Podcasts about mobutu

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 5, 2025 4:18

Après six ans de silence, Joseph Kabila revient sur la scène médiatique congolaise. Il y a eu cette tribune publiée il y a 10 jours par le Sunday Times en Afrique du Sud et hier, l'ancien président a accordé une interview à la presse namibienne, dont un extrait a été diffusé sur les réseaux sociaux. Extrait repris par le site d'information congolais 7 sur 7. Le voici : « notre intention est d'être très disponible pour servir notre pays et de continuer à servir notre peuple. »Au sujet de la guerre dans l'Est, rapporte encore 7 sur 7, « Joseph Kabila s'est montré favorable au départ de toutes les armées étrangères qui sont présentes en République démocratique du Congo. Pour lui, ça serait déjà un premier pas vers la solution. »Revenir dans le jeu politique…Pour Le Point Afrique, ce « retour médiatique n'a rien d'anodin. Selon ses proches, il s'inscrit dans une stratégie plus large : Kabila veut reprendre pied dans le jeu politique congolais et relancer son parti, le PPRD, le Parti du peuple pour la reconstruction et la démocratie. Sur le terrain, les tensions avec Félix Tshisekedi n'ont cessé de s'intensifier. La coalition FCC-CACH, issue de leur accord, a volé en éclats, laissant place à une défiance mutuelle. En 2023, Kabila avait même interdit à ses partisans de briguer un mandat sous l'administration Tshisekedi, signe d'une rupture assumée. »Récemment, poursuit Le Point Afrique, « dans sa tribune publiée dans la presse sud-africaine, Kabila se pose en observateur critique du régime actuel : “l'implosion est imminente, affirme-t-il. Si le problème congolais n'est pas traité en profondeur, la crise persistera bien au-delà du conflit avec le Rwanda“. Un message qui, pour certains, ressemble moins à une analyse qu'à un avertissement. (…) Selon Ferdinand Kambere, secrétaire permanent du PPRD, toujours dans les colonnes du Point Afrique, Kabila cherche avant tout à rappeler à l'opinion nationale et internationale que la situation actuelle est le résultat de l'échec du pouvoir en place, notamment dans la gestion de l'intégrité territoriale et de la sécurité du pays. »Des critiques à peine voilées en direction de Félix Tshisekedi.Fausse route pour Tshisekedi ?Le site d'information Afrik.com, sur un autre plan, n'épargne pas non plus le président congolais.« Depuis plusieurs mois, l'Est de la RDC est en proie à une offensive militaire menée par le mouvement rebelle du M23, soutenu par le Rwanda. Cette guerre fait rage, tandis que le gouvernement de Félix Tshisekedi semble détourner son attention d'une menace grandissante pour se concentrer sur des problèmes internes qui semblent moins urgents », affirme Afrik.com. Afrik.com qui évoque la récente condamnation à mort de 55 soldats de l'armée congolaise à Butembo dans le Nord-Kivu, accusés de lâcheté devant l'ennemi. Commentaire du site panafricain : « plutôt que de renforcer ses troupes ou de rechercher des solutions diplomatiques, Tshisekedi semble préférer se concentrer sur des purges internes, punissant des soldats qui fuient la guerre plutôt que de renforcer les capacités de son armée face à une menace de plus en plus pressante. » Et « au-delà des problèmes militaires, poursuit Afrik.com, le gouvernement congolais semble mener une série de tentatives de contrôle sur des acteurs politiques et religieux, dans un contexte de tensions internes croissantes. »Poil à gratter…Référence à l'audition le week-end dernier par les autorités congolaises d'Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary, secrétaire général du PPRD, puis du secrétaire général de la CENCO, la Conférence épiscopale nationale du Congo, Monseigneur Donatien N'Shole.Commentaire de L'Observateur Paalga à Ouagadougou : « si l'interrogatoire de Ramazani Shadary (très proche de Kabila), peut se comprendre dans une certaine mesure, plus problématique est celle du secrétaire général de la CENCO. En réalité, Tshisekedi ne pardonne pas à la CENCO, qui a entrepris avec les pasteurs évangéliques une mission de bons offices qui les avait conduits à Goma, à Kigali et en Belgique, appelant à un dialogue entre toutes les parties, notamment entre le pouvoir congolais et la rébellion du M23, au grand dam des autorités congolaises qui ne veulent pas en entendre parler et avaient tout de suite désavoué ladite mission. »Et L'Observateur Paalga de rappeler que « l'Église catholique a toujours été le poil à gratter des dirigeants, tous régimes confondus, depuis le temps de Mobutu. Les prélats n'ayant jamais manqué la moindre occasion de mettre les hommes politiques devant leurs responsabilités. »

À la Une: que cherche Kabila ?

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 5, 2025 4:18

Après six ans de silence, Joseph Kabila revient sur la scène médiatique congolaise. Il y a eu cette tribune publiée il y a 10 jours par le Sunday Times en Afrique du Sud et hier, l'ancien président a accordé une interview à la presse namibienne, dont un extrait a été diffusé sur les réseaux sociaux. Extrait repris par le site d'information congolais 7 sur 7. Le voici : « notre intention est d'être très disponible pour servir notre pays et de continuer à servir notre peuple. »Au sujet de la guerre dans l'Est, rapporte encore 7 sur 7, « Joseph Kabila s'est montré favorable au départ de toutes les armées étrangères qui sont présentes en République démocratique du Congo. Pour lui, ça serait déjà un premier pas vers la solution. »Revenir dans le jeu politique…Pour Le Point Afrique, ce « retour médiatique n'a rien d'anodin. Selon ses proches, il s'inscrit dans une stratégie plus large : Kabila veut reprendre pied dans le jeu politique congolais et relancer son parti, le PPRD, le Parti du peuple pour la reconstruction et la démocratie. Sur le terrain, les tensions avec Félix Tshisekedi n'ont cessé de s'intensifier. La coalition FCC-CACH, issue de leur accord, a volé en éclats, laissant place à une défiance mutuelle. En 2023, Kabila avait même interdit à ses partisans de briguer un mandat sous l'administration Tshisekedi, signe d'une rupture assumée. »Récemment, poursuit Le Point Afrique, « dans sa tribune publiée dans la presse sud-africaine, Kabila se pose en observateur critique du régime actuel : “l'implosion est imminente, affirme-t-il. Si le problème congolais n'est pas traité en profondeur, la crise persistera bien au-delà du conflit avec le Rwanda“. Un message qui, pour certains, ressemble moins à une analyse qu'à un avertissement. (…) Selon Ferdinand Kambere, secrétaire permanent du PPRD, toujours dans les colonnes du Point Afrique, Kabila cherche avant tout à rappeler à l'opinion nationale et internationale que la situation actuelle est le résultat de l'échec du pouvoir en place, notamment dans la gestion de l'intégrité territoriale et de la sécurité du pays. »Des critiques à peine voilées en direction de Félix Tshisekedi.Fausse route pour Tshisekedi ?Le site d'information Afrik.com, sur un autre plan, n'épargne pas non plus le président congolais.« Depuis plusieurs mois, l'Est de la RDC est en proie à une offensive militaire menée par le mouvement rebelle du M23, soutenu par le Rwanda. Cette guerre fait rage, tandis que le gouvernement de Félix Tshisekedi semble détourner son attention d'une menace grandissante pour se concentrer sur des problèmes internes qui semblent moins urgents », affirme Afrik.com. Afrik.com qui évoque la récente condamnation à mort de 55 soldats de l'armée congolaise à Butembo dans le Nord-Kivu, accusés de lâcheté devant l'ennemi. Commentaire du site panafricain : « plutôt que de renforcer ses troupes ou de rechercher des solutions diplomatiques, Tshisekedi semble préférer se concentrer sur des purges internes, punissant des soldats qui fuient la guerre plutôt que de renforcer les capacités de son armée face à une menace de plus en plus pressante. » Et « au-delà des problèmes militaires, poursuit Afrik.com, le gouvernement congolais semble mener une série de tentatives de contrôle sur des acteurs politiques et religieux, dans un contexte de tensions internes croissantes. »Poil à gratter…Référence à l'audition le week-end dernier par les autorités congolaises d'Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary, secrétaire général du PPRD, puis du secrétaire général de la CENCO, la Conférence épiscopale nationale du Congo, Monseigneur Donatien N'Shole.Commentaire de L'Observateur Paalga à Ouagadougou : « si l'interrogatoire de Ramazani Shadary (très proche de Kabila), peut se comprendre dans une certaine mesure, plus problématique est celle du secrétaire général de la CENCO. En réalité, Tshisekedi ne pardonne pas à la CENCO, qui a entrepris avec les pasteurs évangéliques une mission de bons offices qui les avait conduits à Goma, à Kigali et en Belgique, appelant à un dialogue entre toutes les parties, notamment entre le pouvoir congolais et la rébellion du M23, au grand dam des autorités congolaises qui ne veulent pas en entendre parler et avaient tout de suite désavoué ladite mission. »Et L'Observateur Paalga de rappeler que « l'Église catholique a toujours été le poil à gratter des dirigeants, tous régimes confondus, depuis le temps de Mobutu. Les prélats n'ayant jamais manqué la moindre occasion de mettre les hommes politiques devant leurs responsabilités. »

Pion of politiek strateeg? Wie was Mobutu?

Voorproevers

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 17, 2025 23:48

Joris Hessels praat met Joost Vandensande, een van de makers van 'Mobutu's game'. De Congolese dictator Mobutu Sese Seko was een kind van het Belgische kolonialisme en de Koude Oorlog, hij kon 32 jaar aan de macht blijven door een uiterst complex en doordacht politiek spel te spelen. Lang werd Mobutu beschouwd als een karikatuur, een ordinaire handpop van het Westen maar in de reeks 'Mobutu's Game' op VRT MAX zien we hoe hij zich ontwikkelde tot een handig, bijwijlen briljant politiek strateeg.

game lang westen radio1 belgische politiek vrt pion koude oorlog mobutu mobutu sese seko vrt max

Christophe Lutundula (RDC): «Kagame veut obliger le président Tshisekedi à négocier avec ses protégés, le M23»

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 28, 2025 8:39

Goma au cœur des combats… Douze ans après le premier assaut de novembre 2012, pourquoi le M23 et les soldats rwandais s'en prennent-ils à nouveau à la grande cité de l'Est de la République démocratique du Congo ? Pourquoi l'Union africaine réagit-elle avec mollesse ? Y a-t-il une issue à cette nouvelle guerre meurtrière ? Pendant trois ans, de 2021 à 2024, Christophe Lutundula a été le vice-Premier ministre et le ministre des Affaires étrangères du Congo-Kinshasa. Aujourd'hui, il est sénateur et préside la Commission des relations extérieures de la Chambre Haute. RFI : Christophe Lutundula, bonjour,Christophe Lutundula : bonjour.Pourquoi le M23 et le Rwanda ont-ils décidé d'attaquer Goma à la fin de ce mois de janvier ?Je pense qu'il y a les raisons suivantes. La première, c'est que Goma, c'est une plaque tournante économique, particulièrement en ce qui concerne le commerce de produits miniers. Mais il y a une autre raison, une raison politique, c'est la soif d'hégémonie du président [Paul] Kagame. Il veut démontrer à la communauté internationale qu'il est le seul interlocuteur valable avec lequel il faut traiter en ce qui concerne les questions de sécurité, de paix et même les questions de coopération avec la région des Grands Lacs. C'est comme qui dirait qu'il veut devenir le successeur du président Mobutu Sese Seko qui a joué le même rôle pendant la période de la guerre froide.Toujours sur le plan politique, en fait, il veut humilier le peuple congolais, en obligeant le président [Félix] Tshisekedi de négocier avec ses protégés qui constituent son cheval de Troie, les M23.Cette attaque survient en effet cinq semaines après l'échec de la rencontre de Luanda, où Paul Kagame avait exigé que Félix Tshisekedi ouvre un dialogue avec les rebelles du M23. Le président congolais avait refusé, est-ce qu'aujourd'hui Paul Kagame cherche à imposer ce dialogue par la force ?Mais il ne s'en est jamais caché, il a toujours dit qu'il n'y aura pas de solution s'il n'y a pas de négociations directes avec les M23. Mais là, je crois qu'il se trompe. Le président Tshisekedi, il a des fondamentaux. Quand il dit que c'est la ligne rouge, je crois que, j'ai travaillé avec lui pendant trois ans, ce sont des lignes, pas seulement le dialogue, il y a l'intégrité territoriale, la souveraineté. Je ne crois pas du tout que le président Tshisekedi va accepter. Il est vraiment catégorique et c'est toujours le fils de son père.Vous pensez que Félix Tshisekedi va refuser ce dialogue direct avec les M23. Mais ce qui frappe les observateurs depuis trois jours, Christophe Lutundula, c'est le refus de l'Union africaine et des trois pays qui représentent l'Afrique au Conseil de sécurité, l'Algérie, la Sierra Léone, la Somalie, de nommer le Rwanda comme pays solidaire des rebelles du M23 dans l'attaque sur Goma. Comment expliquez-vous cette bienveillance à l'égard du président Kagame ?Mais c'est très simple, ce sont des modus operandi, je n'ose pas dire l'ADN de l'Union africaine. Nous, nous en avons l'expérience. Nous avons connu une crise politique grave du temps du président Mobutu, de la Conférence nationale et ainsi de suite, l'Union africaine n'a rien fait. Il y a le grand barrage de la Renaissance qui oppose l'Éthiopie, le Soudan et l'Égypte, l'Union africaine s'est mise à l'écart. Donc ce n'est pas une surprise.De toute façon, l'Afrique a un problème à assumer sa souveraineté. Être souverain, c'est être capable de résoudre ses problèmes par soi-même. Donc, il y a des intérêts économiques, les connexions avec les multinationales et les États qui soutiennent le président Kagame et qui profitent du pillage des ressources naturelles de la RDC. Donc des pays africains évitent de bousculer, d'indisposer ces États tutélaires.En Afrique centrale, l'armée rwandaise est redoutée. Est-ce qu'elle fait peur à certains pays qui, du coup, n'osent pas se fâcher avec Kigali ?On sait aujourd'hui que l'armée rwandaise est présente dans certains pays où elle protège justement certains intérêts. Je ne veux pas énerver la susceptibilité diplomatique de ces pays-là, il y a le Mozambique, où elle protège ce que vous savez, il y a la Centrafrique. Au Bénin, le Rwanda forme l'armée et on peut continuer la série ! Donc effectivement, c'est un élément qui intervient en conjugaison avec le fait d'éviter d'énerver la susceptibilité des tuteurs.Je crois que, dans les circonstances actuelles, on doit être un peu plus ferme au niveau des décideurs. Et je crois que, dans ce sens-là, tous les mécanismes de vérification qui ont été mis en place ne valent pas la peine. Il faut les remplacer, à mon avis, par un dispositif de garanties mutuelles. Qu'est-ce que je veux dire par là ? Si on peut déployer le long de la frontière entre la RDC et le Rwanda une force internationale tampon, garantie par le Conseil de sécurité, l'Union européenne et peut-être l'Afrique avec le Conseil paix et sécurité, cela pourra permettre que les Rwandais sortent et que cette force garantisse qu'il n'y aura pas d'incursions.Parce que le Rwanda parle des FDLR. Que de notre côté, le Rwanda va sortir, le M23 va se replier, rentrer dans ses positions d'antan, et cette force va créer les conditions du dialogue avec le Rwanda. Il faut ouvrir cette perspective-là, me semble-t-il.Christophe Lutundula, merci. À lire aussiRDC: des tirs entendus dans Goma, le M23 et ses alliés rwandais présents dans des quartiersÀ lire aussiÀ l'ONU, la RDC réclame des sanctions contre le Rwanda alors que les combats font rage autour de Goma

À la Une: à quand le retour à l'ordre constitutionnel au Mali?

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 23, 2025 4:10

Question posée par les parties signataires, qui regroupent partis politiques et organisations de la société civile. Dans un communiqué publié notamment par le journal en ligne Malikilé, ces parties signataires s'inquiètent : « suite au discours à la Nation du Chef de l'État le 31 décembre dernier, nous exprimons notre surprise quant à l'absence de mention des élections, notamment celles devant mettre fin à la période transitoire de cinq ans que traverse le pays, équivalant à un mandat électoral. Nous rappelons que la date de retour à l'ordre constitutionnel, fixée unilatéralement par les Autorités après plusieurs reports, reste floue pour le peuple malien. Malgré l'inscription au Budget de l'État des ressources pour les élections en 2025, nous restons préoccupées par l'incertitude régnante. Nous regrettons les réformes engagées de manière unilatérale, sans concertation ni chronogramme clair ».Bref, pour les Parties signataires, les militaires au pouvoir à Bamako outrepassent leurs droits, décident de tout, et surtout, ont bien l'intention de rester au pouvoir…Un pouvoir qui ne fait plus peur ?Opinion radicalement différente pour Le Pouce, dont les éditoriaux sont publiés sur le site Maliweb. Le Pouce qui estime a contrario que les militaires maliens ne vont pas assez loin… « Existe-t-il ou non une autorité de l'État au Mali ?, s'interroge-t-il. Si des individus peuvent se permettre encore de défier les autorités de la nation sur n'importe sujet d'intérêt national, c'est que l'autorité de l'État est encore loin d'être assumée. Et c'est un peu inquiétant à ce stade de la transition que de savoir que Assimi et ses hommes ne font plus peur. Car, pour redresser un peuple, l'éduquer aux valeurs, il faut une certaine rigueur et cette rigueur, bon nombre de Maliens pensaient l'apercevoir à travers ce pouvoir de transition. Le danger en effet, c'est lorsqu'un pouvoir ne fait plus peur, insiste Le Pouce, et que le laisser-aller s'installe petit à petit annonçant un retour aux anciennes mauvaises habitudes ».« Le cirque ambulant de la transition » Autre son de cloche, avec ce récent coup de gueule de l'écrivain guinéen Tierno Monénembo dans Le Point Afrique… Tierno Monénembo qui met dans le même sac le Mali, la Guinée, le Burkina Faso et le Niger et qui dénonce « le cirque ambulant de la transition » : « il vaudrait peut-être mieux supprimer le mot transition du vocabulaire africain, affirme-t-il. C'est un mot indécent que d'ailleurs plus personne n'ose prononcer, un canular, un spectacle de mauvais goût qui entraîne le cauchemar partout où il se produit. À Bamako, à Conakry, à Ouagadougou comme à Niamey, on ne veut plus entendre parler de droits de l'homme, de démocratie ou de calendrier électoral. C‘est la normalisation, le retour en fanfare du pouvoir kaki comme aux belles heures de Mobutu et de Bokassa ».En tout cas, pour en revenir au Mali, la situation politique est d'autant plus compliquée que les finances du pays sont dans le rouge… C'est du moins ce qu'affirme Jeune Afrique au détour d'un article sur les forces russes présentes dans le pays : « les caisses maliennes sont vides. L'achat de matériel militaire, le recrutement de soldats ont épuisé les finances publiques. Le retrait des partenaires internationaux a creusé la dette. La crise est multiple. Les investissements sont en berne, le secteur de la santé s'essouffle, les délestages sont incessants. La junte doit trouver de l'argent et vite ».Louise Marie Thérèse, métisse, fille de Louis XIV…Enfin, à lire ou plutôt à voir sur le site du Monde Afrique, le premier épisode d'une mini-série vidéo sur quatre femmes noires oubliées qui ont marqué l'histoire de France…Avec comme narratrice, l'actrice Aïssa Maïga. Le premier épisode est consacré à Louise Marie Thérèse, née à Versailles vers 1675. « Pendant des siècles, la légende voulait qu'elle soit la fille illégitime de Marie-Thérèse d'Autriche, la reine de France, née d'une liaison secrète avec un amant noir, relate Le Monde Afrique. Mais une récente exploration des archives historiques propose une autre hypothèse. Le dépouillement de documents en France, en Autriche, en Espagne et au Vatican, ainsi qu'aux archives départementales de Seine-et-Marne suggère qu'il s'agirait plutôt de la fille du roi Louis XIV. Sa mère pourrait être une comédienne noire, vendue, jeune enfant, au premier comédien du roi, pour jouer les rôles de “sauvagesse“ ».Enfant métisse, enfant illégitime, enfant cachée, enfant oubliée, Louise Marie Thérèse passera toute son existence dans un couvent… Avant, 350 ans plus tard donc, de renaître dans cette série du Monde Afrique sur les femmes noires qui ont marqué l'histoire de France.

À la Une: à quand le retour à l'ordre constitutionnel au Mali?

