Text 15986, 54 rader
Skriven 2011-03-30 13:44:42 av Ward Dossche (2:292/854)
  Kommentar till text 15954 av Roy Witt (1:387/22)
Ärende: Re: Who's talking to whom?
==================================
Roy,
 
RW>WD> When the Belgians left in 1960 it was a nice modern place, up to par
RW>WD> with western standards.
 
RW> BS...Bula Matari, forced labour and in many villages minimum quota of
RW> 'able-bodied workers' to be recruited was enforced, natural and mineral
RW> riches for the Belgian economy was the main motive for colonial
RW> expansion, the land that was not directly used by the local tribes fell
RW> to the state, who redistributed it to European companies, individual
RW> white landowners or the missions.
 
Up till 1909 that was about correct. It has been said here and I'll gladly
repeat it: the Congo up to that time was the "private property" of King Leopold
II not under control of the government at all. It was called "Congo Freestate".
 
On his deathbed in 1909 Leopold II signed over his stake in the company that
controlled the company to Belgium which was the point in time when things
finally started improving. Leopold's company was approaching bankruptcy because
it was built on the harvest of natural rubber and synthetic rubber was
replacing it driving him out of business.
 
After 1909 the situation for blacks improved and the country became well
developped with good roads, jobs, education, healthcare, transportation,
railroads, communication, ...
 
There indeed was a company called Union Miniere during that period whose mining
rights benefited Belgian industry as well as ... the US.
 
In 1960 independance was granted to the Congolese which was the worst that
could have happened to them, everything re-tribalised in no time at all.
 
There came a government with PM Patrice Lumumba who made a very pro-African
stance. The US didn't like it and the CIA funneled whatever needed to thwart
Lumumba.
 
From declassified documents we now know that Eisenhower mentionned that Lumumba
ought to be killed and it is on-record that Allen Dulles verbatim ordered his
assassination as "an urgent and prime objective".
 
At this moment there is little doubt that exports of "conflict minerals" --
including cassiterite, columbite-tantalite, wolframite and gold to the US goes
on, controlled by rebel groups.
 
When you use your cellphone, you are pressing illegally mined tantalum against
your ear ... mined by rebels, stolen from the country, bought by US
industrialists.
 
Take care,
 
 \%/@rd 

--- D'Bridge 3.59
 * Origin: Many Glacier / WikiLeaks http://213.251.145.96 / (2:292/854)