Biography
Patrice Lumumba is a politician, the first prime minister of the Congo after receiving its independence, the symbol of the struggle of African peoples for independence.
Patrice Emery Lumumba was born on July 2, 1925 in the province of Kasaia Belgian Congo, in the family of Frances Francois Toleng, Fatherhima and Julienn Vamato Lomanjei. At the birth of Patrice belonging to the people of the tetla, they ordered the name of Elias Okt'asombo, which means "the heir to the damned". Lumumba had three brothers (Emil Kalem, Yen Clark and Louis Perhema Lumumba), as well as a consolidated brother of Tolegan Jean.
Patrice studied in a Catholic family of a Protestant school, then in a Catholic Missionary school and one year at the Postal School of Postal Communications, which he graduated with honors. After graduating from school, Patrice worked as a post office in Leopoldville (now - Kinshasa, the capital of the Congo) and Stanlyville (since 1966, Kisangani is called).
In his youth, Lumumba became interested in philosophical ideas to enlighten Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Voltaire. He also loved Moliere and Victor Hugo and wrote poems, many of which were on the anti-imperialist theme.
Politics
In 1955, Lumumba joined the Liberal Party of Belgium and began to distribute party literature. After a three-week student trip to Belgium, in 1955, Patrice was arrested on charges of the embezzlement of remittances. After Lumumba returned money, his two-year sentence was reduced to 1 year.
On October 5, 1958, Lumumba, together with other young Congolese, who received a good education and submitted different ethnic groups, founded the party National Movement of the Congo and became its leader. NDK fought for the independence of the country, the Africanization of the government, economic development and neutrality in international affairs.
Quite quickly, Lumumba became a popular person - he was charismatic and had excellent oratory skills. In December 1958, Lumumba went as one of the delegates to the All-African Conference of Peoples in Accra (Ghana). At the international meeting, organized by the President of Ghana Kwame Nkruum, Lumumba strengthened even more in his PanAnforkanist convictions, and Nkruum was very impressed with the intellect and the abilities of Lumumba.
In October 1959, Lumumba was arrested for incitement to anti-colonial unrest in Stanlywill, during which 30 people were killed. Lumumba was sentenced to 69 months in prison. The start date of the trial, January 18, 1960, became the first day of the Congolese Conference of the Round Table in Brussels, at which the future of the Congo was discussed.
In the December local elections, the NDK received most votes, although Lumumba was in prison. As a result of pressure from the delegates, Patrice was released and admitted to the Brussels Conference.
On January 27, 1960, the independence of the Congo was proclaimed at the conference. The national elections were followed in May, a very predictable result of which the victory of Lumumba and NDK became. On June 23, 1960, 34-year-old Lumumba became the first prime minister of the independent Congo, and Joseph Casavuba became president.
At the celebration of Independence Day on June 30, many high-ranking persons were present, including the King Belgian Boduen. Lumumba made an improvised speech, declaring that the independence of the Congo is to be prevented by blood and then victory, and not a generous gift of Belgium. Patrice finished his speech by famous words:
"We are no longer your monkeys!"After finding a country of independence, Lumumba raised wages to all civil servants, except for employees of Fors Pupil (gendarmerie created by Belgian colonizers) than caused discontent in their ranks. On July 5, 1960, the Congolese crisis began with the uprisings in Leopoldville and Stanlyville.
Lumumba stated on the radio, which prepared thorough reforms in all areas, thanks to which after a few weeks everything could see the other face of the Congo. Despite the efforts of the government, the rebellion in the country continued.
On July 8, in an attempt to facilitate the situation, Lumumba renamed Force Pybblik to the National Congolese Army and tried to African forces, appointing Sergeant-Major Viktor Londul commander-in-chief, and Joseph Mobutu Colonel and the headquarters of the army. These actions were committed, despite the inexperience of Landula and rumors about the connections of mobutu with the Belgian and American intelligence services.
All other European officers were replaced, but some of them were left as advisers. The next day, the rebellion spread across the country. It was estimated that these days were killed about two dozen Europeans.
In early July, Belgium sent 6,000 military personnel in the Congo, allegedly to protect their citizens from violence. A few days later, Lumumba sent a telegram Nikita Khrushchev with a request to help with the situation in the province of Katanga, where the main white population and sources of minerals focused. The leader of the Katanga, Moduce Chomba proclaimed himself as president of an independent state of Katanga.