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 23, 2025 4:10

Question posée par les parties signataires, qui regroupent partis politiques et organisations de la société civile. Dans un communiqué publié notamment par le journal en ligne Malikilé, ces parties signataires s'inquiètent : « suite au discours à la Nation du Chef de l'État le 31 décembre dernier, nous exprimons notre surprise quant à l'absence de mention des élections, notamment celles devant mettre fin à la période transitoire de cinq ans que traverse le pays, équivalant à un mandat électoral. Nous rappelons que la date de retour à l'ordre constitutionnel, fixée unilatéralement par les Autorités après plusieurs reports, reste floue pour le peuple malien. Malgré l'inscription au Budget de l'État des ressources pour les élections en 2025, nous restons préoccupées par l'incertitude régnante. Nous regrettons les réformes engagées de manière unilatérale, sans concertation ni chronogramme clair ».Bref, pour les Parties signataires, les militaires au pouvoir à Bamako outrepassent leurs droits, décident de tout, et surtout, ont bien l'intention de rester au pouvoir…Un pouvoir qui ne fait plus peur ?Opinion radicalement différente pour Le Pouce, dont les éditoriaux sont publiés sur le site Maliweb. Le Pouce qui estime a contrario que les militaires maliens ne vont pas assez loin… « Existe-t-il ou non une autorité de l'État au Mali ?, s'interroge-t-il. Si des individus peuvent se permettre encore de défier les autorités de la nation sur n'importe sujet d'intérêt national, c'est que l'autorité de l'État est encore loin d'être assumée. Et c'est un peu inquiétant à ce stade de la transition que de savoir que Assimi et ses hommes ne font plus peur. Car, pour redresser un peuple, l'éduquer aux valeurs, il faut une certaine rigueur et cette rigueur, bon nombre de Maliens pensaient l'apercevoir à travers ce pouvoir de transition. Le danger en effet, c'est lorsqu'un pouvoir ne fait plus peur, insiste Le Pouce, et que le laisser-aller s'installe petit à petit annonçant un retour aux anciennes mauvaises habitudes ».« Le cirque ambulant de la transition » Autre son de cloche, avec ce récent coup de gueule de l'écrivain guinéen Tierno Monénembo dans Le Point Afrique… Tierno Monénembo qui met dans le même sac le Mali, la Guinée, le Burkina Faso et le Niger et qui dénonce « le cirque ambulant de la transition » : « il vaudrait peut-être mieux supprimer le mot transition du vocabulaire africain, affirme-t-il. C'est un mot indécent que d'ailleurs plus personne n'ose prononcer, un canular, un spectacle de mauvais goût qui entraîne le cauchemar partout où il se produit. À Bamako, à Conakry, à Ouagadougou comme à Niamey, on ne veut plus entendre parler de droits de l'homme, de démocratie ou de calendrier électoral. C‘est la normalisation, le retour en fanfare du pouvoir kaki comme aux belles heures de Mobutu et de Bokassa ».En tout cas, pour en revenir au Mali, la situation politique est d'autant plus compliquée que les finances du pays sont dans le rouge… C'est du moins ce qu'affirme Jeune Afrique au détour d'un article sur les forces russes présentes dans le pays : « les caisses maliennes sont vides. L'achat de matériel militaire, le recrutement de soldats ont épuisé les finances publiques. Le retrait des partenaires internationaux a creusé la dette. La crise est multiple. Les investissements sont en berne, le secteur de la santé s'essouffle, les délestages sont incessants. La junte doit trouver de l'argent et vite ».Louise Marie Thérèse, métisse, fille de Louis XIV…Enfin, à lire ou plutôt à voir sur le site du Monde Afrique, le premier épisode d'une mini-série vidéo sur quatre femmes noires oubliées qui ont marqué l'histoire de France…Avec comme narratrice, l'actrice Aïssa Maïga. Le premier épisode est consacré à Louise Marie Thérèse, née à Versailles vers 1675. « Pendant des siècles, la légende voulait qu'elle soit la fille illégitime de Marie-Thérèse d'Autriche, la reine de France, née d'une liaison secrète avec un amant noir, relate Le Monde Afrique. Mais une récente exploration des archives historiques propose une autre hypothèse. Le dépouillement de documents en France, en Autriche, en Espagne et au Vatican, ainsi qu'aux archives départementales de Seine-et-Marne suggère qu'il s'agirait plutôt de la fille du roi Louis XIV. Sa mère pourrait être une comédienne noire, vendue, jeune enfant, au premier comédien du roi, pour jouer les rôles de “sauvagesse“ ».Enfant métisse, enfant illégitime, enfant cachée, enfant oubliée, Louise Marie Thérèse passera toute son existence dans un couvent… Avant, 350 ans plus tard donc, de renaître dans cette série du Monde Afrique sur les femmes noires qui ont marqué l'histoire de France.

À la Une: disparitions, arrestations et dérive autoritaire dans les pays sahéliens

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 6, 2025 4:11

Il ne fait pas bon s'opposer aux juntes militaires au pouvoir au sein de l'Alliance des États du Sahel et même commenter leurs actions… Les exemples se multiplient.Au Mali, depuis plus d'une semaine, aucune nouvelle de Naby Ibrahim Togola, le président du parti Nouvelle Vision pour le Mali. « L'inquiétude grandit à Bamako, relève le site Afrik.com. Sa famille, l'opposition et de nombreux citoyens réclament des explications sur cette disparition qui soulève bien des questions sur la situation démocratique du pays. Les faits remontent au 28 décembre dernier, précise le site panafricain. En fin d'après-midi, des hommes armés en civil, se présentant comme des gendarmes, ont emmené de force l'opposant ».Par la suite,« les recherches dans les commissariats et brigades d'enquête de la capitale n'ont donné aucun résultat. “Nous pensons qu'il est détenu dans une prison secrète par les services de la Sécurité d'État“, indique un membre de son entourage. À la tête du NVPM et membre de la coalition Jigiya Koura, Naby Ibrahim Togola incarne une jeunesse engagée pour un retour à l'ordre constitutionnel, relève encore Afrik.com. Ses projets politiques, notamment le lancement d'un nouveau mouvement d'opposition, ont fait de lui une figure montante de la scène politique malienne ».« L'inquiétude dépasse les cercles familiaux, renchérit Maliweb à Bamako. Des organisations de la société civile, des partis politiques et de nombreux citoyens s'interrogent : comment une telle disparition peut-elle survenir sans réponse immédiate des autorités ? » Chape de plomb sur la GuinéeEn Guinée, à présent, note Le Monde Afrique, deux ans de prison ferme ont été récemment requis contre un opposant pour offense au chef de la junte. « Le chef du Mouvement démocratique libéral, Aliou Bah, avait été arrêté le 26 décembre et écroué quelques jours plus tard. L'opposant nie les reproches à son encontre, un de ses avocats dénonce “un procès de la liberté d'opinion“. L'interpellation d'Aliou Bah, pointe Le Monde Afrique, est la dernière en date d'une longue série dans le cadre des sévères restrictions des libertés imposées par la junte ». Par ailleurs, note encore le journal, « deux opposants sont portés disparus depuis leur arrestation, en juillet, par des hommes armés. Et, deux officiers, dont l'ancien chef d'état-major de l'armée et ex-numéro deux du régime militaire, et un médecin sont morts dans des circonstances obscures après leur arrestation ces derniers mois ».À cette répression sans bornes en Guinée, s'ajoute un immobilisme politique pesant… Le président Doumbouya a promis un référendum constitutionnel qu'on attend toujours, avant une éventuelle élection présidentielle… Une lenteur critiquée par l'Alliance nationale pour l'alternance démocratique, note Ledjely à Conakry. Son leader, Souleymane Souza Konaté, appelle le général Doumbouya « à se libérer des influences néfastes qui l'entourent et à tendre la main à des personnalités politiques expérimentées. Car, poursuit-il, toute tentative de prise de pouvoir ou de report sine die des élections ne fera qu'aggraver la crise et plonger notre pays dans une instabilité prolongée ».Niger : Tchangari en prisonEt puis au Niger, l'opposant Moussa Tchangari a été incarcéré vendredi après un mois de garde à vue…« Le secrétaire général de l'association nigérienne Alternative espaces citoyens fait partie des voix critiques envers le régime militaire arrivé au pouvoir au Niger à la suite du coup d'État du 26 juillet 2023, rappelle Jeune Afrique. Il avait notamment qualifié ce coup de force de “recul“ de la démocratie et avait par le passé exprimé “son soutien total“ à l'ex-président Mohamed Bazoum, toujours détenu dans sa résidence officielle avec son épouse. (…) D'après son association, il est poursuivi pour “apologie du terrorisme, atteinte à la sûreté de l'État“ et “association de malfaiteurs en lien avec le terrorisme“ ».« Le nouvel âge d'or des généraux de salon et des maréchaux de pacotille »Dans Le Point Afrique, l'écrivain guinéen Tierno Monénembo dénonçait récemment la dérive autoritaire, la censure et l'impunité qui règnent dans les pays sahéliens. « À Bamako, à Conakry, à Ouagadougou comme à Niamey, on ne veut plus entendre parler de droits de l'homme, de démocratie ou de calendrier électoral, soupire-t-il. C'est la normalisation, le retour en fanfare du pouvoir kaki comme aux belles heures de Mobutu et de Bokassa. (…) C'est le black-out. Sonnées, les forces politiques et les organisations des droits de l'homme vacillent entre fureur et résignation alors que la communauté internationale fait semblant de regarder ailleurs. C'est le nouvel âge d'or des généraux de salon et des maréchaux de pacotille, s'exclame encore Tierno Monénembo. Nos nouveaux despotes peuvent sans retenue manier les ciseaux et brandir la trique ».

À la Une: disparitions, arrestations et dérive autoritaire dans les pays sahéliens

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 6, 2025 4:11

Il ne fait pas bon s'opposer aux juntes militaires au pouvoir au sein de l'Alliance des États du Sahel et même commenter leurs actions… Les exemples se multiplient.Au Mali, depuis plus d'une semaine, aucune nouvelle de Naby Ibrahim Togola, le président du parti Nouvelle Vision pour le Mali. « L'inquiétude grandit à Bamako, relève le site Afrik.com. Sa famille, l'opposition et de nombreux citoyens réclament des explications sur cette disparition qui soulève bien des questions sur la situation démocratique du pays. Les faits remontent au 28 décembre dernier, précise le site panafricain. En fin d'après-midi, des hommes armés en civil, se présentant comme des gendarmes, ont emmené de force l'opposant ».Par la suite,« les recherches dans les commissariats et brigades d'enquête de la capitale n'ont donné aucun résultat. “Nous pensons qu'il est détenu dans une prison secrète par les services de la Sécurité d'État“, indique un membre de son entourage. À la tête du NVPM et membre de la coalition Jigiya Koura, Naby Ibrahim Togola incarne une jeunesse engagée pour un retour à l'ordre constitutionnel, relève encore Afrik.com. Ses projets politiques, notamment le lancement d'un nouveau mouvement d'opposition, ont fait de lui une figure montante de la scène politique malienne ».« L'inquiétude dépasse les cercles familiaux, renchérit Maliweb à Bamako. Des organisations de la société civile, des partis politiques et de nombreux citoyens s'interrogent : comment une telle disparition peut-elle survenir sans réponse immédiate des autorités ? » Chape de plomb sur la GuinéeEn Guinée, à présent, note Le Monde Afrique, deux ans de prison ferme ont été récemment requis contre un opposant pour offense au chef de la junte. « Le chef du Mouvement démocratique libéral, Aliou Bah, avait été arrêté le 26 décembre et écroué quelques jours plus tard. L'opposant nie les reproches à son encontre, un de ses avocats dénonce “un procès de la liberté d'opinion“. L'interpellation d'Aliou Bah, pointe Le Monde Afrique, est la dernière en date d'une longue série dans le cadre des sévères restrictions des libertés imposées par la junte ». Par ailleurs, note encore le journal, « deux opposants sont portés disparus depuis leur arrestation, en juillet, par des hommes armés. Et, deux officiers, dont l'ancien chef d'état-major de l'armée et ex-numéro deux du régime militaire, et un médecin sont morts dans des circonstances obscures après leur arrestation ces derniers mois ».À cette répression sans bornes en Guinée, s'ajoute un immobilisme politique pesant… Le président Doumbouya a promis un référendum constitutionnel qu'on attend toujours, avant une éventuelle élection présidentielle… Une lenteur critiquée par l'Alliance nationale pour l'alternance démocratique, note Ledjely à Conakry. Son leader, Souleymane Souza Konaté, appelle le général Doumbouya « à se libérer des influences néfastes qui l'entourent et à tendre la main à des personnalités politiques expérimentées. Car, poursuit-il, toute tentative de prise de pouvoir ou de report sine die des élections ne fera qu'aggraver la crise et plonger notre pays dans une instabilité prolongée ».Niger : Tchangari en prisonEt puis au Niger, l'opposant Moussa Tchangari a été incarcéré vendredi après un mois de garde à vue…« Le secrétaire général de l'association nigérienne Alternative espaces citoyens fait partie des voix critiques envers le régime militaire arrivé au pouvoir au Niger à la suite du coup d'État du 26 juillet 2023, rappelle Jeune Afrique. Il avait notamment qualifié ce coup de force de “recul“ de la démocratie et avait par le passé exprimé “son soutien total“ à l'ex-président Mohamed Bazoum, toujours détenu dans sa résidence officielle avec son épouse. (…) D'après son association, il est poursuivi pour “apologie du terrorisme, atteinte à la sûreté de l'État“ et “association de malfaiteurs en lien avec le terrorisme“ ».« Le nouvel âge d'or des généraux de salon et des maréchaux de pacotille »Dans Le Point Afrique, l'écrivain guinéen Tierno Monénembo dénonçait récemment la dérive autoritaire, la censure et l'impunité qui règnent dans les pays sahéliens. « À Bamako, à Conakry, à Ouagadougou comme à Niamey, on ne veut plus entendre parler de droits de l'homme, de démocratie ou de calendrier électoral, soupire-t-il. C'est la normalisation, le retour en fanfare du pouvoir kaki comme aux belles heures de Mobutu et de Bokassa. (…) C'est le black-out. Sonnées, les forces politiques et les organisations des droits de l'homme vacillent entre fureur et résignation alors que la communauté internationale fait semblant de regarder ailleurs. C'est le nouvel âge d'or des généraux de salon et des maréchaux de pacotille, s'exclame encore Tierno Monénembo. Nos nouveaux despotes peuvent sans retenue manier les ciseaux et brandir la trique ».

«Le supplément du samedi» du 4 janvier 2025

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 4, 2025 48:30

Dans le supplément de ce samedi, Grand reportage week-end vous emmène en République démocratique du Congo. Pourquoi l'art contemporain congolais s'impose de plus en plus sur les marchés internationaux. Des artistes comme Freddy Nsimba, Vitshois ou encore Ndolé et Chéri Samba sont aujourd'hui exposés dans les plus galeries les plus prestigieuses du monde… Mais comment expliquer cet essor ? Pour le comprendre, il faut se rendre à l'Académie des Beaux-Arts, où ont été formés la majorité des artistes congolais. L'institution publique fête ses 80 ans et jouit d'une solide réputation à l'échelle mondiale. (Rediffusion) Après avoir été sous l'influence du pouvoir de Mobutu, l'Académie s'efforce depuis plusieurs décennies de se détacher des stéréotypes d'un art « exotique » ou « africain », pour inventer un langage artistique congolais à part entière.« L'art contemporain en République Démocratique du Congo : affirmer son identité pour mieux s'exporter », un Grand reportage d'Aurélie Bazzara-Kibangula.À Cuba, les artistes en situation critiqueCuba traverse en ce moment l'une des pires crises économiques et sociales de son histoire. Tout se fait rare : nourriture, essence, biens de consommation et services publics. Le 11 juillet 2021, les manifestations les plus importantes depuis plusieurs décennies ont ébranlé le pays, et ont montré au régime que la population ne lui faisait plus confiance. Les artistes ont été les fers de lance de ce mouvement de contestation, utilisant leur art pour critiquer les travers de la dictature. Mais dans un pays autoritaire où la police du gouvernement traque les dissidents, s'exposer publiquement peut mener droit à la prison. (Rediffusion)« À Cuba, les artistes en situation critique », un Grand reportage de Nicolas Celnik.

arts cuba dans tout congo ment janvier samba samedi beaux arts suppl rdc mobutu

L'art contemporain en République démocratique du Congo: affirmer son identité pour mieux s'exporter

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 1, 2025 19:30

En République démocratique du Congo, pourquoi l'art contemporain congolais s'impose de plus en plus sur les marchés internationaux. Des artistes comme Freddy Nsimba, Vitshois ou encore Ndolé et Chéri Samba sont aujourd'hui exposés dans les plus galeries les plus prestigieuses du monde… Mais comment expliquer cet essor ? Pour le comprendre, il faut se rendre à l'Académie des Beaux-Arts, où ont été formés la majorité des artistes congolais. L'institution publique fête ses 80 ans et jouit d'une solide réputation à l'échelle mondiale. (Rediffusion) Après avoir été sous l'influence du pouvoir de Mobutu, l'Académie s'efforce depuis plusieurs décennies de se détacher des stéréotypes d'un art « exotique » ou « africain », pour inventer un langage artistique congolais à part entière.«L'art contemporain en République Démocratique du Congo : affirmer son identité pour mieux s'exporter», un Grand reportage d'Aurélie Bazzara-Kibangula.

culture arts congo identit mieux samba publique beaux arts rdc enr contemporain mobutu culture afrique

COMIN' HOME TO AFRICA ... If James Brown Don't Kill Us All!

Stones Touring Party

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 11, 2024 45:20 Transcription Available

The music festival promoters hustle hard to secure a plane to Zaire. Finally on board, all the artists are nearly killed by James Brown and his oversized ego. Despite the high drama, the flight is a magical experience for all aboard when the musicians turn the plane into an epic jam session. This shared joy carries the crew through to Zaire. Upon arrival, they are greeted by the drums and voices of The Motherland. Meanwhile, fight promoters scramble to rearrange the weekend after Foreman’s cut and, in doing so, find out who President Mobutu really is. LITERARY REFERENCES “The Greatest, My Own Story”by Muhammad Ali (autobiography) “By George” by George Foreman (autobiography) “Hit Me, Fred” by Fred Wesley (autobiography) “LATIN NY” (Magazine, Issue No. 20, Nov 1974 Editor-in-Chief, Diane Weathers) Courtesy of Lola! Love OTHER MEDIA US State Department cables (available online in the US State Dept Archives and Wikileaks: https://wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/1974KINSHA07638_b.html) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

À la Une: la chute de Bachar el-Assad vue d'Afrique

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 9, 2024 3:59

La situation au Proche-Orient est toujours suivie avec attention par les médias du continent et la Syrie, bien sûr, ne fait pas exception…« Syrie: les rebelles annoncent avoir renversé le président Bachar el-Assad », s'exclame WakatSéra à Ouagadougou.« Lâché par la Russie, offensive fulgurante des rebelles : ce qui a perdu Bachar el-Assad », titre WalfQuotidien à Dakar. Le quotidien sénégalais qui s'alarme : « la chute du régime de Bachar el-Assad, jadis présenté comme un “président réformateur“, mais qui est devenu un “autocrate sanguinaire“, plonge la Syrie dans le chaos, et met le Moyen-Orient au bord de l'implosion. Et pour cause, à peine le cessez-le feu décrété entre Israël et le Hezbollah libanais, la guerre s'est réveillée en Syrie. Le Proche-Orient risque ainsi de s'embraser à nouveau, là où l'on ne l'attendait pas ».Le site ivoirien Afrique sur 7 revient sur les raisons de cette chute : « la révolution de 2011, en parallèle du printemps arabe, n'a offert au peuple Syrien ni vainqueur ni vaincu mais une désolation totale. (…) À cela s'ajoute l'ampleur des sanctions économiques et l'isolement diplomatique imposées par la Communauté internationale. L'ancien président syrien était affaibli de l'intérieur et de l'extérieur. (Des années durant) des milliers de Syriens ont préféré quitter le pays, à la recherche de la paix loin des canons et des bombardements. C'est pour ces raisons que l'offensive lancée fin novembre par la coalition des rebelles a eu raison du régime de Bachar el-Assad ».Désormais, pointe Afrique sur 7, « il y a la peur de l'inconnu : on craint que la Syrie d'après Bachir el-Assad ne devienne l'Irak d'après Saddam Hussein ». « On croise les doigts… »« La sortie de l'histoire, par la fenêtre, de celui qu'on surnommait le boucher de Damas, rappelle la triste fin de certains chefs d'État africains », relève Le Pays au Burkina Faso. « Ces dirigeants qui ont fui leurs pays respectifs pour se réfugier à l'étranger. On se rappelle encore des cas de Mobutu de l'ex-Zaïre ou encore de Ben Ali de Tunisie, qui, finalement, sont morts, loin des leurs et dans des conditions peu enviables ».Et Le Pays de s'interroger également sur la suite des événements : « maintenant que Bachar el-Assad n'est plus aux affaires, soufflera-t-il un vent de liberté sur la Syrie ? Ou alors la tyrannie continuera-t-elle de prévaloir ? Malgré les assurances qu'il donne, on ne saurait donner le bon Dieu sans confession au leader des rebelles (…). S'il est vrai que Bachar el-Assad n'est pas à plaindre, on ne saurait applaudir de facto l'arrivée de radicaux au pouvoir ; tant ces derniers peuvent être capables de tout. Il faut même craindre que le cas syrien n'ouvre une boîte de Pandore avec tout ce que cela pourrait engendrer comme conséquences. On croise les doigts. Mais en attendant, pointe encore Le Pays, il faut que les grandes puissances, qui ont joué les pyromanes, mettent les bouchées doubles pour assurer le service-après-vente en Syrie, au risque de voir le pays devenir une déglingue, comme c'est le cas de la Lybie, où on ne sait plus qui fait quoi et pourquoi ».« Réjouissons-nous ! »Le Matin d'Algérie s'interroge également : « quelle sera la conséquence de tout ce désastre ? (…) Que sera le destin de la Syrie avec des rebelles victorieux qui se proclament de l'islamisme ? Entre les islamistes, la mosaïque confessionnelle et le morcellement territorial, l'héritage est lourd en Syrie, pointe le site algérien d'opposition. Le monde arabo-musulman en est responsable car pour la gloire et le pouvoir d'un tyran, il faut un peuple qui chante ses louanges, un système militaro-policier qui le protège et des corrompus qui n'ont aucun intérêt à sa chute ».En tout cas, conclut Le Matin d'Algérie : « pour le moment, le tyran est tombé, réjouissons-nous ».Et, pour le site Tunisie Numérique, « on verra bien si cette coalition de rebelles, nébuleuse d'islamistes radicaux et de combattants, est vraiment éprise de liberté et de démocratie. On verra comment tout cela s'emboitera, comment cette mayonnaise très improbable prendra. Ce ne sera pas simple et le succès n'est pas garanti, mais l'essentiel est ailleurs, pointe le site tunisien. Il est dans cette joie profonde, ces liesses populaires qui n'ont rien de factice, ce sentiment de libération nationale, ces prisons qui se vident, des détenus dont certains étaient là sans aucune justification depuis le sombre règne d'Hafez el-Assad. (…) Tout ça, c'est terminé… Enfin, il faut l'espérer ».

