had previously initiated negotiation talks
with Tshombe. Adoula appealed to the UN, and the UN helped by defeating
Katanga in August of 1961. This reunited the country by 1963.
Origin and Development of Conflict
Key Events
1960 June - Congo becomes independent with Patrice Lumumba as prime
minister and Joseph Kasavubu as president.
1960 July - Congolese army mutinies; Moise Tshombe declares Katanga
independent; Belgian troops sent in ostensibly to protect Belgian citizens and
mining interests; UN Security Council votes to send in troops to help establish
order, but the troops are not allowed to intervene in internal affairs.
1960 September - Kasavubu dismisses Lumumba as prime minister.
1960 December - Lumumba arrested.
1961 February - Lumumba murdered, reportedly with US and Belgian complicity.
1961 August - UN troops begin disarming Katangese soldiers.
1963 - Tshombe agrees to end Katanga's secession.
1964 - President Kasavubu appoints Tshombe prime minister.
1965 - Mobutu stages a coup to come into power
Overall Significance and Outcome
- 100,000 lives lost in the four years of violence
- Congo’s future was still TBD in 1963 → Just two years later, Mobutu would
become president and establish a dictatorship lasting over 30 years.
- The UN was successful in bringing the country together, but its reputation
was tarnished as a result.
- Infighting and disagreements, especially between the USSR and Secretary Hammerskjold,
created questions about the UN’s power to stabilize the Congo and ensure its people the
freedom to choose their own way forward economically, ideologically, and politically.
- Furthermore, several countries (namely the USSR, Belgium, and France) were displeased with
the outcome and refused to pay their part of the $400 million the Congo operation had cost →
Role in the Cold War
- Represents the United States’ distrust of the Soviet Union and fear of
communism spreading
- Wanted to wipe out the USSR’s potential source of power in the Congo: Lumumba
- Control over the uranium supply to prevent the USSR from building more nukes
- Follows common theme of intervention → “proxy” war
- The US was more covert when it interfered compared to the USSR
- Escalated tensions → Congo became another nation where the US would
Historiography
FOREIGN RELATIONS OF THE UNITED STATES 1961–1963 VOLUME XX,
CONGO CRISIS, DOCUMENT 2
- Primarily delegates causes of conflict to the lack of unity of the Congolese,
the inability of the UN to maintain peace, and influence of the Belgians and
communist countries
MISREPRESENTING THE CONGO CRISIS
- Puts much of the blame on many events of the Congo Crisis on heavy US
intervention
Works Cited
1.
Cannon, Martin. “The Congo Crisis, 1960-4.” 20th Century World History: Course Companion. Oxford: Oxford UP,
2009. 470-72. Print.
2.
"Democratic Republic of Congo Profile - Timeline." BBC News. BBC News, 4 Aug. 2015. Web. 27 Mar. 2016.
3.
Foreign Relations of the United States, 1961–1963, Volume XX, Congo Crisis, 1961, eds. Harriet Dashiell Schwar
and Glenn W. LaFantasie (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1994), Document 2.
4.
Gibbs, David N. “Misrepresenting the Congo Crisis”. African Affairs 95.380 (1996): 453–459.
5.
Hobbs, Nicole. “TheUN and the Congo Crisis of 1960.” Yale University EliScholar. Yale University, 2014. Web. 23
Mar. 2016.
6.
"The Congo, Decolonization, and the Cold War, 1960–1965 - 1961–1968 - Milestones - Office of the Historian." U.S.
Department of State, Office of the Historian. U.S. Department of State, n.d. Web. 19 Mar. 2016.