President Mobutu changed the Congo’s name to Zaire. He looted millions of dollars and let the industries and the mines collapse. And he killed his opponents. The liberal dream of an independent black democracy in Africa died. ibid.
In 1961 the CIA decided to overthrow a government in the heart of Africa: in the Congo. 200 years before, the Congo had been at the centre of the slave trade. Millions of Africans had been forcibly taken down the river and shipped to America where their forced labour fuelled America’s rise to economic power. Now, the country had been given independence by its old colonial rulers, the Belgiums. But it was completely unprepared and had collapsed into violence. The CIA were frightened that the new prime minister, Patrice Lumumba, was about to turn for help to the Soviet Union … and they helped install a dictator in his place: he was called Colonel Mobutu whose brutal regime the Americans would support for the next 30 years. Adam Curtis, Can’t Get You Out of My Head V: The Lordly Ones ***** BBC 2021
‘Under the United Nations flag Lumumba was killed in the Congo.’ The Power Principle, 2011
Under the auspices of the UN, the Belgiums insisted on retaining a strong military presence in the country. ibid.
The Democratic Republic of Congo is one of the poorest countries yet one of the richest in natural resources. Congo, My Precious, caption, RT 2017
‘Congo was the property of King Leopold II, the King of Belgium. It was mainly diamonds and gold that he was taking from the country. To get the gold, to get diamonds, he had to impose a quota on the locals … He did monstrous, horrible things in this country … After the Belgiums came independence. Now we became free … Before leaving, the Belgians had taken care to hide many minerals. And then they sent mercenaries just to recoop all the minerals and goods of the Belgians. They fought FRDC (Congolese army) and all the population of Congo had to run to Rwanda. So we became refugees.’ ibid. Bernard Kalume Buleri
Colonial education restrictions meant there were no Congolese lawyers, doctors, economists or engineers in the year Bernard was born [1960]. ibid.
In 1960 60% of the world’s uranium, 70% of its cobalt, and 70% of its industrial diamonds came from the DRC. The country still holds 65% of the coltan used in cellphones, laptops and nuclear reactors. ibid.
The Rwandan genocide spilled over into neighbouring Congo and lasted until 2003. ibid.
Stacey’s arrived in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the heart of Africa. Her trip to find out about child soldiers is starting in the border town of Goma. Stacey Dooley Investigates: Kids With Guns, W 2019
One of the most troubling aspects of this war is that tens of thousands of kids have been kidnapped and forced to go and fight. ibid.
Ndola, Rhodesia September 18 1961: This could either be the world’s biggest murder mystery or the world’s most idiotic conspiracy theory. If the latter is the case, I am very sorry. Storyville: Murder in the Bush: Cold Case Hammarskjold, opening scene, BBC 2019
The remains of the secretary-general’s plane were sighted form the air. ibid. dude addresses general assembly
We want to find out if Hammarskjold was the victim of a conspiracy. ibid.
17th September 1961: Dag Hammarskjold, the secretary general of the United Nations, boards a plane in the capital of the Congo … Around midnight he will be killed in a plane crash. ibid.
Katanga was basically the property of a giant Belgian corporation called Union Miniere – a mining corporation … It’s a disaster for the UN. ibid.
Black people were not taken seriously as witnesses … They talk about another plane in the air which is shooting at Dag Hammarskjold’s plane. ibid.
The documents allegedly comes from a shadowy private paramilitary intelligence organisation known as the South African Maritime Research Institute: and they are the manuscript for killing Dag Hammarskjold. ibid.
Among the conspirators, British Intelligence is mentioned as well as the American Intelligence Service, the CIA. ibid.
‘The code name for the operation to kill Dag Hammarskjold was Operation Celeste.’ ibid. transcriber
This is in fact a picture of the person who basically killed Dag Hammarskjold … But did van Rissseghem [mercenary pilot] feel any kind of remorse? … During the War he worked for the Royal Air Force specialising in night time operations. And his codename was the Lone Ranger. ibid.
‘There was a unit from SAIMR [South African Institute for Maritime Research]. One of the things was that we went into African countries. Through inoculation. Yeah, through vaccines. Pretending to inoculate people, and that type of thing. Yeah, to eradicate black people. You must understand, the concept was that AIDS was a killer. It was incurable at that point in time … It was the quick non-militaristic approach to eliminate black people.’ ibid. Alexander Jones, SAIMR mercenary
‘Our main orders came from the British government … The CIA was involved.’ ibid.
After six months of ineffectual fighting, Che and his fighters lost their international backing and were forced to retreat from the Congo. The CIA chalked up another Cold War victory. It was a debacle for Castro but it didn’t stop him from pursuing his grand strategy. Castro vs The World I: The Armed Struggle, BBC 2020
The demand for rubber exploded: this would carry incalculable consequences for the villagers of the Congo. Exterminate All the Brutes I: The Disturbing Confidence of Ignorance, Sky Documentaries 2021
It is quite clear that a desperate attempt is being made to create confusion in the Congo. Extend the Cold War to Africa ... The United Nations must not allow this to happen. Kwame Nkrumah, United Nations, 1960
The human cost of the electric vehicle revolution. We investigate where the raw materials for car batteries come from. We ask is the biggest electric car maker living up to its promises. And is the world’s richest man doing enough to protect some of the poorest people on the planet? Panorama: The Electric Car Revolution: Winners and Losers, Darragh Macintyre reporting, BBC 2021
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is at the heart of the electric car revolution. Nearly two-thirds of the world’s cobalt is mined here. It’s a metal used in batteries in electric vehicles. ibid.
The town of Kolwezi sits on the richest seam. Kolwezi should be a wealthy town. But a legacy of political corruption in the mining industry means few have profited from the Cobalt boom. ibid.
10 years ago the US Empire honed its sights more intently in a profitable region of the world: Africa … Its unimaginable treasure of minerals and raw materials. Abby Martin & The Empire Files: Empires Feed on Congo’s Treasure, Abby Martin online 2016
Congo: 80 million people … It’s considered the richest country in the world. ibid.
Cobalt: Among Congolese who literally risk their lives working in Cobalt mines – tens of thousands are children working twelve hours a day for a dollar. ibid.
Africa has endured over five centuries of oppression and theft by European empires. ibid.
One of the last great mysteries of the 20th century began on September 17th 1961 just outside the borders of the Congo when a plane carrying the second UN Secretary-General, Dag Hammarskjold, and 15 others crashed. The Mysterious Death of a UN Secretary-General, Youtube short 7.12, Gzero World 2020
Hammarskjold decided that the only principled course of action was to stand up for the black Congolese’s right to rule themselves. ibid.
There were a whole bunch of people who didn’t believe the official verdict. ibid.
I’m going in search of the vast remote areas where nature still has the upper hand: the last great wildernesses. Wilderness with Simon Reeve I, BBC 2024
I’m travelling through the Congo rain forest. Across central Africa hundreds of rivers feed this vast green wilderness. And trees, billions of beautiful trees, stretching further than the mind can imagine. This is the second largest rain forest in the world. ibid.
Baka: They hunt, gather, craft and build … In Baka communities everything is shared among the families. ibid.