À la Une: la chute de Bachar el-Assad vue d'Afrique

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 9, 2024 3:59

La situation au Proche-Orient est toujours suivie avec attention par les médias du continent et la Syrie, bien sûr, ne fait pas exception…« Syrie: les rebelles annoncent avoir renversé le président Bachar el-Assad », s'exclame WakatSéra à Ouagadougou.« Lâché par la Russie, offensive fulgurante des rebelles : ce qui a perdu Bachar el-Assad », titre WalfQuotidien à Dakar. Le quotidien sénégalais qui s'alarme : « la chute du régime de Bachar el-Assad, jadis présenté comme un “président réformateur“, mais qui est devenu un “autocrate sanguinaire“, plonge la Syrie dans le chaos, et met le Moyen-Orient au bord de l'implosion. Et pour cause, à peine le cessez-le feu décrété entre Israël et le Hezbollah libanais, la guerre s'est réveillée en Syrie. Le Proche-Orient risque ainsi de s'embraser à nouveau, là où l'on ne l'attendait pas ».Le site ivoirien Afrique sur 7 revient sur les raisons de cette chute : « la révolution de 2011, en parallèle du printemps arabe, n'a offert au peuple Syrien ni vainqueur ni vaincu mais une désolation totale. (…) À cela s'ajoute l'ampleur des sanctions économiques et l'isolement diplomatique imposées par la Communauté internationale. L'ancien président syrien était affaibli de l'intérieur et de l'extérieur. (Des années durant) des milliers de Syriens ont préféré quitter le pays, à la recherche de la paix loin des canons et des bombardements. C'est pour ces raisons que l'offensive lancée fin novembre par la coalition des rebelles a eu raison du régime de Bachar el-Assad ».Désormais, pointe Afrique sur 7, « il y a la peur de l'inconnu : on craint que la Syrie d'après Bachir el-Assad ne devienne l'Irak d'après Saddam Hussein ». « On croise les doigts… »« La sortie de l'histoire, par la fenêtre, de celui qu'on surnommait le boucher de Damas, rappelle la triste fin de certains chefs d'État africains », relève Le Pays au Burkina Faso. « Ces dirigeants qui ont fui leurs pays respectifs pour se réfugier à l'étranger. On se rappelle encore des cas de Mobutu de l'ex-Zaïre ou encore de Ben Ali de Tunisie, qui, finalement, sont morts, loin des leurs et dans des conditions peu enviables ».Et Le Pays de s'interroger également sur la suite des événements : « maintenant que Bachar el-Assad n'est plus aux affaires, soufflera-t-il un vent de liberté sur la Syrie ? Ou alors la tyrannie continuera-t-elle de prévaloir ? Malgré les assurances qu'il donne, on ne saurait donner le bon Dieu sans confession au leader des rebelles (…). S'il est vrai que Bachar el-Assad n'est pas à plaindre, on ne saurait applaudir de facto l'arrivée de radicaux au pouvoir ; tant ces derniers peuvent être capables de tout. Il faut même craindre que le cas syrien n'ouvre une boîte de Pandore avec tout ce que cela pourrait engendrer comme conséquences. On croise les doigts. Mais en attendant, pointe encore Le Pays, il faut que les grandes puissances, qui ont joué les pyromanes, mettent les bouchées doubles pour assurer le service-après-vente en Syrie, au risque de voir le pays devenir une déglingue, comme c'est le cas de la Lybie, où on ne sait plus qui fait quoi et pourquoi ».« Réjouissons-nous ! »Le Matin d'Algérie s'interroge également : « quelle sera la conséquence de tout ce désastre ? (…) Que sera le destin de la Syrie avec des rebelles victorieux qui se proclament de l'islamisme ? Entre les islamistes, la mosaïque confessionnelle et le morcellement territorial, l'héritage est lourd en Syrie, pointe le site algérien d'opposition. Le monde arabo-musulman en est responsable car pour la gloire et le pouvoir d'un tyran, il faut un peuple qui chante ses louanges, un système militaro-policier qui le protège et des corrompus qui n'ont aucun intérêt à sa chute ».En tout cas, conclut Le Matin d'Algérie : « pour le moment, le tyran est tombé, réjouissons-nous ».Et, pour le site Tunisie Numérique, « on verra bien si cette coalition de rebelles, nébuleuse d'islamistes radicaux et de combattants, est vraiment éprise de liberté et de démocratie. On verra comment tout cela s'emboitera, comment cette mayonnaise très improbable prendra. Ce ne sera pas simple et le succès n'est pas garanti, mais l'essentiel est ailleurs, pointe le site tunisien. Il est dans cette joie profonde, ces liesses populaires qui n'ont rien de factice, ce sentiment de libération nationale, ces prisons qui se vident, des détenus dont certains étaient là sans aucune justification depuis le sombre règne d'Hafez el-Assad. (…) Tout ça, c'est terminé… Enfin, il faut l'espérer ».

Zaire: il calcio sotto il regime di Mobutu | Episodio 89

Pallonate in Faccia

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 6, 2024 26:51

Nel 1974 lo Zaire diventa il primo paese dell'Africa sub-sahariana a partecipare ai Mondiali. Quell'esperienza è ricordata soprattutto per le sconfitte pesanti e dei grossolani errori, ma sotto questa storia si nasconde la brutalità di uno dei più spietati regimi del Novecento, e la cruda realtà di un paese che ancora oggi attende la pace. LE FONTI USATE PER QUESTO EPISODIO: COLOMBO Paolo, Congo, una storia sbagliata, Il Sole 24 Ore [podcast] DIETSCHY Paul, Football imagery and colonial legacy: Zaire's disastrous campaign during the 1974 World Cup, Soccer & Society AARONS Ed, Former Zaire defender Mwepu Ilunga dies aged 66 after long illness, The Guardian La musica è "Inspired" di Kevin MacLeod [incompetech.com] Licenza C.C. by 4.0 Potete seguire Pallonate in Faccia ai seguenti link: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://pallonateinfaccia.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/pallonateinfacciablog⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/pallonatefaccia⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/pallonateinfaccia/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Per contattarmi: pallonateinfaccia@gmail.com ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠COME SOSTENERE PALLONATE IN FACCIA⁠⁠

africa football world cup soccer congo kevin macleod nel regime calcio ore sotto quell novecento mondiali il sole faccia mobutu

CASH IS KING AND KING IS CASH

Stones Touring Party

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 27, 2024 54:30 Transcription Available

Fight promoter Don King and his business partner Hank Schwartz join forces with African strong man, President Mobutu of Zaire to put on an epic boxing event. To up the star power of this international affair, Don King joins forces with Hugh Masekela and Stuart Levine to build the three-day music festival, Zaire ‘74. It will serve as the lead-in to the next great superfight. As Ali and Foreman get into fighting shape, jazzman Hugh Masekela pushes both musical and social boundaries, strengthening the bond between Black Americans and their roots. REFERENCE BOOKS: “The Rumble in the Jungle” by Lewis Erenberg “Ali: A Life” by Jonathan Eig “Only in America” by Don King (autobiography) “The Fight” by Norman Mailer “The Harder They Fall: Celebrities Tell Their Real Life Stories of Addiction and Recovery” by Gary Stromberg “Hit Me, Fred” by Fred Wesley (autobiography) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

#109 Radio Radzinski met Gui Polspoel: over Pelé, Mobutu en een daadkrachtige Dolberg

Sporting Flagey

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 26, 2024 130:10

Send us a textOud-journalist en voetbalcommentator Gui Polspoel geniet van een welverdiend pensioen in een Oostendse woontoren. Vanop de 28ste verdieping kijkt hij er naar de wereld vanuit een helikopterperspectief. In een nieuwe Radio Radzinski dalen we met hem af naar de tribunes van het Lotto Park en analyseren we de prestaties van paars-wit.Gui Polspoel is als voormalig BRT-gezicht van alle markten thuis, al mag je dat niet al te letterlijk nemen. Waarom? Dat ontdek je in een nieuwe aflevering van Radio Radzinski. Daarin hebben we niet alleen aandacht voor de tennisscore van de recordkampioen tegen AA Gent, maar maken we ook een heuse trip down memory lane. Polspoel is geen fan van Engelse uitdrukkingen. Maar Pelé zien spelen in het Koning Boudewijnstadion was toch ook voor hem unforgettable en incredible tegelijkertijd. Dat geldt net zo goed voor zijn ontmoetingen met de ex-president van Congo Joseph Mobutu en in mindere mate voor de prestatie van Kasper Dolberg tegen AA Gent afgelopen zondag. En of dat niet genoeg is, staan we ook nog eens stil bij een paar filosofische hersenkronkels van Kelly Pfaff over seks. Muzikaal wordt deze aflevering neergelegd met Alors on danse van Stromae. Veel luisterplezier!

alors waarom veel daarin stromae engelse brt mobutu muzikaal dolberg

« Le supplément du samedi » du 2 novembre 2024

match histoire george foreman boxe kinshasa rdc mohamed ali mobutu

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 2, 2024 48:30

Dans le supplément de ce samedi, Grand reportage week-end vous emmène en Éthiopie. Notre correspondante a recueilli des témoignages de migrants éthiopiens qui ont tenté de traverser illégalement la frontière entre le Yémen et l'Arabie entre 2022 et 2023. Et, en deuxième partie, plongée en 1974 dans le Zaïre de Mobutu, pour commémorer le 50e anniversaire du « combat du siècle ». Du rêve au cauchemar, quand les Éthiopiens tentent le tout pour le tout en Arabie saouditeDes gardes-frontières saoudiens auraient tué des centaines de migrants éthiopiens. Des migrants qui tentaient de traverser illégalement la frontière entre le Yémen et l'Arabie entre mars 2022 et juin 2023. De terribles accusations de Human Rights Watch qui publiait, il y a un peu plus d'un an, une enquête explosive… Face aux preuves fournies par l'ONG, l'Éthiopie a annoncé une enquête conjointe avec les autorités saoudiennes.Rien n'a été rendu public. Et l'indignation finalement a laissé place au silence… La plupart des rescapés ont regagné leur village en Éthiopie. À quoi ressemble leur vie aujourd'hui ? Quel regard portent-ils sur ce qui leur est arrivé ? Seraient-ils prêts à repartir ?Un Grand reportage de Clothilde Hazard qui s'entretient avec Jacques Allix.Ali contre Foreman à Kinshasa : 50 ans après, souvenirs africains du « combat du siècle »C'était, il y a cinquante ans, la capitale congolaise Kinshasa accueillait l'un des plus prestigieux combats de boxe du XXe siècle, le face-à-face Mohamed Ali / George Foreman. Bien que ce combat ait opposé deux Américains et qu'il ait été calé aux horaires du public américain, il a eu un écho mondial et a suscité un considérable engouement sur le continent africain.Sept correspondants de RFI en Afrique ont collecté ces dernières semaines des témoignages qui l'illustrent et qui font revivre ce moment de retrouvailles entre Africains et Afro-américains.Au générique de ce Grand Reportage, Patient Ligodi à Kinshasa, Benoît Alméras à Abidjan, Denise Maheho à Lubumbashi, Victor Cariou à Accra, Matthias Raynal à Casablanca, Yves-Laurent Goma à Libreville et Joseph Kahongo à Kisangani. Au micro, Laurent Correau. Un Grand reportage de Laurent Correau qui s'entretient avec Jacques Allix.

[Vos réactions] RDC : 50 ans après le match du siècle

Appels sur l'actualité

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 30, 2024 19:56

Le 30 octobre 1974, « le combat du siècle » entre les boxeurs Mohamed Ali et George Foreman attirait sur Kinshasa l'attention du monde entier. Un événement sportif symbole du soft power que le président zaïrois Mobutu entendait exercer. 50 ans après, êtes-vous nostalgique de cette époque ?

À la Une: Paul Biya, le retour

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 22, 2024 3:57

« Il est là ! », s'exclame Cameroun Tribune en première page avec cette photo montrant le président camerounais à son arrivée à l'aéroport de Yaoundé, depuis Genève, en compagnie de son épouse Chantal, à la chevelure rousse flamboyante.« Dans un contexte de rumeurs malveillantes sur son état de santé, relève le quotidien camerounais, les populations, sorties massivement pour la circonstance, ont réservé un accueil des grands jours au Chef de l'État, le long de l'itinéraire de l'aéroport international jusqu'au Palais de l'Unité ».Il faut dire que Paul Biya, 91 ans officiellement, n'était plus apparu en public depuis son départ de Pékin, début septembre, à l'issue du sommet Chine-Afrique.« Le 8 octobre, rappelle Le Monde Afrique, après une série de rumeurs alarmantes, le gouvernement camerounais avait assuré que Paul Biya se portait bien et rejoindrait le Cameroun "dans les prochains jours". Le ministre de l'administration territoriale avait ensuite formellement interdit aux médias d'évoquer l'état de santé du président, en menaçant les contrevenants de poursuites. Depuis, des rumeurs annonçant son retour imminent par deux fois la semaine dernière, contredites par d'autres rumeurs allant jusqu'à annoncer sa mort, ont circulé sur les réseaux sociaux ».Tensions et difficultés financières…Alors, « cette fois-ci, c'est la bonne », constate Jeune Afrique. Jeune Afrique qui affirme que lors du séjour suisse de Paul Biya « des tensions ont éclaté au sein du cercle rapproché du chef de l'État, en particulier autour de Chantal Biya, laquelle s'est opposée à certains collaborateurs de son mari. La première dame a notamment reproché à Samuel Mvondo Ayolo, directeur de cabinet du président, d'avoir divulgué à certains de ses proches des informations confidentielles sur l'état de santé du président. (…) Des tensions venues s'ajouter, croit savoir encore Jeune Afrique, à celles nées de difficultés financières liées au séjour présidentiel en Suisse. Alors qu'elle finance habituellement les déplacements du chef de l'État, grâce à des comptes en Europe, la Société nationale des hydrocarbures aurait rencontré des obstacles et des agents du service financier du cabinet civil de la présidence ont dû être dépêchés d'urgence à Genève. La famille présidentielle a d'ailleurs discrètement quitté ces derniers jours l'hôtel Intercontinental pour poursuivre son séjour dans une résidence privée proche du lac Léman ».Quid de l'après-Paul Biya ?En tout cas, cette absence prolongée de Paul Biya et l'opacité entretenue par son entourage ont provoqué et provoquent toujours bien des réactions…« Que nous apprend ce retour ? Tout au plus que le président camerounais est encore vivant, commente Ledjely en Guinée. Contrairement à ce que certains avaient déjà annoncé. Pour le reste, le débat demeure et tous les doutes sont permis. (…) Et par conséquent, la question de fond reste posée : quid de l'après-Paul Biya ? Parce qu'à presque 92 ans, que le veuillent ou pas le président et ses partisans, la fin est proche. En cela, ses soucis de santé, que l'on tente de masquer ou de minimiser à grands renforts de communication et de propagande, ne sont que des alertes que Paul Biya lui-même devrait entendre et comprendre en toute lucidité ».En effet, enchaine le site Cameroun Magazine, « la question de la succession du pouvoir est un enjeu majeur pour tout pays, et le Cameroun ne peut pas faire l'impasse sur cette étape cruciale. La nécessité d'une transition du pouvoir bien préparée est essentielle pour maintenir la paix civile et éviter le chaos. Il est temps pour les dirigeants de prendre leurs responsabilités et de planifier l'avenir du pays de manière sereine et constructive ».Franchira-t-il le pas ?Aujourd'hui à Ouagadougou renchérit : « avec 42 ans de pouvoir au compteur, le biyaisme laissera probablement une succession très corsée à gérer, pour ne pas dire un après-lui chaotique si rien n'est fait. Ce fut le cas avec Houphouët, avec Mobutu, avec Compaoré et avec Eyadema… L'après-Biya est tabou ; penser sans en parler, et adopter à la limite la loi des 3 singes : rien vu, rien entendu, rien senti ! Sauf qu'il y a le destin de tout un pays dans la balance ».Enfin, pour Le Pays, toujours au Burkina Faso, il est temps… « Après tant de décennies de règne sans partage, Paul Biya, gagnerait à faire enfin valoir ses droits à la retraite. Ainsi, il pourrait s'éviter l'humiliation dont ont été victimes certains dirigeants du continent qui, se faisant passer pour des messies, refusaient de s'imaginer une autre vie en dehors du pouvoir. (…) Franchira-t-il le pas ? Pas si sûr, tant tout porte à croire que l'homme se donne toutes les chances de mourir au pouvoir (…). Il est même à craindre qu'il ne cède aux sirènes des Raspoutine qui l'appellent à briguer un nouveau mandat. On attend de voir ».

« Le supplément du dimanche » du 13 octobre 2024

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 13, 2024 48:30

Dans le supplément de ce dimanche, Grand reportage week-end vous emmène en RDC dans le monde de l'art contemporain. En deuxième partie, nous partons à Cuba où les artistes subissent la dictature tout autant que le reste de la population. L'art contemporain en République Démocratique du Congo : affirmer son identité pour mieux s'exporterEn RD Congo, pourquoi l'art contemporain congolais s'impose de plus en plus sur les marchés internationaux. Des artistes comme Freddy Nsimba, Vitshois ou encore Ndolé et Chéri Samba sont aujourd'hui exposés dans les plus galeries les plus prestigieuses du monde… Mais comment expliquer cet essor ? Pour le comprendre, il faut se rendre à l'Académie des Beaux-Arts, où ont été formés la majorité des artistes congolais. L'institution publique fête ses 80 ans et jouit d'une solide réputation à l'échelle mondiale.Après avoir été sous l'influence du pouvoir de Mobutu, l'Académie s'efforce depuis plusieurs décennies de se détacher des stéréotypes d'un art « exotique » ou « africain », pour inventer un langage artistique congolais à part entière.Un Grand reportage d'Aurélie Bazzara-Kibangula qui s'entretient avec Jacques Allix. À Cuba, les artistes en situation critique Cuba traverse, en ce moment, l'une des pires crises économiques et sociales de son histoire. Tout se fait rare : nourriture, essence, biens de consommation et services publics. Le 11 juillet 2021, les manifestations les plus importantes depuis plusieurs décennies ont ébranlé le pays, et ont montré au régime que la population ne lui faisait plus confiance. Les artistes ont été les fers de lance de ce mouvement de contestation, utilisant leur art pour critiquer les travers de la dictature. Mais dans un pays autoritaire où la police du gouvernement traque les dissidents, s'exposer publiquement peut mener droit à la prison.Un Grand reportage de Nicolas Celnik qui s'entretient avec Jacques Allix.

culture arts cuba dans tout congo ment samba dimanche un grand beaux arts suppl rdc mobutu

L'art contemporain en République Démocratique du Congo : affirmer son identité pour mieux s'exporter

culture arts congo identit mieux samba publique beaux arts rdc contemporain mobutu culture afrique

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 9, 2024 19:29

En RD Congo, pourquoi l'art contemporain congolais s'impose de plus en plus sur les marchés internationaux. Des artistes comme Freddy Nsimba, Vitshois ou encore Ndolé et Chéri Samba sont aujourd'hui exposés dans les plus galeries les plus prestigieuses du monde… Mais comment expliquer cet essor ? Pour le comprendre, il faut se rendre à l'Académie des Beaux-Arts, où ont été formés la majorité des artistes congolais. L'institution publique fête ses 80 ans et jouit d'une solide réputation à l'échelle mondiale. Après avoir été sous l'influence du pouvoir de Mobutu, l'Académie s'efforce depuis plusieurs décennies de se détacher des stéréotypes d'un art « exotique » ou « africain », pour inventer un langage artistique congolais à part entière.«L'art contemporain en République Démocratique du Congo : affirmer son identité pour mieux s'exporter», un Grand reportage d'Aurélie Bazzara-Kibangula.