The decision to turn to the USSR excited the West, especially the United States. On July 24, Lumumba went to New York to meet the UN Secretary General Dag Hammarshelder. The meeting of Lumumba expressed his dissatisfaction with the Belgian troops in the Congo and asked American American. US Secretary of State Christian Gerter confirmed that the United States will help the Congo, but only within the framework of the more large-scale UN efforts.
After returning to their homeland, in August Lumumba announced a state of emergency and called for the invasion of Katanga. On the same day, South Kasia, neighboring with Katanga district, announced its exit from the Congo.
Lumumba immediately ordered the Congolese troops to suppress the uprising in southernas - in this part of the Congo there were strategic railway lines necessary for the campaign in Katang. The operation was successful, but soon the conflict switched to ethnic violence. The army began to participate in the massacres of the peaceful people of Luba. Residents and heads of South Kasia considered that the only guilty in this situation is Lumumba.
Then President Casavubu publicly ruined the political alliance with Lumumba, stating the uselessness of his ideas for building a unitary state. Meanwhile, Lumumba demanded that the UN peacekeeping forces helped to suppress the uprising, threatening with the introduction of Soviet troops in case of refusal. Casawabu began to be afraid that the state coup was about to happen in the country, and in the evening of September 5, she announced a radio that dismissed Lumumba and six ministers for mass murders in South Kasia and the involvement of Soviet troops in the Congo.
September 14, Lumumba was placed under house arrest, from where he eventually managed to escape. But on December 1, with logistical support from the United States and Belgium, Mobutu's troops were able to capture Lumumba and take to Leopolville. It was stated that Lumumba would be convicted of incitement of the army to meat and other crimes.
The Soviet Union demanded the liberation of Patrice, restoring it as the head of the government of the Congo, disarmament of the forces of mobutu and the immediate evacuation of the Belgians from the country, as well as the arrest of mobutu. Hammarsheld replied that if the UN's forces would be derived from the Congo, "everything will collapse." Almost none of the members of the UN Security Council did not support the USSR in the desire to save Patrice.
Personal life
Lumumba knew tetla tongue, owned by French, as well as Lingala (language of the group of peoples of the Bantuet), Swahili (the largest Bantian Languages) and Luba (the language of the people of Luba).
In 1951, Lumumba married Paulina Opangu, who gave him five children: Francois, Patrice younger, Julien, Roland and Guy Patrice. To the prison sentence Lumumba organized a moving to Egypt for his wife and children. Subsequently, the eldest son Francois moved to Hungary, where he received a higher education and a doctoral degree in political economy.
The younger son of Lumumba, Guy-Patrice, born in six months after his father's death, acted as the presidential candidate in the 2006 elections in the Congo, but received only 0.42% of the votes.
Death
On December 3, Lumumba and his comrades Maurice MPolo and Joseph Okito were sent to the Military barracks of Tisville in the Hardy camp, 150 km from Leopolville, and from there on January 17, 1961 by plane in Katanga, to Chacom. Upon arrival, Lumumba was beaten by Kathangan and Belgian officers.
Later that night, Patrice was taken to a deaf forest to shoot. During the execution, there was a chambomb and two ministers; The shot was made by four Belgian officers. The execution took place between 21:40 and 21:43. From the bodies later decided to get rid of - the corpses were exhumed, dissected and dissolved in sulfuric acid, and the dice of the grind and was thrown.
The official confirmation of the death of Lumumba did not receive 3 weeks, despite the rumors. And only on February 13, the radio announced that Lumumba was killed by the enraged residents of one of the villages of Katanga three days after his escape from prison.
After declaring the deaths of Lumumba, street protests were held in European countries, and in New York, the demonstration of the UN Security Council building resulted in brutal unrest. In the eyes of all over the world, Chacombe appeared villain, and Lumumba - a martyr.
Subsequently, in honor of Lumumba, streets were called in European cities and in the cities of Russia, Ukraine, Indonesia, Tunisia, etc. In 1961, a series of postage stamps with a photo of Patrice was released in the USSR, and until 1992, the University of Friendship of Peoples in Moscow wore the name of Lumumba.