Free Speech Under Fire: The High-Stakes Trial of the Uhuru Three

Connecting the Dots with Dr Wilmer Leon

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 15, 2024 61:38

In this episode, Dr. Wilmer Leon is joined by Chairman Omali Yeshitela to explore the fight for free speech as the Uhuru Three face charges for opposing U.S. government narratives. Together, they uncover the shocking connections between the trial, colonialism, and the global struggle for freedom. Find me and the show on social media. Click the following links or search @DrWilmerLeon on X/Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Patreon and YouTube! Hey everyone, Dr. Wilmer here! If you've been enjoying my deep dives into the real stories behind the headlines and appreciate the balanced perspective I bring, I'd love your support on my Patreon channel. Your contribution helps me keep "Connecting the Dots" alive, revealing the truth behind the news. Join our community, and together, let's keep uncovering the hidden truths and making sense of the world. Thank you for being a part of this journey! Wilmer Leon (00:00:00): The first amendment of the Constitution reads as follows, Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof or abridging the freedom of speech or the press or the right of people peaceably to assemble and to petition the government for a redress of grievances. With that, here's a very simple question. If Congress cannot make a law abridging, which in law means to diminish or reduce in scope the freedom of speech, then why will the Yahoo three have to go on trial on September 3rd, 2024 in the federal court in Tampa, Florida? If you want to know the answer to that, let's find out Announcer (00:00:53): Connecting the dots with Dr. Wilmer Leon, where the analysis of politics, culture, and history converge. Wilmer Leon (00:01:03): Welcome to the Connecting the Dots podcast with Dr. Wilmer Leon and I am Wilmer Leon. Here's the point. We have a tendency to view current events as though they happen in a vacuum, failing to understand the much broader historical context in which most of these events take place. During each episode of this podcast, my guests and I have probing, provocative, and in-depth discussions that connect the dots between these events and the broader historic context in which they occur. This enables you to better understand and analyze the events and that impact the global village in which we live on today's episode. The issue before us is or are the indictments of the Uru three are the indictments of the Uru three a test case for the federal government. If Chairman Yella, penny Hess and Jesse Neville are convicted in this political attack, will free speech as we know it in this country, no longer exist for anyone. Let's talk with my guest. He's a political activist and author. He's the co-founder and ker chairman of the African People's Socialist Party, which was founded in 1972, and he also leads the Uhuru movement and he's one of the Uhuru 3 Chairman, Omali Yeshitela. Welcome back to the show. Chairman Omali Yeshitela (00:02:23): Thank you so very much. It is good to be with you again. This question of free speech is something that reverberates so many means, and this you give me access to speak with your show, and that's extremely important because some people recognize that how people who want to speak affect it negatively if they cannot speak. But many people do not recognize that a free speech attack does not only prevent me from speaking, it prevents people from hearing what I got to say. So it's an assault on people's ability to hear something that the government might not want heard or any other source. And so it's a critical question and it's one of the things that gives such significance being able to be here with you Brother Leon. Wilmer Leon (00:03:19): So the three of you are being charged with a violation of statute 18 USC, section 3 71, conspiring to commit an offense against the United States and acting as an agent of a foreign government and foreign officials to wit the Russian Federation without prior notification to the Attorney General as required by law in violation of 18 USC 9 51 A. With that as the technical description of what you all are charged with, what does that mean and what is the basis of these baseless charges? Chairman Omali Yeshitela (00:04:00): I think it's a really important question because what the government is doing is using some facts to obscure truth, to hide truth. The fact is, I did not register with the United States government as a foreign agent. That's a fact. But the truth is I'm not a foreign agent, never have been one, and I've always only worked for African people. They said that we ran candidates for office in 2017 and 2019 because the Russians wanted us to do that and paid for it. It's a fact we ran candidates for city council and mayor in St. Petersburg, Florida in 2017 and 2019. But the truth is the Russians did not pay for this. The Russians was not the idea of Russians, and we've been involved in Micropolitics and have been teaching other Africans how to be involved in Micropolitics for decades. They used the fact that we participated in a tour that was actually hosted by Fran fan's daughter throughout the United States, a committee of the United Nations checking on the conditions of African people, and we collected petitions on the question of genocide and fact. (00:05:29): We did go on that tour, we called it a winter tour, went to Jackson, Mississippi, Washington DC I think New York, and one or two other, Chicago, Illinois. That's a fact. We did those things. But the truth is that we did not do this for Russia. We did it because we wanted the United Nations to deal with this issue of genocide and reparations for African people in this country. So what they've done is take these facts and then construct a false conclusion for people, and it's extremely dangerous. And they do this at the expense of First Amendment because everything they've charged us with has to do with us speaking with us utilizing the Bill of Rights or utilizing the First Amendment that you just mentioned in the opening of this show. But they cannot say that we are attacking them because they use speech. They cannot say they're attacking us because just because we ran for office, which is something that we are supposed to have a constitutional right to do, it says not because they spoke. (00:06:35): It's because they spoke because the Russians wanted them to speak. The Russians wanted them to sow discord. The Russians wanted them to run for office in St. Petersburg, Florida as a stepping stone to somehow Russian interfering in the election, the national elections in this country. So that's dangerous because that means that anybody, oh, and it's a fact that I went to Moscow in May and September of 2015 at the invitation of a non-governmental organization, anti-global movement of Russia to participate in discussions with other people around democratic rights and around self-determination for peoples from various places around the world. So those are facts. I did that, but it is a lie that I was a Russian agent and I did it in the service of Russia. I did it because Zuckerberg and because the New York Times and because the Washington Post and because the Democratic Party and various other entities refuse to give access to black people so that we can speak independently about what our situation is. And you got to remember what was happening in 2014, 2015 with Mike Brown uprising because of the police murder of that young man in August of 2014, I think it was because of all kinds of police murder right before that one, the brother who was choked to death in New York, just all kinds of things were happening and the story of our people from our own initiatives could not be heard. And so I wanted to be heard, and I've been struggling for our story to be heard all around the world for the longest period of time. Wilmer Leon (00:08:35): Well, everybody knows that if you are planning to conspire against the government, if you're planning to bring down the American empire, the City Council of St. Petersburg, Florida is where you're going to start. That's the underbelly. That's the soft spot. That's the weak link in the American Empire is St. Petersburg, Florida. So I can see where the government would get the idea that, oh my gosh, the City Council of Florida and then the world, you mentioned that when you said you were brought to Moscow on behalf of an NGO, A non-government organization that made me think about the myON coup in Ukraine and Samantha Power and the NGOs that the United States has used to overthrow the democratically elected government in Ukraine. How the United States has been trying to overthrow Venezuela through NGOs. (00:09:48): They've got a playbook as it relates to non-governmental organizations. They've got a playbook and they understand very clearly how that game gets played. So that's one of the hypocrisies that immediately jumps out at me. And another one is they, they're claiming or they're charging you with running people for elected office. When apac, it was published in the New York Times back in April, that APAC came out and said they are committing 100 million to the 2024 election to unseat democratically elected officials who they deemed to be operating against the interests of Israel. And Jamal Bowman has been a victim of that. And Co Bush became a fell victim to that in Kansas City. Chairman Omali Yeshitela (00:10:48): She's from St. Louis, Missouri. So Wilmer Leon (00:10:50): St. Louis, thank you. Thank you. I get my Kansas City and my St. Louis mixed up. I got you. Yeah, in St. Louis. So here we have APAC operating on or for the interests of the Zionist government of Israel saying publicly we're spending a hundred million, I think they spent 7 million to 1C Bowman. So there seems to be some inconsistency if not in the rule of law, at least in the practical applications here. Chairman Omali Yeshitela (00:11:22): Yeah, and that's true. I mean, especially APAC is a splendid example, and it doesn't have to register as the people who accept that money as foreign agents. They don't have to register anything like that. And tremendous amounts of money, as you said, are involved in that. And there are corporations who do the same thing who work for foreign governments and it's well known and they haven't had to file as foreign agents. And the thing is that they claim that our movement took, I think they said either $6,000 over seven years or $7,000 from the Russians over six years. And they have taken, you talk about how they use facts to obscure truth because we do forums and we do events online and people make contributions to us online. And the A GM, the Russian anti-globalization movement may have made some contribution to us online, but you're talking about they say that over six years or seven years, we got something like $6,000 from that movement. (00:12:52): But even if we had, it would not have been illegal. But the point is that we raised $6,000 in a few hours. We raised 300 and some odd thousand dollars just to defend ourselves in this case that we are involved in. So they would take this poultry sum of money compared to the millions and billions of dollars that come from groups like APAC and from other kinds of, and from corporations funnel into this country and to employ people, corporations from other places around the world. And so this is just a fabrication, and they play upon the ignorance of people. They say, for example, there are someplace in this indictment, they said that we went to Moscow in 2015 or 16 and with all expense paid trip, this gives some impression of some great luxury that we, what was afforded to us. And by all expense, they mean that they paid for the air flight there. (00:14:05): They paid for where we stayed and for food. Now, I've gone on events, I've gone to international events sponsored by NGO, close to the government of Spain, and they spent a lot of money. They spent money to bring me there and two other people, one of whom was from England into Spain, they paid us, paid me for coming as well. But they would take this thing with Russia because the plot there is they've done so much work demonizing Russia saying Russia is the key. That's why Donald Trump, they say, Hillary Clinton didn't lose the election. Trump the Russians won the election. This is the kind of stuff that they're feeding the public. And so it doesn't matter. That's why it's so important for us to have this kind of discussion because they don't want this kind of stuff to get out even in a courtroom. They will place restrictions on what we can talk about in the courtroom. And that's why it's important for us to recognize that the trial has already begun. And this is some of the testimony that we are involved in at this very moment. Wilmer Leon (00:15:14): From what I understand, you have gone and spoken and gone to conferences in Ireland, in France, in England, in Spain, but all of those countries are European countries. And so long as Europe is paying the tab, then everything's fine. I've gone to Iran twice, similar types of programs, been brought to peace conferences and human rights conferences in Iran, and they pay my airfare, they pay my hotel bill, they pay my meals while I'm there. That's standard operating procedure. Chairman Omali Yeshitela (00:15:58): But you're talking to them and Wilmer Leon (00:15:59): They give you an honorarium. Many of them will give you Chairman Omali Yeshitela (00:16:02): An honor, but we didn't even get an honorarium from Russia. But you think about this, you're talking to a jury that many of whom never even leave the United States, don't have an understanding of how this stuff is. And so that sounds like some real esoteric can thing to people, local people here in the Tampa Bay area or in this district where they intend to put us on trial, they intend to lynch us. Wilmer Leon (00:16:31): In fact, I don't know the events that you attended, but when I went to Iran, I was there for the first trip. I was there for 10 days, and not only did I participate in this human rights conference, I lectured at 13 universities throughout the country. I was in constant motion. It was not a vacation. In fact, I even got to spend two hours with former President Deja while I was in Iran. But I'm saying that traveled all over the country by car, by plane, man. It wasn't easy work. The honorarium, for as much as I appreciated receiving it, if you broke it down to an hourly rate, no. When I say it wasn't worth my time, I don't mean that it wasn't worth my time. I mean, it didn't equate to a decent hourly rate. So Chairman Omali Yeshitela (00:17:37): I just thought it was really important and I think it is important. And every time I get an opportunity to tell the world about the conditions of African people in this country, I'm going to do it. I'm going to do it. I'm going to say even when you are involved with the United States to other countries, because it's designated almost the entire world, its enemy. And I'm saying that the United States accuses other countries of these egregious kind of things that you have to hold the mirror up to the United States and force it to look at the treatment of African people, forced it to look at the situation that they've had. Mexicans in cages at the southern border forced it to look at the fact that 2024, now you've got a situation where there are concentration camps just like Gaza, so to speak, that they refer to as Indian reservations. (00:18:30): This is the reality of the United States. And I want people to be able to recognize that the condition of African people are similar and that we want support. I've told them we are not looking for pity. We are not looking for charity. We want solidarity in the struggle that we are involved in. We believe that we have the right to be a self-determining people, and we believe that there's nothing in the Constitution of the United States that should prohibit us from saying that we have that right. Even if we say it in Russia, even if we say it in places like Venezuela or in Nicaragua where I have been, or Ireland, as you mentioned, we have the right to be able to say that by the Constitution. So either you got to burn it up, tear the Constitution up, and this is the conundrum that they have. And as you know that since they've attacked us, we've seen charges all across the board on so many people. Similarly charged being agents for foreign government, Scott Riter, et cetera. Yes, Scott Ritter just the other day, Wilmer Leon (00:19:37): Scott. Scott Ritter is a friend of mine, and I just had Scott Ritter on another show that I do. And the FBI just raided his house last week, took his computers in talking to Scott, what they really seemed to be after in his case, because he was a weapons inspectors and he had all the evidence that proved there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iran. They took that trove of evidence from him and we'll have to wait and see. And his point was because they want to rewrite the historic record and they want to, no, I'm not going to put words that he didn't use. They want to rewrite the historic record and they want to cleanse the record of the information that he possesses. Chairman Omali Yeshitela (00:20:30): Yes. And of course we see Assange just getting out of prison right now for, I've forgotten how many years he was locked up, Wilmer Leon (00:20:39): His Chairman Omali Yeshitela (00:20:40): Speech, it's Freedom of Press, some of the charges against us attack assaults on free press. They had chat us because we did an interview on burning spear.org. That's our newspaper, that's the.org. We did an interview with the Russian saying that the people have a right to know the position that's coming from Russia. We, Zuckerberg, Facebook, everything had blocked anything that people were trying to talk about that represent the position that might be coming from Russia just like they do now about Palestine. And so we did an interview, and so they said that was evidence of the fact that we worked for the Russians. So I mean, this is the kind of stuff that they've done, but it's a real treacherous situation because they're at a place where they say that if you have a position that is the same position of another government, another country, and what have you, then they can charge you with working as an accomplice of that government in some crime that they claim that government is creating. And that's a dangerous kind of thing. I mean, you talked about your trips and stuff to Iran, and that's especially true when you look at Iran because they've identified Russia, Iran, Venezuela, Wilmer Leon (00:22:01): China, Chairman Omali Yeshitela (00:22:02): China, Korea as these enemies that they're contending with and they don't want anybody to know a truth that's independent of what it is that they have to say. Wilmer Leon (00:22:15): And when you peel back the layers of the onions, whether you're talking about Russia, talking about China, talking about Venezuela, Iran, what we're dealing with is anti imperialism. What we're dealing with is what's really at the crux of this issue. It's not communism, it's not socialism, it's not any other kind, ofm, anti-fascism, colonialism and anti imperialism at the crux, because that's what the empire sees as being the greatest threat. Chairman Omali Yeshitela (00:23:02): It is the question. And from our analysis, the whole emergence of the Soviet Union, things like that came about as a consequence of the Communist Party. The Bolsheviks at that time refusing to participate with the rest of the colonial powers in the world in that first imperialist world war to redivide the world. And that was a world that was an extreme crisis for the whole social system. That's the timeframe. You look at this 1917 being the Russian Revolution, you're looking at the time of World War I, as they call it, a timeframe that saw a struggle even happening throughout this country bombing of Tulsa, Oklahoma. People everywhere resisting this colonial domination and Russia became a serious factor because unlike the rest of the colonial powers, Russia refused to participate in that world war, to Redivide the world. And that turned all of them against Russia too. So the Russian revolution happens in 1917, and by the way, much of some of the law that we have been victimized has its origin in that timeframe as well. Russian Revolution in 19 17, 19 18, all the colonial powers, including the United States and Japan invade Russia. They invaded Russia to crush it. And that struggle that they talk about with Ukraine and what have you, some people are able to see a beginning in like 2014 when the Wilmer Leon (00:24:47): Maidan coup Chairman Omali Yeshitela (00:24:49): Maidan coup. But I'm saying even Wilmer Leon (00:24:50): Before, thank you, Samantha Power. Chairman Omali Yeshitela (00:24:52): Yeah, but even before that, they've been dealing with Russia going back, like I said, a more than a hundred years. And even the NATO that they use in Ukraine and NATO that they use to kill Gaddafi, this NATO has its origin. It was created for the purpose of containing a crushing Russia. So this is not a new phenomenon. This is something that's been going on for a long time because they saw at one time Russia being aligned with the colonized peoples of the world and with the working peoples of the world. And this was a system that could not tolerate that and could not tolerate it spreading globally. Wilmer Leon (00:25:40): In fact, if you fast forward to the late fifties and the sixties, and you look at the anti-colonial movements in a number of African countries such as South Africa, such as Angola, which you find is the Soviet Union was involved in providing funding, training weapons to freedom fighters, supporting anti imperialist, anti colonial movements in those countries leading to the freedom of a number of those countries along with Cuba and some others. So people really need to understand the broader, they need to connect the dots here and so that they can understand the broader, in fact, historic context in which these events take place. People need to ask themselves, where is Patrice Lumumba University folks who was Patrice Lumumba? Where is Patrice Lumumba University? It's not in Nigeria, it's not in Swaziland, it's in Moscow. Chairman Omali Yeshitela (00:26:49): And I spoke at Patrice Lamu before an organization of migrants that were located in Russia. That was one of the things I spoke for. And I think it's really important to say that they intend to provide some kind of Russia expert who will testify that Russia has a history of creating foils, creating forces like our party and our movement to undermine the United States and undermine Western powers, et cetera. And they will use the kind of stuff that you're talking about as evidence of complicity of Russia in being in control of us, because Russia did support the struggle in Angola and various other places and trained and funded and supported. Then they go back all the way to that to show that there's this historical trend coming from Russia, even though it was the Bolsheviks that they're talking about, that was for the purpose of corrupting, undermining the United States and the Western powers, the democracies. (00:28:04): They would show that that's the typical thing that we are typical of dupes of Russia, if not dupes cooperatives of Russia based on the stuff that you just mentioned, which you and I think is right on you, and I think is glorious. I mean, that puts them in a situation. Have they saying Mandela, who they love, he is the Negro. They love that. Mandela took support from the Soviet Union and was refused along with other African countries to condemn Russia around the Ukrainian question precisely because of the history of Russia as it relates to people who are struggling for freedom. Wilmer Leon (00:28:45): And the Palestinian question as well Chairman Omali Yeshitela (00:28:47): Palestinian Question, Wilmer Leon (00:28:49): Nelson Mandela was very clear that as he was fighting for the rights of South Africans, he was on record as saying, even when we win this struggle, we will not have completed our mission until the Palestinians are free. Chairman Omali Yeshitela (00:29:08): Yes, yes. Wilmer Leon (00:29:09): So in fact, a lot of people don't know the first person, the first head of state that Mandela went to see when he was released from Roobben Island was Fidel Castro. A lot of folks don't know that history, but in fact, Mandela said, and I'll paraphrase, your enemy is not my enemy, and I am not going to allow you to select who my friends and who my enemies are. Chairman Omali Yeshitela (00:29:37): Sure, sure, sure. That's the thing. 60 years ago, African people in this country initiated the freedom summer in Mississippi, and we dealt with the freedom summer in 1964. It was revolving around just democratic rights for black people been murdered, especially in Mississippi, which was the headquarters of much of the terror being murdered, African people being denied access to the ballot just as what's happening with us as quiet as Kept, I fought for the Civil Rights Bill, I fought for the Voting Rights Act, and now I'm being charged because of participating independently in the electoral process. But 60 years ago, freedom Summer student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee was the key force in creating the freedom Summer. And people came from all around the country into Mississippi, a lot of white people came, and this was something that SNCC did deliberately in part because they knew that if white people came the ruling class media that was no longer paying attention to the Civil Rights movement, just as they don't in this movement, if white people came, then the media would come with them because some of them children of media owners and big shot white people, and also the white people who came would face some of the same threats that Africans were facing in Mississippi. (00:31:06): And as you know, on the first day of Freedom Summer 1964 and Mississippi, three people died, two of whom were white. Wilmer Leon (00:31:15): Goodman and Cheney. Right. Chairman Omali Yeshitela (00:31:19): And that brought a lot of attention to it. But off of that movement in 1964, that 1964 that pushed the Civil Rights Act, that pushed them to have to in 1965 passed the voting rights legislation. But 1965 is also the year to kill Malcolm X, so that even though now you can vote that they're doing things to eliminate what you would vote for, they killed Malcolm X 1968. They killed Martin Luther King, 1969. The war against the Black Panther Party was clear to everybody around the whole world that you had the head of the FBI declaring that the Black Panther Party represented the greatest threat to the internal security of this country. They arrested 21 members of the Black Panther Party on a conspiracy charge in New York on a more than a hundred charges, including threats to blow up the flowers in the botanical garden, that thing that lasted for two years, and they beat every one of the charges, and they were ridiculous charges in the first place. (00:32:22): But you had this period. So what we've done is we are now engaged in the Freedom Summer, summer Project, freedom Summer in St. Petersburg, Florida, which is right across the bridge from Tampa, Florida, where the court that we will be going to is located and we are inviting everybody. We've already begun. We're going door to door, talking to people, educating the people in the community about this case and about other things that's happening in the world. We are having forums and discussions of people are doing street corner stuff with banners, et cetera. We are calling people to come in the same Peterburg Florida now. And then of course, on August 31st, we have a massive mobilization that's going to be happening where people again will be coming from. We've got commitments for participation from Cornell West, from Jill Stein, from Charles Barron, from just a host of other people. Everybody's going to be in St. Petersburg, Florida for Freedom Summer. And the Freedom Summer is going to have similar consequences from this, that the freedom summer of 1964 had that gave rise to the civil rights bill, that gave rights rise to the Voting Rights Act. That gave rise to the Black Power Movement in 1966. All of these things came out of that. And we are rebuilding a whole movement, but with this attack on us, we are reestablishing the legitimacy of the entire struggle against colonialism and against imperialism. Wilmer Leon (00:33:52): We're talking about the First Amendment, we're talking about the right of freedom of speech. And there's a whole campaign, as you've mentioned Zuckerberg a couple of times, and there's a whole campaign against social media access and freedom of speech on social media. The United States government is using Zuckerberg, they're using some of the others to assist them in platforming people. And what this really comes down to is the power of the narrative, whose story is going to be told Chairman Omali Yeshitela (00:34:32): That's Wilmer Leon (00:34:32): It, and by whom? Chairman Omali Yeshitela (00:34:34): That's it! Wilmer Leon (00:34:35): So it's not so much that what you are advocating is seditious. No. The problem the government has is the narrative you are telling, the facts that you are providing is counter to that narrative, and then that threatens the empire. Chairman Omali Yeshitela (00:34:58): Yes. Yes. That is the truth. And I'm reminded of this movie, I forgot the name of it, but you had these two characters. Tom Cruise I think played some kind of lawyer and Jack Nicholson and Oh, you Wilmer Leon (00:35:14): Can't handle the truth. Yeah, I Chairman Omali Yeshitela (00:35:16): Want the truth. I want the truth Say you can't handle the truth. That's essentially the case with the United States. Now, Wilmer Leon (00:35:24): Let me quickly jump in, because there's a reason that your narrative about Ukraine and my narrative about Ukraine and Russia's narrative about Ukraine are basically the same because we're telling the truth, the truth. And all you have to do is Google what we say about it. Google the Maidan coup Google. Now I'm drawing a blank on the agreement that they reached the Minsk courts. Yes, Google the Minsk courts, Google the Midon coup. Go back and look at when Joe Biden met with Vladimir Putin in Geneva, Switzerland, and Putin told Biden, I'm giving you my security demands in writing. That's, and I expect your response in writing. And Joe Biden ignored him. You can Google Secretary of State Baker meeting with Gorbachev and promising Gorbachev, NATO will, if you agree to the reunification of Eastern West Germany, I guarantee you NATO will not move any further eastward towards Russia, towards the Soviet Union. That's all fact. Chairman Omali Yeshitela (00:36:43): Yes. But fact, you can't handle fact. You see, because what they've done, first of all, just think about who controls the narrative. I've seen Kamala Harris, she is just thrown this thing out about, the slogan is We won't go back. Now, that's our slogan. Not one step backwards, not one. That's no retreat. Wilmer Leon (00:37:08): No retreat. Not one Chairman Omali Yeshitela (00:37:10): Step back, not one step backwards. So what happens is Zuckerberg won't let anybody hear what I got to say. I go on Facebook or on social media, and there are fewer people who see me than there are members of one of our local organizations. They won't let that happen. But so Kamala takes this because it resonates, because it speaks to the reality of black people who say, we won't go back. We're not going backwards, not going to let you push us back in the back of the bus. We're not going to do any buck dancing and shuffling and this kind of stuff. Not one step backwards, right. That's our position. And so now Kamala, because it resonates with black people, Zuckerberg won't let the people hear that from us. So Kamala comes forward, we won't go back. This is a part of the process that they're trying to solve a particular problem of the Democratic party to reenergize it among African people, many of whom are even going to the Republican party and Trump and others was just discussing not going to vote at all. So that's the controlling of the narrative, how that narrative gets out. That's a critical question. And that's the question of free speech as well. And that's why it's so important again, that we are having this discussion now. Wilmer Leon (00:38:24): In fact, there's another slogan that if folks knew the true origins of it, it would have an impact on the narrative that is from the river to the sea, from the sea that is now being described, or it is being used as this racist trope by Palestinians who are using it to say they want to cleanse historic Palestine of Jews. No, actually, folks, and look it up, because it's fact. That was the Zionist slogan. Chairman Omali Yeshitela (00:39:04): It was Wilmer Leon (00:39:05): Back in the thirties. Chairman Omali Yeshitela (00:39:06): It was, they wanted it all. That's what they were saying. They wanted it all from Wilmer Leon (00:39:10): The river to the sea, Chairman Omali Yeshitela (00:39:11): From the river to the sea. Wilmer Leon (00:39:13): And what they don't tell you about the slogan now is what do the Palestinians say from the river to the sea? Palestine will be free. They're talking about democracy. Yes. They're talking about one person, one vote. Chairman Omali Yeshitela (00:39:31): They're Wilmer Leon (00:39:32): Not talking about genocide and removing people from their homes, killing their olive trees Chairman Omali Yeshitela (00:39:39): And taking come back home. They're saying, let the people come back home. Because the truth of the matter is, the way they've distorted this whole history is that in Palestine, there were Jews, there were Muslims, there were Christians all living together in Palestine. And now you have this situation where the settlers brought in by the imperialist Palestine. You can go back to Balfour Declaration in 1917, I think it was. You can go back to the agreement that was made, that SS Wilmer Leon (00:40:21): Pico agreement. Chairman Omali Yeshitela (00:40:21): Yeah. That created the borders that now Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Lebanon, white people did that and for their own benefit, et cetera. And then they act like they're surprised because there's chaos happening in those circumstances. So they've distorted this history, and it's all right for them to put lyrics in a song called From Sea to Shining Sea, which was a decoration that all of this land of indigenous people, they wanted all of it. It's not like they brought a million people here when they came. There's just a handful. But they set out to take every square inch from sea to shining sea. And we say from sea to shining sea, the indigenous people will be free and from the river to the sea, Palestine should be free. But history is something else. You can't make it go away just because you don't like it Wilmer Leon (00:41:21): As much as they're trying and they're doing as Chairman Omali Yeshitela (00:41:22): Much as they're trying. Wilmer Leon (00:41:24): And again, I have to go back to this whole idea because one of the things that I have found in reading history is that the United States, when the United States finds itself in conflict, that's when the government becomes very sensitive about what's being said and who's saying it, and when it's being said. So you can go back to World War, and you touched on this, you can go back to World War. And that's when we first started seeing anti sedition laws when the United States was involved in World War I and was very fearful about losing the war. Then the United States was very concerned about people speaking out against what the government considered to be their interest. And then after those forces were vanquished and the dust started to settle, well, then things started to relax and folks started saying, well, and then we had the same problem in World War ii, and then after the threats were vanquished, then you could just about say anything. So with the attacks on you, with the attacks on Scott Ritter with the attacks on others, is that a signal to you that the United States is scared? Chairman Omali Yeshitela (00:42:46): It is a signal that the rulers of this country experience a very fragile situation. It is not like they control the world the way they used to. It is not like they can tell people to shut up and people would do what they say. They couldn't get even stooges in Africa to come out and support their position on Ukraine. They can't get people who they consider backwaters in their backyard, who they've characterized as Banana Republics in the past to just do what it is that they want them to do. They can't control Nicaragua, and they've tried and they can't control Venezuela, and they're even up to this point, they can't control the Palestinian people who are resisting. And so it's a very fragile situation because it's a situation that rests upon a colonial motor production where the entire process of human beings engaged in production in the world today is on a foundation of parasitic foundation of colonialism. And so it is a very tenuous situation for them. And I'm reminded of this statement by George Orwell in the book 1984, when he says, who controls the past controls the future, and who controls the present controls the past, the past, and this is where they found themselves in a really shaky foundation of controlling the past. Wilmer Leon (00:44:11): That's why they go after Scott Ritter because he has the historic documents. Chairman Omali Yeshitela (00:44:16): Yes. And that's why they're attacking us, right? They don't want history to start in 2014 when they say that somehow I became a stooge of Russia. That's where they want history to start. They don't want history to start with a murder of black people that would have incentivized us to take the kind of political stance that we take. They want to say the history of our party over the last 50 or more years. And our position consistent around genocide, around reparations, around, and actually I developed, excuse me, a pamphlet tactics and strategy that included looking for allies around the world and the struggle against colonialism, but that they don't want to talk about. So from their perspective, they're trying to control the past in that courtroom. They want to control the past. They've even moved that they want to deny us the right to use the First Amendment as a defense. Do you hear what I just said? Wilmer Leon (00:45:19): Say it again. Chairman Omali Yeshitela (00:45:20): Yeah. They want to deny us the right to use the First Amendment as a defense in court. Wilmer Leon (00:45:29): And that centers around, I haven't studied that point, but I believe it's because they know on that point, they lose they. So what they're saying is it's not a matter of, you don't have the right to say what you've said. It's that we don't like what you're saying, Chairman Omali Yeshitela (00:45:54): But that's the real deal. But the way they cloth that, the way they try to hide their hand, and I think it's so shallow, it's so weak, is they say, well, hell, Wilmer Leon (00:46:03): If I figured it out, it ain't that deep. Chairman Omali Yeshitela (00:46:08): Oh, that's funny. What they're saying is that we are not attacking them because they said something. We are attacking them because they said it because the Russians told 'em to say it. So they liquidate, they try to liquidate the free speech question by turning speech into an act. Do you see Wilmer Leon (00:46:27): As a foreign agent? Chairman Omali Yeshitela (00:46:29): Yes, yes, yes. And it's ridiculous. Wilmer Leon (00:46:34): I want to be sure I don't forget this point. To your point about erasing history, another example of that is Hamas' attack on October 7th. The 99% of the narrative is this conflict started on October 7th, ignoring the Nakba in 1947. That has absolutely nothing to do with this and the over 50 years of genocide, oppression, and war crimes. Oh, no, forget that. That had nothing to do with October 7th. That's another example of what you It is. Chairman Omali Yeshitela (00:47:14): It's an example. And the fact is, one thing we know is that there are people who don't know me, don't know the African people Associates party, the who, the movement. And they hear us say something and then they hear the United States government say something. Sometimes they might have some struggles in trying to understand who might be telling the truth. The fact is that the oppressed must have truth because we cannot win freedom without truth. The oppressor cannot have truth because they can't have slavery where truth is involved. And so this is the thing that you start off knowing that those people who oppress, and there's no way you can deny the historical oppression of African people unless you control the courtrooms like they do now you have guns that can wake people up at five o'clock in the morning or with flash bank grenades and things like that. (00:48:16): The fact is that there are certain things that cannot be controlled, cannot be denied in terms of the history of oppression of African people in this country. And what they would do, of course, is they would use examples like Obama and Kamala Harris because they want to contain the struggle around racism. And you say, well, racism doesn't exist anymore. Not as bad because we elected a black president, or we are getting ready to select another Negro president, Negro Indian president. But it's not about race as such except to the extent that race represents and identifies a colonial population. The fact is we suffer from colonialism. So you can have black people who represent the colonial empire, just like you've had that African people, Mobutu and all over Africa and other puppets like that, and Africa, Wilmer Leon (00:49:08): William Ruto in Kenya being bought off to help the United States invade Haiti. Chairman Omali Yeshitela (00:49:14): That's right. That's right. And so that's what they've been able to do. And that's why the colonial question, understanding that colonialism is so important, and not colonialism just as a policy, but as a mode of production that came into existence with the first time in human history where there was a single world economy. And that world economy was something that was initiated by Portugal's attack on Africa in something like 14, 15. And then started the dispersal of African people and others who in what is now Europe, jumped in and participated in this process. That's where you got the So-called America from, that's where you've got Brazil, that's where you've got all of these territories throughout the So-called South America as a consequence of that initial attack and the world economy that was knit together for the first time in history, that that is not just a policy of a particular government as it may have been when Portugal started, as it may have been when some other countries started. (00:50:20): But now it's the basis of the whole world economy. It is a colonial mode of production. And to the extent that we understand this and really get a hold of that, we don't have to have somebody, Russians or somebody tell us what to do. We know that when colonialism tries to exert itself or when people are fighting against colonialism, it's part of a common struggle. And so I had never met Nicaraguan in my life when the Nicaraguan revolutions heated up and we organized in San Francisco Bay area, we organized the first mass meeting solidarity with Nicaragua people because we understood that was our struggle too. And we built the whole movement in support of Nicaragua because it is one mode of production. The colonialism is the thing that n this whole process together where you have colonizers and colonized and the vast majority of the people in the world experience the negatives of colonialism through this colonial motor production. It's only a handful of people. And that's something that's not widely understood either. Only a minority of the population benefits from this economic system that they've created on the backs of African and colonized people around the world. Wilmer Leon (00:51:42): And as you talk about Nicaragua, about three weeks ago, Chiquita Brands was found guilty in a Florida court of funding death squads in Columbia, and they were held to have, now they have to pay millions and millions and millions of dollars to the survivors. I just use that as another example of the colonialism that you're talking about. And that whole story right there could take us into another hour about immigration because the question that's not being asked in this political context about border protection and immigration, they keep talking about what are we going to do with all of these people that are at our border? But they don't ask why are the people coming in the first place? And so again, because we could talk about Haiti, why are there Haitians at the border in Texas and Mexico, California, and because the United States is decimating the Haitian economy, why are these people coming from Guatemala, Honduras, all over central and South America? Because the United States has decimated their economies and the people have no other choice? Chairman Omali Yeshitela (00:53:13): That's true. And I think even a related truth is the fact that when people talk about immigrants, sometimes they like to call America just a nation of immigrants. The melting pot, they call it the nation of immigrants. And we say, first of all, America's not a nation. It's a prison of nations. And that black people are not immigrants. We are captives. That's how we came here as captives. Now we are the only people other than the indigenous people who did not come here looking for a better way of life, but lost a better way of life as the consequences having been brought here. When you look at all the places where Europeans have gone to running from poverty, running from disease, running from despotism, from monarchy, and a feudal system, they came here, they came to the Americas, they came all these other places. They occupy New Zealand, Australia and things like that. (00:54:08): So when you look at immigrants, when you look at immigrants, and when they say that America's a nation of immigrants, what they're talking about is them. They are the ones who are immigrants. And why the hell did they come? They were running from chara, and this is the origin of the First Amendment and the Bill of Rights because they faced tyranny in the divine right of kings. They had no rights. So they came here to this land, and then they initiated laws and things like that to protect them from tyranny. But they won the freedom to oppress because when they were doing this, African people were enslaved. The Bill of Rights, the First Amendment was ratified by the United States Congress in 1791. 1791. African people were under the whip, under being enslaved, beaten and raped and stuff legally. So it wasn't for us. And this is something I'm trying to help white people understand that what they do is they will pick someone that they have made extremely unpopular. (00:55:18): When they want to attack a basic and fundamental right, they would pick someone they think they've made extremely unpopular, and they will use them as the means to attack that, right? They can't attack my right to free speech in many ways because I never had it look at people like Emmett Till, who they butchered because they said that he whistled at a white woman. And the fact is that black people learn how to shuffle and hold their heads down and not look up and not say anything that white people would find offensive. And this has been the history. So when they come at the Bill of Rights, when they come at the First Amendment as quiet as it's kept, they're simply using us as the means by which they can attack the First Amendment, the Bill of Rights, the constitutional democratic rights of everybody in this country, including white people. And we see evidence of that. You talk about Scott Riter, you talk about all these other people who they're attacking now, not in total disregard of what the Constitution is supposed to be about. Wilmer Leon (00:56:21): Hands off uru.org, hands off uru.org. What do you want, folks? And before I ask that question, lemme say this to those of you who are watching this that are just saying, oh, these guys, these guys are tripping. These guys are drunk. Look, folks, just research we're talking about, that's all you got to do. You can either summarily dismiss us or again, look up the Maidan Coup, look up the mens courts. Look up Chiquita brands being found guilty in a Florida court for sponsoring Death squads in Columbia. Look it up. And what you'll find is we're confusing you with the facts. That's what we're doing. So chairman, yes, Ella, what do you want my audience to do as it relates to the Uhuru 3? Chairman Omali Yeshitela (00:57:19): Well, one thing I want the audience to do is to understand that we are not guilty of anything they've charged us of. They've used the facts, as I mentioned earlier, that I went to Moscow, that we ran people for office, et cetera. And they've used these facts to obscure the truth and the truth that we didn't do what they said to do. Our lawyers though, for the sake of court argument, says that even if we did it, it's protected by the Constitution. So that's one thing I think is really important. And the other thing is that we are transparent. You don't engage in some kind of conspiracy to overthrow disabuse the government in public. Everything that we talk about, it's in our newspaper. They don't have to use flash bang grenades, bust down doors and stuff like that. Get a copy of the newspaper. It only costs a dollar. (00:58:13): Go to our websites. Everything is spelled out. The books that we were printed, all of it's in the books that we've written. So people should go to Hands Off Hurro, that's HandsOffUhuru.org. HandsOffUhuru.org. We want you to read the indictment. We want you to see it. We want you to see our response to that indictment. We want you to see their response to our response, read it. And because we believe that if people know the truth and the court is aware that people are aware of the truth, et cetera, it makes, it enhances the ability of the court to go by the law, which is what we want them to do, because they are using the law to pursue a political objective, destroying our movement, destroying the struggle of African people to win freedom and to take away basic rights from other people. (00:59:06): So we want you to read the indictments and the political, the court documents that's associated with that. We want you to come to St. Peterburg Florida. Come now, come anytime and stay as long as you can because we are going to be doing this work moving toward a massive event on August 31st, and then from August 31st, which is the weekend before the trial in Tampa, right across the bridge on the September 3rd, there's a trial. And we want you to be at that trial. So come and organize on the ground, come to Summer to the summer project that we've initiated here, the Freedom Summer in St. Petersburg, Florida, where we'll be educating people, organizing, doing forums, doing door-to-Door work, doing political education the whole bit. And that's what we are looking for. And we say HandsOffUhuru.org. And we really appreciate all the support that the people have given. And you comment Wilman, thank you so very much as well. Wilmer Leon (01:00:11): It is Chairman Omali Yeshitela (01:00:12): Melody. Wilmer Leon (01:00:14): Melody Graves. As always, without her, you and I would just be sitting here talking to ourselves. Chairman Omali Yeshitela (01:00:20): I got it. Wilmer Leon (01:00:22): Chairman brother Omai Yeshitela, thank you so much for joining me today. Chairman Omali Yeshitela (01:00:27): Thank you. I really appreciate being here, and I want to thank your audience. It is just splendid to be here with you. Thank you so much. Wilmer Leon (01:00:33): And folks, as Chairman Omali Yeshitela just said, thank you all so much for listening to the Connecting the Dots podcast with me, Dr. Wimer Leon, stay tuned. There are new episodes every week. Also, please follow and subscribe. Leave a review, share the show, and follow us on social media. You can find all the links below in the show description. That Patreon page is very, very important because your contributions help and enable us to do the work that we do here. And remember, this is where the analysis of politics, culture, and history converge. Because talk without analysis is just chatter, and we don't chatter here on connecting the dots. See you all again next time. Until then, I'm Dr. Wier Leon Uru. Have a good one. Peace. We're out Announcer (01:01:31): Connecting the dots with Dr. Wilmer Leon, where the analysis of politics, culture, and history converge.

united states america american new york california death texas donald trump chicago australia europe google israel china peace freedom france england japan mexico new york times project africa christians russia european joe biden ukraine russian western ireland spain new zealand barack obama hands brazil south africa illinois congress african indian connecting fbi trial press oklahoma iran mexican portugal jews missouri republicans rights muslims martin luther king jr speech washington post vladimir putin mississippi gm switzerland cuba kansas city columbia nigeria kenya venezuela korea tampa kamala harris south america united nations democratic gaza syria saudi arabia haiti constitution ukrainian americas mark zuckerberg palestine nato usc yahoo moscow south africans guatemala lebanon hamas hillary clinton palestinians tampa bay tulsa soviet union associates world war freedom of speech civil rights free speech deja kamala ngo honduras democratic party goodman nicaragua ngos haitian attorney generals nelson mandela first amendment city council julian assange malcolm x petersburg george orwell angola mandela jack nicholson pico dots fidel castro hess high stakes apac communist party mike brown cheney zionists san francisco bay mikhail gorbachev minsk civil rights act emmett till black panther party united states congress voting rights act russian revolution bolsheviks american empire nicaraguan muammar gaddafi russian federation swaziland nakba jill stein wilmer myon maidan patrice lumumba samantha power uhuru socialist party balfour declaration freedom summer sncc cornell west black power movement mobutu scott ritter african people shining sea uru banana republics civil rights bill from sea wilmer leon

Michela Wrong, journaliste, auteure de «La chute du léopard - sur les traces de Mobutu»

L'info en intégrale - Europe 1

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 29, 2024 15:32

Intellectuels, chefs d'entreprises, artistes, hommes et femmes politiques… Frédéric Taddeï reçoit des personnalités de tous horizons pour éclairer différemment et prendre du recul sur l'actualité de la semaine écoulée.

traces journaliste du l la chute auteure mobutu intellectuels michela wrong tadde

Michela Wrong, journaliste, auteure de «La chute du léopard - sur les traces de Mobutu»

C'est arrivé demain

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 29, 2024 15:32

Intellectuels, chefs d'entreprises, artistes, hommes et femmes politiques… Frédéric Taddeï reçoit des personnalités de tous horizons pour éclairer différemment et prendre du recul sur l'actualité de la semaine écoulée.

traces journaliste du l la chute auteure mobutu intellectuels michela wrong tadde

Leopold II vs. Mobutu Sese Seko

Liberty Dies With Thunderous Applause: Dictators of History

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 11, 2024 60:29

The dictator knock-out tournament continues. The hosts unravel the lives and legacies of two dictators of the Congo; Belgian King Leopold II and Mobuto Sese Seko, the President of the Congo & Zaire. They discuss the Leopold II, his hunger for a colony, his evil plan to create the Congo Free State, severed hands, rubber harvesting and his French prostitute mistress/wife. They also discuss Mobutu's rise to power, his betrayal of his allies, the CIA, his leopard skin hat, unseemly corruption and his fall from power. These two dictators battle it out in the knock-out tournament to determine the single greatest dictator of all time. One of these two dictators will be eliminated from the tournament and the other will remain in contention to be crowned history's biggest dictator.

president french cia congo leopold ii mobutu congo free state mobutu sese seko

Claudio Colombo "Giù la testa"

il posto delle parole

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 6, 2024 22:43

Claudio Colombo"Giù la testa"Kinshasa, 30 ottobre 1974, Ali contro Foreman, l'alba di una rivoluzioneHoepli Editorewww.hoepli.itNella storia del pugilato nessuna sfida ha avuto l'impatto di “The Rumble in the Jungle”, disputato il 30 ottobre 1974 a Kinshasa, nel cuore dell'Africa. Non soltanto per lo spessore tecnico e umano di Muhammad Ali e George Foreman, protagonisti di quel combattimento, ma anche per la novità della sua collocazione, lo Zaire, misteriosa nazione appena affrancata dal giogo colonialista imposto dal Belgio. Era la prima volta che un match per il titolo mondiale dei pesi massimi si svolgeva fuori dai classici circuiti internazionali, tanto più in un continente dove la grande boxe era pressoché sconosciuta. Kinshasa, tuttavia, fu una scelta non casuale, dettata sì da tornaconti economici, ma strettamente intrecciata al momento storico nel quale, in tutto il mondo, vibrava l'eco di una tumultuosa trasformazione delle società, della politica, della cultura, della geografia. Rocambolesco e spiazzante, “The Rumble” rappresentò per il pugilato un punto di svolta, un metro di giudizio e un'epifania: dopo Kinshasa, nulla sarebbe stato come prima. Questo libro ripercorre le tappe di quell'evento realmente globale, offrendo, attraverso il rigore dei dettagli e le emozioni di un racconto in presa diretta, il ritratto indimenticabile di due campioni del ring e un affresco potente di tutto ciò che li circondava.Claudio Colombo, nato a Monza, dopo gli studi liceali si è dedicato all'unico mestiere che aveva immaginato di fare, il giornalista. Primi vagiti al Corriere d'Informazione, svezzamento alla Gazzetta dello Sport, gioventù e maturità al Corriere della Sera, dove ha scritto per oltre trent'anni di sport, cronaca, scienza e cultura, e dove è stato capo della redazione sportiva e delle cronache lombarde. Ha inoltre diretto per tre anni il Cittadino di Monza. ATletica e pugilato le “sue” discipline, seguite e raccontate in centinaia di appuntamenti in giro per il mondo. Evento preferito: l'Olimpiade, perché non ci si abitua mai. Personaggi del cuore: tutti quelli incontrati, con una leggera predilezione per Carl Lewis e Mike Tyson, che a suo giudizio rappresentano, nella loro stridente diversità, il bello e il vero dello sport.IL POSTO DELLE PAROLEascoltare fa pensarewww.ilpostodelleparole.itDiventa un supporter di questo podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/il-posto-delle-parole--1487855/support.

Day 11 - Free Congo

Have a Day! w/ The History Wizard

Play Episode Listen Later May 28, 2024 33:39

Content warning for discussion of genocide, torture, mutilation, rape, and slavery Hey, Hi, Hello, this is the History Wizard and welcome back for Day 11 of Have a Day w/ The History Wizard. Thank you to everyone who tuned in for Day 10 last week, and especially thank you to everyone who rated and/or reviewed the podcast. I hope you all learned something last week and I hope the same for this week. This week we're going to be talking about the currently ongoing humanitarian crisis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the long history of capitalist exploitation, western imperialism, and systemic racism that led to it. But first, as is tradition, let's take a trip over to the Alchemists Table to see what potion we've got for today. Today's libation has a lot going on in it, it's called Underworld Vacation. It starts by adding some strawberries and blueberries to the bottom of your shaker with .75 of an ounce of rose simple syrup before muddling the fruit. Then add one ounce each of pomegranate and elderflower liquor followed by 2 oz of Hendricks Lunar gin, add ice to your shaker and then stir for about 30 seconds before straining into a highball glass and topping with about 4 oz of prosecco. With that out of the way it's time to talk, once again, about the most important part of history. The proverbial devil in the literal details, context. Because to understand what is happening in the DRC today you need to understand the Kivu Conflict, and to understand that you need to understand the Second Congo War, and to understand that you need to understand the First Congo War, and to understand that you need to understand the end of the Rwandan Genocide and the Congo Crisis of the 1960s, and to understand that you need to understand the Scramble for Africa, The Berlin Conference and King Leopold !! of Belgium. So, we've got a lot to cover, and we're going to be doing it in fairly broad strokes, but it might still take us a while, so let's get started with the Berlin Conference. Near the end of the 19th century there was very little European colonial and mercantile presence in Africa. There were some port towns, to be sure, and there was trade, but very little of the African continent was under the control of European powers at this time. But, European greed for gold and, especially, ivory wouldn't allow them to ignore African riches for much longer. The Berlin Conference was organized in 1885 at the request of King Leopold II of Belgium and was organized by Otto von Bismarck of Germany. Leopold had been using the explorations of Henry Morgan Stanley, and his own organization, the International African Association to quietly try and create his own private colony in central Africa that would be called the Congo Free State, but France found out and started making moves, and then Britain and Portugal found out and began trying to grab land which led Germany to do the same. War was brewing quickly as these various European powerhouses all sought as much land, wealth, and power as they could grab. This, ultimately, would be why the Berlin Conference was called and why it was so successful. These European powers decided, instead of going to war and killing each other over Africa they'd just all meet and carve it up like a pecan pie and settle it all peaceful like. There were 14 nations/empires in attendance at the Berlin Conference, Germany, Austria Hungary, the International Congo Society (this really means King Leopold II of Belgium), Spain, Denmark, the United States, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Russia, Sweden-Norway, and the Ottoman Empire. And while all 14 of those countries were in attendance at the Berlin Conference and had a say in the final decisions that were made, only 7 countries were actually going to colonize Africa once it was over. Those countries were Belgium (really just King Leopold II, this would be his own private colony), Germany, Spain, France, Great Britain, Portugal, and Italy. At the time of the Berlin Conference less than 10% of the African continent was under European control, but by the time World War 1 broke out only Liberia and Ethiopia were still independent. Although, Liberia certainly only existed because of US colonial power, and so doesn't REALLY count as independent. This period of New Imperialism is what we tend to call The Scramble for Africa. Sof ar we've been talking about this all in fairly clinical terms, as if these European countries simply sat around a table and calmly decided who would get what land in the second largest continent on the planet and then it just happened, with no additional muss or fuss. Anyone who has studied even the barest amount of human history knows that nothing happens without muss or fuss. There were wars, and battles, and massacres that led to Europe gaining control of African territory, but that's not the topic of today's podcast. We now need to talk a bit about the Congo Free State, and how King Leopold of Belgium, a frail weakling (compared to the other European powers) managed to worm his way into the conference and into one of the most lucrative colonies in Africa. The Congo Free State was a truly massive colony that was owned personally by Leopold. It was NOT, at least between the years 1885 and 1908, part of the Belgian Empire, it was not owned by the Belgian government and was ruled entirely separately, it just happened to be ruled by the King of Belgium. Leopold was able to gain this massive colony by convincing the monarchs of Europe that he was engaged in humanitarian and philanthropic work, and that the Congo Free State would be an area of free trade in Africa. Leopold maintained a guise that he was not trying to use the Congo Basin to increase his own wealth and economic and political power. He maintained that his presence in the region was, as was a huge part of the ethos of New Imperialism, to civilize the savages of the Congo Basin and to bring them closer to God and good European cultural supremacy. Of course, all of that was a lie, and that lie would reveal itself over the intervening years. The Congo was home to something that would become one of the most important natural resources in the entire world, rubber. There are only two sources of natural rubber in the world. The sap of the Hevea brasiliensis, or rubber tree that grows in the Amazon River Basin, and the sap of Landolphia owariensis, a species of woody vines that grow in the Congo. I mean, technically there are 2500 species of plants that produce natural latex and rubber, but those two are the big ones. Today 99% of natural latex and rubber comes from the Amazon, but Leopold was able to make massive profit off of his colony. The economic system in the Congo Free State was known as the red rubber system. It was a slave economy that Leopold enforced through the use of his armed forces known as the Force Publique. Each slave in the Congo Free State was required to harvest a regular quota of rubber sap. What that quota was was often arbitrarily decided based purely on profit based concerns. Workers who refused to supply their labour were coerced with "constraint and repression". Dissenters were beaten or whipped with the chicotte, hostages were taken to ensure prompt collection and punitive expeditions were sent to destroy villages which refused. The policy led to a collapse of Congolese economic and cultural life, as well as farming in some areas. Failure to meet the rubber collection quotas was punishable by death. Meanwhile, the Force Publique were required to provide the hand of their victims as proof when they had shot and killed someone, as it was believed that they would otherwise use the munitions (imported from Europe at considerable cost) for hunting or to stockpile them for mutiny. As a consequence, the rubber quotas were in part paid off in cut-off hands. A Catholic priest quotes a man, Tswambe, speaking of the hated state official Léon Fiévez, who ran a district along the river 300 mi north of Stanley Pool: “All blacks saw this man as the devil of the Equator ... From all the bodies killed in the field, you had to cut off the hands. He wanted to see the number of hands cut off by each soldier, who had to bring them in baskets ... A village which refused to provide rubber would be completely swept clean. As a young man, I saw [Fiévez's] soldier Molili, then guarding the village of Boyeka, take a net, put ten arrested natives in it, attach big stones to the net, and make it tumble into the river ... Rubber causes these torments; that's why we no longer want to hear its name spoken. Soldiers made young men kill or rape their own mothers and sisters.” One junior officer in the Force Publique had this to say about the quota system: The baskets of severed hands, set down at the feet of the European post commanders, became the symbol of the Congo Free State. ... The collection of hands became an end in itself. Force Publique soldiers brought them to the stations in place of rubber; they even went out to harvest them instead of rubber ... They became a sort of currency. They came to be used to make up for shortfalls in rubber quotas, to replace ... the people who were demanded for the forced labour gangs; and the Force Publique soldiers were paid their bonuses on the basis of how many hands they collected. Within the Congo Free State there was also rampant famine and disease that killed hundreds of thousands of people, a type of residential school where children were sent to learn to be either workers or soldiers. About 50% of the children who entered these schools died. There were also several reputable reports of Congolese people turning to cannibalism in the face of their lack of food resources. With everyone being forced to harvest rubber there was no one to farm or gather or hunt for food. It is generally accepted that over the course of Leopold's rule in the Congo Free State, between 1885 and 1908 that at least 10 million Congolese people were killed. Eventually word got out of what was happening in the Congo Free State and a conclave of the European powers of the Berlin Conference was called as, even they, decided that Leopold was going too far. Leopold offered to reform his government and economic system in the Congo, but no one would give him the chance, but also, no one wanted to take on the responsibility of rebuilding the Congo. Eventually, after two years of debate, the Belgian Parliament took over control of the Congo. Leopold would die about a year later in 1909. The Congo would remain under under Belgian control for another 50+ years, and while the abuses and overwhelming violence of King Leopold's rule were curbed. They even added a clause to the new Colonial Charter to outlaw slavery. Article 3 of the new Colonial Charter of 18 October 1908 stated that: "Nobody can be forced to work on behalf of and for the profit of companies or privates", but this was not enforced, and the Belgian government continued to impose forced labour on the indigenous people of the area, albeit by less obvious methods. So, even without King Leopold, the Belgian Congo was still a European colony, which means it was still exploited for profit. African independence movements existed throughout the entirety of European colonialism and imperialism in Africa, excepting Liberia the first country in Africa to gain independence from direct European control would be South Africa which would nominally gain its independence in 1910 after the creation of the Union of South Africa and would formally gain official independence when the last vestiges of British parliamentary control would leave the country in 1931 with the Statute of Westminster, and while there would be other successful independence movements after World War 1, such as Egypt, most African decolonization would come after World War 2, including the Congo's. Nationalist movements popping up in various African nations and agitating for Independence is, generally speaking, what would eventually cause all of African independence, and this would be no different for the Congo. Though, something that is often also common in the case of independence movements that emerged between the end of World War 2 and the early 1990s is that they would become proxy wars for the US and the USSR during the Cold War. To make a long, complex story very short, the US came out on top in this war. The nationalist movements within the Congo largely emerged amongst a class of people called the évolués, which is a term that was used in French and Belgian colonies for “evolved ones”, people of African descent who had become somewhat Europanized through education. One of the deciding moments in Congolese independence came in the form of the Leopoldville Riots of 1959. Joseph Kasa-Vubu, who would become the first President of an independent Democratic Republic of the Congo, was the leader of the ABAKO political party, the Alliance of Bakongo. The riots began because many young folks and members or sympathizers of the ABAKO party felt that the government was forbidding them from organizing and protesting. The riots broke out on the 4th of January, 1959. The crowd began throwing rocks at police and attacking white motorists. The initial group of protesters were soon joined by 20,000 Congolese leaving a nearby soccer stadium. At the time press accounts estimated that 35,000 Africans were involved in the violence, which quickly spread as the rioters attempted to enter the European section of the capital. Rioters allegedly smashed and looted storefronts, burned Catholic missions and beat Catholic priests. Many demonstrators chanted "indépendance immédiate" The Belgian Parliament established a commission of inquiry to investigate the cause of the riots. The commission found the disturbances to be the culmination of discontent with racial discrimination, overcrowding, and unemployment. It also concluded that external political events, such as France's decision to grant self-governance to the neighboring French Congo, to be a contributing factor, and criticized the colonial administration's response to the riot. On 13 January the administration went forward with its scheduled announcement of reforms, including new local elections in December, the institution of a new civil service statue that made no racial distinctions, and the appointment of more Africans to advisory bodies. The Belgian King, Baudouin, also declared for the first time that independence would be granted to the Congo in the future. January 4th is still celebrated as an auspicious day in the DRC, it's the Day of the Martyrs and denotes a turning point in the independence movement. Congolese independence was officially declared, as planned, on the 30th of June, 1960, with Kasa-Vubu of the ABAKO elected as president and Patrice Lumumba of the Congolese National Movement appointed as the Prime Minister. Now, despite the DRC formally being declared as independent at this day, they still relied heavily on Belgian colonial institutions that had been in place previously, like the Force Publique and various white technical experts who couldn't be replaced in the face of a lack of ready replacements available amongst the Congolese people. The fact that this lack of available peoples being a result of European colonialism forbidding Congolese people from higher education wound up being somewhat irrelevant, but absolutely caused greater levels of resentment among the newly independent Congolese. In the face of this lack of change and in the face of an address given by Lieutenant General of the Force Publique Émile Janssens, many of the Congolese troops mutinied. The address went as follows: "Independence brings changes to politicians and to civilians. But for you, nothing will be changed ... none of your new masters can change the structure of an army which, throughout its history, has been the most organized, the most victorious in Africa. The politicians have lied to you." Instead of sending in Belgian troops to put down the mutiny, as Janssens wanted, Lumumba fired him and began to institute some reforms, including immediately remaining the Force Publique to the Armée Nationale Congolaise (ANC) and promoting all black soldier by at least one rank. While this had success in Leopoldville and Thysville, it failed in the rest of the country and the mutiny intensified. The government attempted to stop the revolt—Lumumba and Kasa-Vubu intervened personally at Léopoldville and Thysville and persuaded the mutineers to lay down their arms—but in most of the country the mutiny intensified. White officers and civilians were attacked, white-owned properties were looted and white women were raped. The Belgian government became deeply concerned by the situation, particularly when white civilians began entering neighbouring countries as refugees. The international press expressed shock at the apparent sudden collapse of order in the Congo, as the world view of the Congolese situation prior to independence—due largely to Belgian propaganda—was one of peace, stability, and strong control by the authorities. The Congo Crisis would run for 5 years and would end with the torture and assassination of Patrice Lumumba, with Joesph Kasa-Vubu dying while under house arrest, and with the military dictator Mobuto Sese Seko “elected” as the president of the Republic of Congo-Leopoldville. This would note just one in the long string of times that the US helped to install a military dictator in order to overthrow a democratically elected left wing government, just because they had support from the USSR and the US feared (and fears) any threat to their capitalist hegemony. Between 1965 and 1971 Mobutu consolidated his hold on power as much as he could, removing all provincial control over anything and bringing every scrap of infrastructure he could under the control of himself and his central government. In 1971, with his hold on power relatively secure and as part of his policy of Africanization of the Congo's culture and government Mobutu renamed the Republic of Congo Leopoldville to Zaire, a name that was derived from the Kikongo wore nzere, meaning “river that swallows all rivers”. Mobutu would remain as “president” of Zaire all the way until 1997, but his hold on power would begin to crumble with the First Congo War that began in 1993. Now comes the time for more context. What started the First Congo War? Honestly, to a certain extent we can view the First Congo War as an extension of the Rwandan Genocide. The Rwandan Genocide began in 1994 as a final culmination of ethnic tensions that were exacerbated by, first, German and the Belgian colonialism. See, Rwanda used to be a German colony, Rwanda was one of the nations that Germany got as part of the Scramble for Africa, but after World War 1, with the signing of the treaty of Versailles Germany was forced to give up all of its overseas colonies. Belgium gained control of Rwanda. Belgium maintained many of the systems of power and oppression that Germany had put into place, most notably the fact that they put the Tutsi ethnic group in positions of authority and disenfranchised the Hutu and Twa ethnic group. The Twa are the indigenous ethnic group of Rwanda, but by the time the Rwandan genocide occurred they were only about 1% of the population, about 85% were Hutu and the remaining 14% were Tutsi. Still, based on the indicators of European scientific racism and phrenology the Tutsi had more “European features” and so were considered superior to the Hutu ethnic group and placed, exclusively, in positions of authority. The sudden shift in power dynamics after Rwandan independence is what would lead to the Rwandan Genocide as Hutu supremacists decided to vent their fury on the Tutsi people. We won't go into any more detail than that for the Rwandan genocide. Suffice it to say that when it ended hundreds of thousands of ethnic Tutsi people had fled the nation of Rwanda to neighboring African countries, such as Zaire. Roughly 1.5 million ethnic Tutsi people wound up settling in Zaire. There were also about 1 million Hutu extremists in eastern Zaire who had fled the retaliation of the Rwandan Patriotic Front at the end of the Rwandan Civil War and the Rwandan Genocide. As mentioned previously, the First Congo War, also known as Africa's First World War can most simply be seen as an extension of the Rwandan Genocide. Zaire had been in decline since Mobutu gained power in 1965. He was a terrible leader and the average GDP of Zaire dropped by about 65% during his reign. Eastern Zaire was a region of massive instability that was only made worse by the number of Hutu extremists who fled to the region following the Rwandan Genocide. Rwanda, just fully, invaded Zaire in 1996 in order to put down various Hutu rebel groups that were extant in the region. These rebel groups were actively funded and supported by Mobutu's government leading to this war that lasted for some 6 months. It involved several African nations including Rwanda, Uganda, Angola, Burundi, Zambia, ZImbabwe, South Sudan, Tanzania, South Africa, Ethiopia, Chad, China, Israel, and Kuwait. Following the war Mobutu went into exile in the nation of Togo where he eventually died of prostate cancer in 1997. Zaire came under the rule of the communist aligned Laurent-Désiré Kabila. Kabila had heavy support from Rwandan, Burundian, and Ugandan forces during his rise to power in the form of the Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo-Zaire. Kabila also came to be seen as an instrument of the foreign regimes that put him in power. To counter this image and increase domestic support, he began to turn against his allies abroad. This culminated in the expulsion of all foreign forces from the DRC on 26 July 1998. The states with armed forces still in the DRC begrudgingly complied although some of them saw this as undermining their interests, particularly Rwanda, which had hoped to install a proxy-regime in Kinshasa. Several factors that led to the First Congo War remained in place after Kabila's accession to power. Prominent among these were ethnic tensions in eastern DRC, where the government still had little control. There the historical animosities remained and the opinion that Banyamulenge, as well as all Tutsi, were foreigners was reinforced by the foreign occupation in their defence. Furthermore, Rwanda had not been able to satisfactorily address its security concerns. By forcibly repatriating refugees, Rwanda had imported the conflict. This manifested itself in the form of a predominantly Hutu insurgency in Rwanda's western provinces that was supported by extremist elements in eastern DRC. Without troops in the DRC, Rwanda was unable to successfully combat the insurgents. In the first days of August 1998, two brigades of the new Congolese army rebelled against the government and formed rebel groups that worked closely with Kigali and Kampala. This marked the beginning of the Second Congo War. The Second Congo War is generally considered to be the deadliest war since World War 2. Over the course of this war some 5.4 million excess deaths took place. Now comes the time where I need to define what an excess death is. In epidemiology, the excess deaths or excess mortality is a measure of the increase in the number deaths during a time period and/or in a certain group, as compared to the expected value or statistical trend during a reference period (typically of five years) or in a reference population. It may typically be measured in percentage points, or in number of deaths per time unit. To put it more simply, disease, depravation, and starvation were so rampant during the Second Congo War that the overwhelming majority of deaths weren't caused directly by the fighting, but were caused by the residual damage of the fighting. The Second Congo War involved many of the same issues of the First Congo War. It would end with Laurent-Désiré Kabila assassinated in 2001 in his office by an 18 year old former child soldier. Laurent would be replaced as president by his son Joseph Kabila, who was elected unanimously by the Congolese parliament. To further highlight the complexity of the Congolese Wars, In April 2001, a UN panel of experts investigated the illegal exploitation of diamonds, cobalt, coltan, gold and other lucrative resources in the Congo. The report accused Rwanda, Uganda and Zimbabwe of systematically exploiting Congolese resources and recommended the Security Council impose sanctions. All conflicts within Congolese territory will ultimately go back to economic exploitation and capitalist overreach. The Congo Basin is full of some of the most valuable natural resources that exist on the planet, and people will always be fighting over them. This leads us into the Kivu conflict. The Kivu conflict is an umbrella term for a series of protracted armed conflicts in the North Kivu and South Kivu provinces in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo which have occurred since the end of the Second Congo War. This includes, but is not limited to Effacer le tableau, which was a genocidal extermination campaign against the Mbuti Pygmy ethnic group. The Bambuti were targeted specifically as the rebels considered them "subhuman", and it was believed by the rebels that the flesh of the Bambuti held "magical powers". There were also reports of cannibalism being widespread. It is estimated 60,000 to 70,000 Pygmy were killed in the campaign, and over 100,000 more were displaced. There are more than 120 distinct rebel groups involved in the Kivu Conflict, including the March 23 Movement, which a UN report indicates was created by the Rwandan government in order to potentially take over the Congolese government. Conflict began in 2004 in the eastern Congo as an armed conflict between the military of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC) and the Hutu Power group Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO) has played a large role in the conflict. With 21,000 soldiers in the force, the Kivu conflict constitutes the largest peacekeeping mission currently in operation. In total, 93 peacekeepers have died in the region, with 15 dying in a large-scale attack by the Allied Democratic Forces, in North Kivu in December 2017. The peacekeeping force seeks to prevent escalation of force in the conflict, and minimise human rights abuses like sexual assault and the use of child soldiers in the conflict. In 2007 and 2008, in several news and TV reports, the BBC published own evidence about Pakistani MONUC peacekeepers in Mongbwalu had entered in a gold-for-guns trading relationship with Nationalist and Integrationist Front (FNI) militia leaders, eventually drawing Congolese army officers and Indian traders from Kenya into the deal. Following its own investigations, the UN concluded that there was no involvement of Pakistani peacekeeper in any such trade relationship. Namely Human Rights Watch harshly criticized the UN for the way it handled the investigation, providing detailed information from several UN documents, arguing that serious allegations of wrongdoing by Pakistani peacekeepers in the Democratic Republic of Congo were ignored, minimized or shelved by the UN's Organization of Internal Oversight Services. MONUC officials say nothing of substance about mining in Congo, which proceeds in parallel with the bloodletting, arms trading and extortion. For example, Anvil Mining has been involved in massacres in DRC. Anvil directors include former U.S. Ambassador Kenneth Brown, who served at U.S. embassies in Brussels, Kinshasa, Congo-Brazzaville and South Africa. Brown was Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Africa (1987–1989) under George Shultz and George H.W. Bush and Director of Central African Affairs (1980–1981). Interestingly, Brown succeeded William Lacy Swing—head of MONUC in DRC—as Ambassador to the Republic of Congo (Brazzaville). Meanwhile, the former top internal intelligence and security chief of the United Nations Observer's Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC) has been worked for Anvil mining in Katanga since 2006. There have been numerous cases of sexual misconduct by UN peacekeeping forces in the Congo. This has been acknowledged by the UN itself (such as the letter of 24 March 2005 from the Secretary-General to the President of the General Assembly). So, basically foreign powers both within Africa and outside of it are actively fighting within the Congo Basin in order to secure control of the vast amount of natural resources that exist within the nation. The DRC currently produces about 70% of the world's cobalt, and 80% of the cobalt mines in the DRC are owned by China. The leading use of cobalt in modern technology is in rechargeable batteries. So your cell phone battery, your laptop batteries, any kind of rechargeable battery you have is likely created using Congolese cobalt, which is a direct cause of the millions of deaths and displacements that are occuring in the DRC. The DRC is, effectively, the site of a capitalist proxy war as the region is fought over by foreign governments and local rebel groups for control over Congolese natural resources. No one in Europe or the US would even begin to care about an African country if it wasn't for the battery technology resources that are so abundant in the region. Between 1885 and today it is, very easy, to say that roughly 20 million people have been killed by capitalist excess and exploitation. We can, absolutely call what is happening in the DRC a genocide, though it can be difficult to always pinpoint who, exactly are the victims. Broadly speaking the victims are the Congolese people, all of them, who are being killed over a desire to control the cobalt mines. This has gone far beyond simple ethnic conflict between Hutu and Tutsi, though that conflict, which is still ongoing, definitely added to the fire. This is a genocide of the people of the DRC by capitalism itself. Capitalism has always been, and will always be an inherently genocidal institution. It craves the acquisition of individual wealth at the expense of the working class. You cannot have a system predicated on infinite growth within a closed system. Capitalism will always require that resources and wealth be stolen from people who need them. And when so much of our wealth is tied up in food, water, and housing, the theft of those resources from the working class will lead to our deaths. For the past century and a half the Congo Basin has been subjected to genocide after genocide in the name of capitalism. What is happening right now is only an extension of that, though made far more complicated by the literal hundreds of competing groups and the lack of any international will to see peace achieved. That's it for this week folks. No new reviews, so let's get right into the outro. Have a Day! w/ The History Wizard is brought to you by me, The History Wizard. If you want to see/hear more of me you can find me on Tiktok @thehistorywizard or on Instagram @the_history_wizard. Please remember to rate, review, and subscribe to Have a Day! On your pod catcher of choice. The more you do, the more people will be able to listen and learn along with you. Thank you for sticking around until the end and, as always, Have a Day, and Free Congo.

united states god tv director amazon history tiktok president europe israel china education france mission state british french germany war africa russia european italy failure german movement spain united kingdom south africa african bbc indian portugal union britain catholic netherlands ambassadors soldiers kenya bush honestly alliance independence denmark belgium workers republic capitalism cold war uganda prime minister congo liberation ethiopia world war arm great britain gdp zimbabwe rwanda brussels tanzania belgians martyrs genocide laurent westminster zambia ussr kuwait angola pakistani sof liberia rubber general assembly democratic republic first world war south sudan togo prominent scramble secretary general ugandan suffice leopold burundi bismarck ottoman empire nationalists statutes rwandan drc anvil congolese rioters kampala kinshasa kigali security council deputy assistant secretary tutsi twa equator lumumba rwandan genocide pygmy patrice lumumba lieutenant general hutu congo brazzaville janssens austria hungary dissenters kivu effacer king leopold mobutu kabila baudouin belgian congo katanga congo basin king leopold ii burundian joseph kabila george shultz berlin conference congo free state north kivu new imperialism laurent d united nations mission mbuti pygmy

À la Une: bien des questions après la tentative de putsch en RDC

The Majority Report with Sam Seder

Play Episode Listen Later May 20, 2024 3:54

Sa photo est à la Une de Politico CD : « Christian Malanga, l'homme à la tête de l'assaut raté mené au Palais de la Nation », titre le site d'information congolais. « Des hommes armés ont envahi hier matin le Palais de la Nation à Kinshasa, relate Politico, après l'attaque de la résidence du vice-Premier ministre, Vital Kamerhe. Leurs projets se sont vite envolés parce qu'ils ont été très vite neutralisés grâce à une intervention de la Garde républicaine. » À la tête de ces assaillants, Christian Malanga donc, qui a été tué par la Garde. Politico nous décrit son parcours : exilé politique, installé de longue date aux Etats-Unis, chef d'entreprise, puis retour en RDC, où il effectue son service militaire, il devient officier, puis il revient à la politique avant d'être arrêté et de retourner aux Etats-Unis…Un parcours plutôt sinueux donc… Ce qui fait dire au Monde Afrique que « le profil de cet homme et le déroulé de l'attaque interrogent plusieurs observateurs sur d'éventuelles complicités dont aurait pu bénéficier le commando et sur les objectifs réels de ce qui a été qualifié officiellement de “tentative de coup d'Etat“. »Coup d'État ou coup d'éclat ?En effet, « coup d'État ou coup d'éclat ? », se demande Afrikarabia. Pour le site spécialisé sur la RDC cette « attaque du Palais de la Nation pose de nombreuses questions. Tout d'abord sur la stratégie des assaillants, qui semblait vouée à l'échec. La petite cinquantaine d'hommes n'a pas vraiment ciblé des sites stratégiques comme la télévision nationale, l'aéroport, ou les camps militaires de la capitale, mais plutôt des symboles du pouvoir comme la résidence de Vital Kamerhe ou le Palais de la Nation. Sans doute, espéraient-ils rallier d'autres militaires frustrés par leurs conditions de vie ? Visiblement, pointe Afrikarabia, l'attaque ne semblait pas coordonnée avec d'autres éléments armés qui aurait pu amplifier l'occupation du Palais de la Nation. Le groupe de putschistes n'a pas vraiment mis toutes les chances de son côté pour atteindre ses objectifs. Ensuite, relève encore le site, l'attaque d'hier révèle d'importantes failles sécuritaires, même si le pouvoir n'a pas vacillé. Comment sont-ils entrés dans le pays ? Comment les assaillants ont-ils pu se rendre aussi facilement au Palais de la Nation ? Les services de renseignements civils et militaires, ainsi que la direction générale des migrations ont clairement montré des défaillances. »« Foultitude » d'interrogations…Le Pays au Burkina Faso s'interroge également : « Vital Kamerhe était-il la seule cible du commando ? Si oui, cela est-il en lien avec ses ambitions politiques et sa probable future ascension fulgurante ? Si l'hypothèse de la tentative du coup d'État telle que l'avance l'armée, est avérée, pourquoi le commando n'a-t-il pas visité la résidence du président Félix Tshisekedi et s'est contenté du Palais de la Nation que tous savent inhabité ? Autant de questions que l'on peut se poser et dont les réponses viendront éclaircir le mystère de cet assaut. »« Trois morts et une foultitude de questions », renchérit L'Observateur Paalga, toujours à Ouaga. « Quelle mouche a bien pu piquer ce Congolais de la diaspora (…) ? Combien de mercenaires américains a-t-il embarqué dans son entreprise suicidaire ? Quelles autres motivations, en plus de la nostalgie de l'ère Mobutu, ont poussé les conspirateurs à tenter de renverser les institutions républicaines de la RDC ? Comment les assaillants ont-ils pu introduire des armes jusqu'au cœur de la capitale et s'emparer si facilement du siège de la présidence ? Cette tentative de putsch n'est-elle pas la preuve d'une fragilité de la sûreté d'État ? »Vers un durcissement du pouvoir ?En tout cas, conclut Afrikarabia, « cette attaque ne restera pas sans conséquences. Sécuritaires tout d'abord. Dans les services de renseignements, mais aussi dans l'armée. Le ministre de la Défense, Jean-Pierre Bemba, candidat à sa propre succession dans le nouveau gouvernement à venir, est sur la sellette. Mais surtout, l'assaut du Palais de la Nation risque de durcir davantage un pouvoir en proie à une guerre à l'Est dont il n'arrive pas à venir à bout, et une crise politique dans sa propre majorité, qui n'arrive pas à s'accorder pour se partager les postes à l'Assemblée et au gouvernement. »

dans premier tout quelle coup vers quelles politico trois laune etats unis leurs autant burkina faso combien garde ensuite palais tentative putsch le pays rdc visiblement mobutu congolais tshisekedi en rdc jean pierre bemba vital kamerhe ouaga

DRC Conflict

Let's Know Things

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 26, 2024 22:27

This week we talk about the Rwandan genocide, the First and Second Congo Wars, and M23.We also discuss civil wars, proxy conflicts, and resource curses.Recommended Book: Everyday Utopia by Kristen R. GhodseeTranscriptThe Democratic Republic of the Congo, or DRC, was previously known as Zaïre, a name derived from a Portuguese mistranscription of the regional word for "river."It wore that monicker from 1971 until 1997, and this region had a rich history of redesignations before that, having been owned by various local kingdoms, then having been colonized by Europeans, sold to the King of Belgium in 1885, who owned it personally, not as a part of Belgium, which was unusual, until 1908, renaming it for that period the Congo Free State, which was kind of a branding exercise to convince all the Europeans who held territory thereabouts that he was doing philanthropic work, though while he did go to war with local and Arab slavers in the region, he also caused an estimated millions of deaths due to all that conflict, due to starvation and disease and punishments levied against people who failed to produce sufficient volumes of rubber from plantations he built in the region.So all that effort and rebranding also almost bankrupted him, the King of Belgium, because of the difficulties operating in this area, even when you step into it with vast wealth, overwhelming technological and military advantages, and the full backing of a powerful, if distant, nation.After the King's deadly little adventure, the region he held was ceded to the nation of Belgium as a colony, which renamed it the Belgium Congo, and it eventually gained independence from Belgium, alongside many other European colonies around the world, post-WWII, in mid-1960.Almost immediately there was conflict, a bunch of secessionist movements turning into civil wars, and those civil wars were amplified by the meddling of the United States and the Soviet Union, which supported different sides, funding and arming them as they tended to do in proxy conflicts around the world during this portion of the Cold War.This period, which lasted for about 5 years after independence, became known as the Congo Crisis, because government leaders kept being assassinated, different groups kept rising up, being armed, killing off other groups, and then settling in to keep the government from unifying or operating with any sense of security or normalcy.Eventually a man named Mobutu Sese Seko, usually just called Mobutu, launched a real deal coup that succeeded, and he imposed a hardcore military dictatorship on the country—his second coup, actually, but the previous one didn't grant him power, so he tried again a few years later, in 1965, and that one worked—and though he claimed, as many coup-launching military dictators do, that he would stabilize things over the next five years, restoring democracy to the country in the process, that never happened, though claiming he would did earn him the support of the US and other Western governments for the duration, even as he wiped out any government structure that could oppose him, including the position of Prime Minister in 1966, and the institution of Parliament in 1967.In 1971, as I mentioned, he renamed the country Zaïre, nationalized all remaining foreign owned assets in the country, and it took another war, which is now called the First Congo War, to finally unseat him. And this conflict, which began in late-1996, spilled over into neighboring countries, including Sudan and Uganda, and a slew of other nations were involved, including but not limited to Chad, the Central African Republic, Rwanda, Burundi, Angola, Eritrea, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, and Tanzania, alongside foreign assistance granted to various sides by France, China, Israel, and covertly, the United States.The conflict kicked off when Rwanda invaded Zaïre, more neighboring states joined in, all of them intending to take out a bunch of rebel groups that the Mobutu government was no longer keeping in line: Mobutu himself having long since fallen ill, and thus lacking the control he once had, but still profiting mightily from outside influences that kept him as a friendly toehold in the region.So these other nations sent military forces into Zaïre to handle these groups, which were causing untold troubles throughout the region, and the long and short of this conflict is that it only lasted a few months, from October 1996 to May 1997, but the destruction and carnage was vast, everyone on both sides partnering up to take out rebels, or in the case of those rebels, to join up against these government militaries, and all of them using the opportunity to also engage in violence against ethnic enemies with whom they had long-simmering beefs.This led to the collapse of Mobutu's government, the country was renamed the Democratic Republic of the Congo when a new government was installed, but very little changed in terms of the reality of how that government functioned, so all the same variables were still in place a year later, in 1998, when what's now called the Second Congo War kicked off, informed by basically the same problems but bringing even more African governments into the fighting, many of them pulled into things by alliances they had with involved neighbors.And just as before, a variety of groups who felt aggrieved by other groups throughout the region used this conflict as an excuse to slaughter and destroy people and towns they didn't like, including what's been called a genocide of a group of Pygmy people who lived in the area, around 70,000 of them killed in the waning days of the war.In mid-2003, a peace agreement was signed, most of the warring factions that had fought in Congolese territory were convinced to leave, and it was estimated that up to 5.4 million people had died during the conflict.What I'd like to talk about today is what's happening in the DRC, now, at a moment of heightening tensions throughout the region, and in the DRC in particular, amidst warnings from experts that another regional conflict might be brewing.—A transition government was set up in the DRC in 2003, following the official end of that Second Congo war, and this government, though somewhat weak and absolutely imperfect in many ways, did manage to get the country to the point, three years later, in 2006, that it could hold an actual multi-party election; the country's first ever, which is no small thing.Unfortunately, a dispute related to the election results led to violence between supporters of the two primary candidates, so a second election was held—and that one ended relatively peacefully and a new president, Joseph Kabila, was sworn in.Kabila was reelected in 2011, then in 2018 he said he wouldn't be running again, which helped bring about the country's first peaceful transition of power when the next president, from the opposing party, stepped into office.During his tenure in office, though, Kabila's DRC was at near-constant war with rebel groups that semi-regularly managed to capture territory, and which were often supported by neighboring countries, alongside smaller groups, so-called Mai-Mai militias, that were established in mostly rural areas to protect residents from roaming gangs and other militias, and which sometimes decided to take other people's stuff or territory, even facing off with government forces from time to time.Violence between ethnic groups has also continued to be a problem, including the use of sexual violence and wholesale attempted genocide, which has been difficult to stop because of the depth of some of the issues these groups have with each other, and in some cases the difficulty the government has just getting to the places where these conflicts are occurring, infrastructure in some parts of the country being not great, where it exists at all.That 2018 election, where power was given away by one president to another, peacefully, for the first time, was notable in that regard, but it was also a milestone in it marked the beginning of widespread anti-election conspiracy theories, in that case the Catholic Church saying that the official results were bunk, and other irregularities, like a delay of the vote in areas experiencing Ebola outbreaks, those areas in many cases filled with opposition voters, added to suspicions.The most recent election, at the tail-end of 2023, was even more awash with such concerns, the 2018 winner, President Tshisekedi, winning reelection with 73% of the vote, and a cadre of nine opposition candidates signing a declaration saying that the election was rigged and that they want another vote to be held.All of which establishes the context for what's happening in the DRC, today, which is in some ways a continuation of what's been happening in this country pretty much since it became a country, but in other ways is an escalation and evolution of the same.One of the big focal points here, though, is the role that neighboring Rwanda has played in a lot of what's gone down in the DRC, including the issues we're seeing in 2024.Back in 1994, during what became known as the Rwandan genocide, militias from the ruling majority Hutu ethnic group decided to basically wipe out anyone from the minority Tutsi ethnic group.Somewhere between a 500,000 and a million people are estimated to have been killed between April and July of that year, alone, and that conflict pushed a lot of Hutu refugees across the border into the eastern DRC, which at the time was still Zaïre.About 2 million of these refugees settled in camps in the North and South Kivu provinces of the DRC, and some of them were the same extremists who committed that genocide in Rwanda in 1994, and they started doing what they do in the DRC, as well, setting up militias, in this case mostly in order to defend themselves against the new Tutsi-run government that had taken over in Rwanda, following the genocide.This is what sparked that First Congo War, as the Tutsi-run Rwandan government, seeking justice and revenge against those who committed all those atrocities went on the hunt for any Hutu extremists they could find, and that meant invading a neighboring country in order to hit those refugee groups, and the militias within them, that had set up shop there.The Second Congo War was sparked when relations between the Congolese and Rwandan governments deteriorated, the DRC government pushing Rwandan troops out of the eastern part of their country, and Kabila, the leader of the DRC at the time, asking everyone else to leave, all foreign troops that were helping with those Hutu militias.Kabila then allowed the Hutus to reinforce their positions on the border with Rwanda, seemingly as a consequence of a burgeoning international consensus that the Rwandan government's actions following the genocide against the Tutsis had resulted in an overcompensatory counter-move against Hutus, many of whom were not involved in that genocide, and the Tutsis actions in this regard amounted to war crimes.One of the outcomes of this conflict, that second war, was the emergence of a mostly Tutsi rebel group called the March 23 Movement, or M23, which eventually became a huge force in the region in the early 20-teens, amidst accusations that the Congolese government was backing them.M23 became such an issue for the region that the UN Security Council actually sent troops into the area to work with the Congolese army to fend them off, after they made moves to start taking over chunks of the country, and evidence subsequently emerged that Rwanda was supporting the group and their effort to screw over the Congolese government, which certainly didn't help the two countries' relationship.Alongside M23, ADF, and CODECO, a slew of more than 100 other armed, rebel groups still plague portions of the DRC, and part of the issue here is that Rwanda and other neighboring countries that don't like the DRC want to hurt them to whatever degree they're able, but another aspect of this seemingly perpetual tumult is the DRC's staggering natural resource wealth.Based on some estimates, the DRC has something like $24 trillion worth of natural resource deposits, including the world's largest cobalt and coltan reserves, two metals that are fundamental to the creation of things like batteries and other aspects of the modern economy, and perhaps especially the modern electrified economy.So in some ways this is similar to having the world's largest oil deposits back in the early 20th century: it's great in a way, but it's also a resource curse in the sense that everyone wants to steal your land, and in the sense that setting up a functioning government that isn't a total kleptocracy, corrupt top to bottom, is difficult, because there's so much wealth just sitting there, and there's no real need to invest in a fully fleshed out, functioning economy—you can just take the money other countries offer you to exploit your people and resources, and pocket that.And while that's not 100% what's happened in the DRC, it's not far off.During the early 2000s and into the 20-teens, the DRC government sold essentially all its mining rights to China, which has put China in control of the lion's share of some of the world's most vital elements for modern technology.The scramble to strike these deals, and subsequent efforts to defend and stabilize on one hand, or to attack and destabilize these mining operations, on the other, have also contributed to instability in the region, because local groups have been paid and armed to defend or attack, soldiers and mercenaries from all over the world have been moved into the area to do the same, and the logic of Cold War-era proxy conflicts has enveloped this part of Africa to such a degree that rival nations like Uganda are buying drones and artillery from China to strike targets within the DRC, even as China arms DRC-based rebel groups to back up official military forces that are protecting their mining operations.It's a mess. And it's a mess because of all those historical conditions and beefs, because of conflicts in other, nearby countries and the machinations of internal and external leaders, and because of the amplification of all these things resulting from international players with interests in the DRC—including China, but also China's rivals, all of whom want what they have, and in some cases, don't want China to have what they have.In 2022, M23 resurfaced after laying low for years, and they took a huge chunk of North Kivu in 2023.For moment that same year, it looked like Rwanda and the DRC might go to war with each other over mining interests they control in the DRC, but a pact negotiated by the US led to a reduction in the military buildup in the area, and a reduction in their messing with each other's political systems.In December of 2023, though, the President of the DRC compared the President of Rwanda to Hitler and threatened to declare war against him, and UN troops, who have become incredibly unpopular in the region, in part because of various scandals and corruption within their ranks, began to withdraw—something that the US and UN have said could lead to a power vacuum in the area, sparking new conflicts in an already conflict-prone part of the country.As of March 2024, soldiers from South Africa, Burundi, and Tanzania are fighting soldiers from Rwanda who are supporting M23 militants in the eastern portion of the DRC, these militants already having taken several towns.Seven million Congolese citizens are internally displaced as a result of these conflicts, having had to flee their homes due to all the violence, most of them now living in camps or wandering from place to place, unable to settle down anywhere due to other violence, and a lack of sufficient resources to support them.Rwanda, for its part, denies supporting M23, and it says the Congolese government is trying to expel Tutsis who live in the DRC.Burundi, located just south of Rwanda, has closed its border with its neighbor, and has also accused Rwanda of supporting rebels within their borders with the intent of overthrowing the government.Most western governments have voiced criticisms of Rwanda for deploying troops within its neighbors' borders, and for reportedly supporting these militant groups, but they continue to send the Rwandan government money—Rwanda gets about a third of its total budget from other governments, and the US is at the top of that list of donors, but the EU also sends millions to Rwanda each year, mostly to fund military actions aimed at taking out militants that make it hard to do business in the region.So changes in political stances are contributing to this cycle of violence and instability, as are regular injections of outside resources like money and weapons and soldiers.And as this swirl of forces continues to make the DRC borderline ungovernable, everyday people continue to be butchered and displaced, experiencing all sorts of violence, food shortages, and a lack of basic necessities like water, and this ongoing and burgeoning humanitarian nightmare could go on to inform and spark future conflicts in the region.Show Noteshttps://archive.ph/lk0mNhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Kabilahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rwandan_genocidehttps://gsphub.eu/country-info/Democratic%20Republic%20of%20Congohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_the_Democratic_Republic_of_the_Congohttps://www.reuters.com/world/africa/why-fighting-is-flaring-eastern-congo-threatening-regional-stability-2024-02-19/https://archive.ph/lk0mNhttps://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/2/21/a-guide-to-the-decades-long-conflict-in-dr-congohttps://www.cfr.org/global-conflict-tracker/conflict/violence-democratic-republic-congohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/March_23_Movementhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kivu_conflicthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congo_Free_Statehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobutu_Sese_Sekohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congo_Crisishttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1965_Democratic_Republic_of_the_Congo_coup_d%27%C3%A9tathttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Congo_Warhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Congo_War This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit letsknowthings.substack.com/subscribe

3301 - Reclaiming ‘Open Borders'; Colonial Wounds In Congo w/ John Washington, Christoph Vogel

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 21, 2024 93:10

It's another EmMajority Report Thursday! Emma speaks with John Washington, staff writer at Arizona Luminaria and contributor for The Intercept, to discuss his recent book The Case For Open Borders. Then, she's joined by Christoph N. Vogel, research director of the Insecure Livelihoods Project at Ghent University and author of the book Conflict Minerals, Inc.: War, Profit and White Saviourism in Eastern Congo, to discuss recent developments in the conflict involving the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda. First, Emma runs through updates on the US recent tiptoe toward calling for a ceasefire, Israel's ongoing siege on Gaza, the major wins for the right in the upcoming government funding bill, Bernie and AOC's new Green New Deal for housing, Trump's financial woes, Julian Assange, the GOP's Biden inquiry, the DOJ v. Apple, Bolsonaro's falsified documents, and AMLO's response to Texas, before parsing a little deeper through the makeup of Congress' recent funding bill. John Washington then joins, parsing through the Democrats' recent complete capitulation to Donald Trump's far-right border militancy agenda, the common thread of this tactic by Democrats, and the absurdity of their rhetorical posturing alongside policy acquiescence, with a clear parallel in the politics of Mexico's AMLO. Expanding on this, Washington and Emma tackle the political class' commitment to the status quo on immigration, despite the relative recency (and ineffectiveness) of the shift toward closed, militarized borders, and how an argument for more humane and responsive immigration policy is still grounded in modern-day examples and is much more aligned with the rhetoric that much of the “progressive” west employs. John then dives into the economics of border militancy, with the increased precarity for migrants pushing them into more and more exploitative conditions and driving down wage and condition standards for citizens as well, with the globalization of exploitation alongside the restriction of the movement of people becoming cemented with the Free Trade Agreements of the neoliberal era. Wrapping up, Washington and Emma walk through the brutal ineffectiveness of border militancy, and what alternative visions to immigration could look like. Christoph Vogel then dives into the major problems with Western coverage of conflict in the Congo, largely employing a depoliticized, resource– and narrative-driven form of storytelling about issues with deeply political roots. After briefly touching on the role of Mobutu Sese Seko in Congolese relations to the West, Vogel walks through the three major periods of conflict in the recent history of the DRC, beginning with the rule and eventual overthrow of Mobutu in the ‘90s, the return of the DRC name under Laurent and then Joseph Kabila in the early 2000s (including the first democratic elections in 2006) during the Second Congo War, and finally the ongoing period of unstable and fracturing political and security environment, with countless militia and belligerent groups revolting and driving record displacement in the country. Expanding on the ongoing period of crisis, Vogel walks through the constant speculation and polemics around the data of the displacement and devastation by the main parties involved, and the relatively minor role resource extraction, particularly mining, has played in generating and maintaining these conflicts. Lastly, Chris Albright joins to discuss the devastating impact of last year's environmental disaster in East Palestine, walking through the major impacts on the health of him and his community, and the lackluster response from Joe Biden and Ohio representatives, also touching on their ongoing attempt to hold the President and representatives accountable, and what those of us outside of East Palestine can do to support their cause. And in the Fun Half: Emma is joined by Matt Binder and Brandon Sutton as they watch Karine Jean-Pierre's callous response to a question about whether Biden will reach out to the Arab-American community, go full Freudo-Marxist on the right's insane reaction to Kristen Stewart's recent Rolling Stone cover, and talk with Spencer from Minnesota about the shows coverage of tort law and Johnson and Johnson's crimes. They also parse through the abuse and exploitation of reality stars, with some help from Love is Blind's Nick Thompson, plus, your calls and IMs! Check out John's book here: https://www.haymarketbooks.org/books/2199-the-case-for-open-borders Follow Christoph on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/ethuin?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor Check out this event in East Palestine, OH this coming Saturday, calling on elected officials to issue an emergency declaration in the area!: https://www.unionprogress.com/2024/03/19/coalition-of-residents-unionists-and-activists-coming-together-in-east-palestine-to-demand-health-care/ https://www.eastpalestinejustice.com/ Become a member at JoinTheMajorityReport.com: https://fans.fm/majority/join Check out Seder's Seeds here!: https://www.sedersseeds.com/ ; use coupon code Majority and get 15% off; ALSO, if you have pictures of your Seder's Seeds, send them here!: hello@sedersseeds.com Check out, and share friend of the show Janek Ambros's new documentary for The Nation, "Ukrainians in Exile" here!: https://twitter.com/thenation/status/1760681194382119399?s=20 Check out this GoFundMe in support of Mohammad Aldaghma's niece in Gaza, who has Down Syndrome: http://tinyurl.com/7zb4hujt Check out the "Repair Gaza" campaign courtesy of the Glia Project here: https://www.launchgood.com/campaign/rebuild_gaza_help_repair_and_rebuild_the_lives_and_work_of_our_glia_team#!/ Get emails on the IRS pilot program for tax filing here!: https://service.govdelivery.com/accounts/USIRS/subscriber/new Check out StrikeAid here!; https://strikeaid.com/ Gift a Majority Report subscription here: https://fans.fm/majority/gift Subscribe to the ESVN YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/esvnshow Subscribe to the AMQuickie newsletter here: https://am-quickie.ghost.io/ Join the Majority Report Discord! http://majoritydiscord.com/ Get all your MR merch at our store: https://shop.majorityreportradio.com/ Get the free Majority Report App!: http://majority.fm/app Check out today's sponsors: Earthbreeze: Right now, my listeners can receive 40% off Earth Breeze just by going to https://earthbreeze.com/majority! That's https://earthbreeze.com/majority to cut out single-use plastic in your laundry room and claim 40% off your subscription. Sunset Lake CBD: Follow the Majority Report crew on Twitter: @SamSeder @EmmaVigeland @MattLech @BradKAlsop Check out Matt's show, Left Reckoning, on Youtube, and subscribe on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/leftreckoning Check out Matt Binder's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/mattbinder Subscribe to Brandon's show The Discourse on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/ExpandTheDiscourse Check out Ava Raiza's music here! https://avaraiza.bandcamp.com/ The Majority Report with Sam Seder - https://majorityreportradio.com/

Episode 78: 20th Century Political Assassinations

The Y in History

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 16, 2024 29:06

JFK is assassinated as his convoy drives through Dallas, bringing the US and the rest of the world to a stunned standstill. Egypt's Anwar Sadat is assassinated while inspecting a parade. But Congo's Patrice Lumumba is made to disappear in the most barbaric manner.

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Jenny Dakosta Van Mputu: My Life as an Activist, Asylum Seeker, and UK Resident (Deep Dive)

Tales to Inspire

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 7, 2024 50:58

Meet Jenny Dakosta Van Mputu, a 48-year-old man from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Early Activism: Learn about Jenny's activism against injustice, lack of freedom, and corruption under Mobutu's oppressive regime in the Congo. Challenges and Struggles: Explore Jenny's journey as an asylum seeker in the UK, facing bureaucratic hurdles, homelessness, and legal battles. Resilience and Determination: Discover how Jenny's unwavering spirit propelled him forward despite the odds, leading to a transformative journey of survival and perseverance. Community Engagement: Hear about Jenny's current role as a support worker in Birmingham and his commitment to contributing positively to his community. Gratitude and Hope: Gain insight into Jenny's gratitude for the opportunities provided by the UK and his aspirations for the future, including becoming a British citizen. Life Lessons and Advice: Listen as Jenny shares valuable insights on resilience, perseverance, and navigating life's challenges, offering inspiration for listeners on their own journeys. Join us for an episode filled with riveting storytelling, profound wisdom, and a testament to the resilience of the human spirit as Jenny Dakosta Van Mputu shares his remarkable journey of survival and hope. Resources: Tales to Inspire: https://talestoinspire.com/ Mustard Tree: https://mustardtree.org.uk/ British Red Cross: https://www.redcross.org.uk/ BRASS: https://brassbolton.org/wp/ City of Sanctuary Bradford: https://bradford.cityofsanctuary.org/

Elisabeth Dikizeko: «Lumumba fait partie des figures qui s'inscrivent dans le panthéon panafricain»

history politics current conclusion independence forum congo democratic republic drc congo drc mobutu

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 25, 2024 4:27

Comment Patrice Lumumba, le Premier ministre congolais assassiné en 1961, est-il devenu l'icône internationale qu'il est aujourd'hui ? Qui a contribué à construire ce prestige et cette aura ? La question traverse le dernier numéro de La revue d'histoire contemporaine de l'Afrique (RHCA), sous le titre « Global Lumumba ». L'une des coordonnatrices de ce numéro, Elisabeth Dikizeko, est notre invitée. RFI : À quel point le nom de Patrice Lumumba reste-t-il important pour les jeunes générations, pas seulement congolaises mais également du reste du continent ? Elisabeth Dikizeko : Je pense qu'au même titre que Kwame Nkrumah, le leader ghanéen, ou Thomas Sankara, le leader burkinabè, Lumumba fait partie de ces figures masculines qui s'inscrivent dans le panthéon panafricain. Il est loué, il est honoré, il est célébré pour son combat pour l'indépendance totale, pour l'intégrité territoriale, pour l'unité, et son assassinat a réellement constitué ce qu'on appelle un événement-monde, c'est-à-dire qu'on a observé des cris d'indignation et des manifestations partout dans le monde, que ce soit à Paris, à Pékin, à Harlem. Lumumba reste célébré sur l'ensemble du continent africain et c'est un phénomène que l'on observe à travers le rap, à travers la poésie. L'art est un matériau qui est extrêmement important, qui permet à la jeunesse de se souvenir de Patrice Lumumba et l'inscription du nom de Patrice Lumumba dans les mémoires du monde entier.Dans ce numéro de La revue d'histoire contemporaine de l'Afrique, justement, vous revenez sur les origines de ce caractère international de la figure de Lumumba. Qu'est-ce qui fait, selon vous, que Lumumba a dépassé les frontières du Congo ? Lumumba représente le martyr d'une décolonisation confisquée et il y a eu plusieurs intermédiaires médiatiques, donc dans la presse, qui ont participé à l'iconicité de son nom. Dans le Ghana de Kwame Nkrumah, tout au long de l'année 1961, on parle de Lumumba, on s'intéresse à son assassinat, on publie les photos des responsables présumés de son assassinat. On sent réellement qu'il y a une surpolitisation de l'information au Ghana. On reste très concentrés sur la mort de Patrice Lumumba au Ghana.En raison des bonnes relations qu'entretenaient Patrice Lumumba et le président du Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah ? Oui, Patrice Lumumba et Kwame Nkrumah étaient alliés sur la même politique panafricaniste. C'étaient deux pays alliés, ils avaient signé un accord militaire secret dès le mois d'août 1960, ce qui témoignait, justement, de cet alignement idéologique panafricaniste. Au Sénégal, il y avait également des cris d'indignation autour de la mort de Patrice Lumumba, mais le phénomène Lumumba ne va pas durer autant qu'au Ghana : dès la fin du mois de février 1961, dans la presse sénégalaise, on ne parle plus de Patrice Lumumba.Elisabeth Dikizeko, quel rôle est-ce que les héritiers politiques de Lumumba ont eu dans la construction de cette figure internationale ? On parle encore de Lumumba parce qu'il y a toujours eu des lumumbistes qui ont essayé de maintenir son nom, de maintenir son combat. Par exemple, l'Union des jeunesses révolutionnaires congolaises qui, dans le Zaïre de Mobutu, a permis la pérennité du nom de Patrice Lumumba, qui a maintenu le combat de Patrice Lumumba et qui a produit une universalisation de la lutte congolaise, qui a créé des alliances internationales dans le monde entier pour faire vivre le nom de Patrice Lumumba. Et ces lumumbistes-là ont gardé la flamme et les idées de Patrice Lumumba jusqu'à aujourd'hui. Il y a toujours eu des réseaux souterrains, des îlots de résistance, qui ont permis la pérennité du nom de Patrice Lumumba.Un autre point sur lequel vous mettez la lumière dans ce numéro de La revue d'histoire contemporaine de l'Afrique, c'est le rôle d'un certain nombre de femmes – journalistes, militantes, poétesses – dans cette mise en place de l'icône de Patrice Lumumba. Quel a été ce rôle ? Il est important de ne pas négliger le rôle des femmes dans l'histoire de l'anticolonialisme, dans l'histoire des indépendances, dans la lutte contre le néocolonialisme. Ces femmes ont apporté, elles ont participé, elles ont produit, également, des textes anticolonialistes et des textes de soutien à Patrice Lumumba. Par exemple, les billets d'opinion de Mabel Dove – Mabel Dove est une figure très importante au Ghana, c'est la première femme députée du Ghana et d'Afrique. Il y avait également la militante britannique Dorothy Padmore, qui était la partenaire de George Padmore, grande figure du panafricanisme, intellectuel trinidadien qui était aux côtés de Kwame Nkrumah. Edith Wuver est également une figure qu'on découvre dans ce numéro d'Histoire contemporaine de l'Afrique, Edith Wuver est la première reportrice de guerre ghanéenne qui est envoyée au Congo pour décrire le vécu des troupes ghanéennes. Et puis, on découvre également dans ce numéro qu'il y avait des femmes poétesses, artistes, telle qu'Elizabeth Spio-Garbrah, qui écrivaient sur Lumumba et sur ces assassinats politiques.►La revue d'histoire contemporaine de l'Afrique est disponible gratuitement en ligne.

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Episode 43: the History of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)

Why do countries exist

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 14, 2024 45:30

The history of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Website: https://five.libsyn.com/show/episodes/view/29437778 email: whydocountriesexist@gmail.com Patreon: patreon.com/Whydocountriesexist797 Paypal: paypal.me/whydocountriesexist Feedback and request Forum: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf5m6cVniic8zkY13UZmUAxwLTNuVdBEkYqHmQCvvyAkGcUSg/viewform?usp=sf_link Intro 0:00 Country profile and good overviews 0:58 Pre-colonial Congo 5:36 Congo free state 7:19 Direct Belgian rule 12:03 Independence movements 17:08 the Congo Crisis 20:15 Mobutu's Zaire 24:56 Congo's neighbors 30:20 The Congo wars 33:03 Current history and politics 38:34 Conclusion, outro and sources 42:48

Henock Ngila: «Je priorise l'économie, je veux libérer les champs»

european african world cup helps appearance titles fifa world cup leopards matchday congolese afcon mobutu central african congo kinshasa

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 11, 2023 2:22

Toute cette semaine, RFI donne la parole aux candidats à la magistrature suprême en République démocratique du Congo (RDC). Quelles sont leurs ambitions, quel est leur projet ? Henock Ngila est le candidat du parti Démocratie universelle et inclusive (DUI). Il se présente comme « Léopard, Écrivain, Apôtre ». RFI : Pourquoi êtes-vous candidat ?Henock Ngila : Après avoir vu pendant des années la souffrance de ce peuple qui a un pays très riche et qui reste toujours dans la précarité, j'ai compris qu'il y a une mauvaise gouvernance. Le manque de leadership, de « legacy ». C'est une matière dont je dispose. J'ai trouvé, avec les idées que j'ai, que je pourrais aider mon pays.Quels devraient être selon vous les principaux chantiers, les chantiers prioritaires du prochain chef de l'État ?Dans un pays, il y a l'économie et la politique. Je priorise l'économie. Mais dans le cas du Congo, il y a un problème de sécurité qui est en train de détruire le pays. Donc, je veux non seulement travailler sur l'économie pour donner plus de moyens à la sécurité, mais m'atteler beaucoup à la sécurité.Comment vous y prendriez-vous si vous êtes élu ?Je vais commencer par l'économie. Nous avons une économie linéaire aujourd'hui qui n'aide pas le pays. Il faut une économie circulaire. Je veux libérer les champs, c'est-à-dire déclarer l'espace « green » pour permettre aux investisseurs de venir investir dans le pays. Ils ne vont pas payer l'impôt ni les taxes. Je veux créer des banques locales pour permettre à la population d'avoir accès au financement. Et avec cette formule, je veux industrialiser l'agriculture, l'élevage et la pêcherie. Et le pays a un problème de routes. Pour construire les routes, je prends l'exemple de la France qui a des autoroutes, mais les routes ne sont pas construites par le gouvernement français. Ce sont des investisseurs privés qui ont construit et ils récupèrent l'argent par le péage. Cela est un exemple simple pour pousser à développer notre pays.Et sur la question de l'insécurité ? Comment allez-vous agir ?D'abord, nous avons un grand pays qui n'a pas assez de services de sécurité. Nous allons beaucoup augmenter les services de sécurité dans l'armée, dans la police, à court et long terme. Le côté Est surtout est le côté qui a beaucoup de problèmes. Je vais faire appel aux anciens de la FAZ [forces armées zaïroises, Zaïre ancien Congo], l'armée du temps de Mobutu, pour gonfler l'effectif que nous avons aujourd'hui. Avec cette armée, je sais que nous ferons beaucoup de bonnes choses. Et nous allons calmer le problème qu'eux ont déjà connu, eux étaient à la base de la paix qui était à l'est du pays.

france dans congo ils quels dui quelles cela za toute afrique donc faz rfi je veux rdc les champs mobutu congo rdc elections en rdc

Unequal Exchange in the Congo Episode 2: Mining, Pierre Mulele, and Mobutu

The Cadre Journal

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 27, 2023 86:40

In this 2nd episode of our series on Unequal Exchange in the Congo, we discuss the efforts to continue mining after independence and the death of Lumumba, the regime of Mobutu, and the resistance of Pierre Mulele. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/unequalexchange/support

pierre exchange congo mining unequal lumumba mobutu

Mobutu helps Zaire to two Afcon titles and a World Cup appearance

African Five-a-side

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 24, 2023 26:51

Episode 3 of Matchday 1 of the African-five-a side podcast continues to explore the stories of five African heads of state and their influence on football. This week, we're introducing our striker: the practical and manipulative Mobutu Sese SekoAfter consolidating power in Congo-Kinshasa during the Congo Crisis, Mobutu utilised a spike in copper to invest in the national football team, following a humiliating 3-0 loss to the Ghanaian Black Stars in May 1966. Mobutu's first point of order was to recall the "Belgicains", Congolese footballers that were poached by European clubs during the Congo Crisis. He also instituted his doctrine of authenticite to rebrand the national football team and rename them the "Leopards", after the leopard-printed hat that he always wore. Yet, after two Afcon titles, Zaire's participation at the 1974 FIFA World Cup so embarrassed Mobutu that he decided to divest from football. The Central African nation never again rose to the heights that it once did during that 7 year period between 1967-1974.In retrospect, very few heads of state enjoyed as much success in such little time as Mobutu did with the Leopards. Very few heads of state also named their national football teams after their favourite piece of clothing. Nonetheless, Mobutu's significant success to the development of Congolese football make him a natural choice for our African heads of state five-a-side team.

Ike's Assassins

History As It Happens

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 2, 2023 60:55

In late 1960 the Congo crisis was front-page news. Photographers and newsreels captured the humiliating arrest and imprisonment of the newly independent country's ousted prime minister, Patrice Lumumba. In January 1961, his domestic political enemies murdered Lumumba in a remote clearing. What the world did not know at the time was the role the Eisenhower administration had played in backing the coup d'etat to topple Congo's first democratically-elected leader while covertly supporting the army officer who would then rule Congo for more than three decades, Mobutu. Also secret in late summer 1960 was Eisenhower's decision to have Lumumba assassinated, although multiple CIA killers never got to him. In this episode, Stuart Reid, the author of "The Lumumba Plot" discusses the enduring importance of a largely forgotten Cold War drama, part of a transformative period for the CIA as well as the United Nations, with utterly tragic consequences for the people of Africa.

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TRENDIFIER with Julian Dorey

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 30, 2023 133:09

BUY STUART'S BOOK: https://www.amazon.com/Lumumba-Plot-Secret-History-Assassination/dp/1524748811 (***TIMESTAMPS in description below) ~ Stuart Reid is a journalist, author, and historian. Reid is currently an executive editor of Foreign Affairs. EPISODE LINKS: - Get 15% OFF MudWTR (PROMO CODE: “JULIAN”): https://mudwtr.com/julian - Julian Dorey PODCAST GEAR: https://www.23point5.com/creator/Julian-Dorey-9826?tab=Featured - Support our Show on PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/JulianDorey - Join our DISCORD: https://discord.gg/ubyXDkWx CREDITS: - Hosted & Produced by Julian D. Dorey - Intro & Episode Edit by Alessi Allaman ***TIMESTAMPS*** 0:00 - The CIA & KGB in Congo, Patrice Lumumba, & Belgium Colonization Background 11:52 - Belgium's corrupt government in Congo 19:16 - Lumumba's rise to political power in Congo 25:13 - African independence movements across Congo 31:38 - How big CIA was in 1960s; Intel Agencies in Belgian Congo 38:10 - Lumumba's popularity rise; Belgium gives up Congo; CIA & Intel take places 45:28 - Joseph Kasavubu's backstory; Lumumba's first cabinet 53:02 - Revolt against Belgian soldiers; UN Peacekeepers sent in 57:02 - The cessessions of South Kasai & Katanga 1:04:42 - Lumumba & Kasavubu make peace; Mobutu comes into picture 1:10:22 - Lumumba calls Soviet Union (USSR); Allen Dulles & CIA ignore Lumumba 1:13:12 - Sydney Gottlieb & the CIA plans for Lumumba 1:23:42 - KGB Aid never makes it to Lumumba; Mobutu & CIA; Lumumba arrested 1:32:42 - Lumumba escapes house arrest; 2 European CIA Agents 1:39:32 - JFK & Lumumba 1:46:42 - KGB (Soviet) Involvement in Congo; Lumumba executed 1:55:38 - Congo Crisis (Civil War breaks out); Larry Devlin & CIA post Lumumba 2:02:31 - US Power Vacuum; What won Cold War 2:10:02 - Russian influence in Africa 2:12:06 - “The Lumumba Plot” ~ Get $150 Off The Eight Sleep Pod Pro Mattress / Mattress Cover (USING CODE: “JULIANDOREY”): https://eight-sleep.ioym.net/trendifier Julian's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/julianddorey ~ Music via Artlist.io ~ Julian Dorey Podcast Episode 165 - Stuart Reid

Stuart Reid : «La CIA a recommandé à Mobutu d'organiser la liquidation définitive de Lumumba»