In the name of “Democracy†the West stands guilty of killing Political Leaders
Posted on May 25th, 2012
Shenali Waduge
Throughout almost 60 years, the US has been involved in covert operations that have overthrown over 50 democratically elected popular foreign leaders and placed dictators and tyrants as US puppets. How can Africa and Asia or Latin America produce good leaders committed to the welfare of the masses when the US ends up gunning these leaders down and installing local agents who are ever ready to allow the West to pilfer the nation while they too do the same? The story of CongoƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s Patrice Lumumba is one such assassination wherein several western nations conspired to kill CongoƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s first independent Prime Minister simply because he was a nationalist.
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The killing exposed not only the savagery and hypocrisy of US imperialism, it illustrated the hollowness of so-called independence for the African nations, whose absurd boundaries have created unprecedented strife.
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Does the American Congress and the American people know an iota of what its intelligence agency is upto overseas? Do Americans not wonder about the legality and morality of unmanned drones that fire missiles upon wedding parties, funerals and can these citizens accept the US GovernmentƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s excuse that they have killed ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-terroristsƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚. Are these unnecessary killings not making people hate America and Americans?
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Africa has been subject to numerous assassinations over the years. In Algeria sixteen assassinations have taken place. Angola, Namibia and Murkina Faso accounts for two assassination while Burundi accounts for the assassinations of 5 of its Prime Ministers. Cameron, Gambia, Guinea and Chad had their leaders gunned down. Comoros also saw three of its heads killed. Fifteen leaders of Egypt including President Anwar Sadat. Four leaders of Guinea Bissau. Seven leaders of Kenya. Two presidents of Liberia. The King of Madagascar and its President. Mozambique leader allegedly killed by Portuguese branch of Gladio. In 1999 President of Niger was ambushed and killedƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ while Nigeria lost nine leaders including a Prime Minister. Rwanda saw the deaths of four leaders including that of Habyarimana whose plane was shot down triggering the Rwandan Genocide in 1994. Senegal lost a minister/mayor in 1967 while Somalia lost 5 leaders including its interior minister Hassan Farah in 2011. South Africa has lost eight leaders since 1828 (King of Zulu). Sudan has had three assassinations including that of Jimmy Lemi Milla in 2011 South Sudan Government Minister. In 2008 Swaziland lost its opposition leader Gabriel Mkhumane. Tanzania lost its first vice President and Togo lost its first President of independent Togo in 1963. Tunisia saw two assassinations while in Uganda the Chief Justice and Archbishop was killed and in Zimbabwe the left-wing Malawian politician was killed. The latest killing has been that of LibyaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s President Gaddafi. In all these murders the West had a hand.
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Let us look at just one leader ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” Patrice Lumumba CongoƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s first Prime Minister after Congo gained independence (1959) and shot dead after being tortured for days on 17th January 1961. He was just 35 when he died.
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Why would the West who favors democracy want to get rid of a man loved by the masses? While Lumumba was loved by the masses he was also a nationalist who opposed the WestƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s plan to transform Congo from a colony (white rule and military occupation) into a neo-colony (black rule according to white interests). Both Lumumba and the Congolese people were aware that the West were walking away with CongoƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s rich natural resources – coltan, diamonds, copper, zinc and cobalt. Moreover, Belgium troops had killed over 10million Congolese over 20 years for failing to meet rubber collection quotas.
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ As with all colonial countries there came a time when citizens were becoming fed of being second class citizens in their own country. Sadly in the case of most African nations the white oppressors were replaced with black oppressors. However, Lumumba was different and his charisma annoyed the West so much that two interrelated plots by the US/UK and Belgium was planned to kill Lumumba.
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Documents reveal how US President Eisenhower gave orders to the CIA to assassinate Lumumba (1960 August National Security Council meeting minutes). British Foreign Office notes reveal how the UK too wanted Lumumba killed because of their interests in neighboring Rhodesia. The plot to kill Lumumba was called ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-Operation BarracudaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ and Colonel Louis Maliere bought millions of francs. Unknown to Lumumba, his secretary and Army Commander Mbotu was turned into an agent of the West. Mobutu became the WestƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s main Cold War ally in Africa. He was a close ally of Jacques Chirac, he sat next to the Queen, was close friends with George Bush Snr and was a close friend of the Belgian King. Mbotu was to rename Congo as Zaire and ruled it until removed by Rwandan and Ugandan forces in 1997.
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ True to form as seen even in the present the Western media was quick to declare targeted leaders as ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-dictatorsƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-tyrantsƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-despotsƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦.these being to prepare the public for the real plan that is to follow. We all know the scenario in the present context.
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Lumumba, close associates Maurice Mpolo and Joseph Okite were taken by plane to Katanga province where they were shot by a firing squad commanded by Belgian officers. Belgian commander of the Katanga police force, Gerard Soete were tasked with destroying the bodies which were chopped up and dissolved in acid and kept LumumbaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s teeth as souvenirs. Soete had said ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-We did things an animal wouldnƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t do.ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ This is just an example of how the West, the supposed champions of human rights had treated fellow humans.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The mystery of LumumbaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s murder lives on despite a Belgium parliamentary investigation in 2001 falling short of admitting responsibility for his murder. Despite evidence of US involvement, the US too has never made any attempt to officially acknowledge its accountability. Whatsmore the UN is also accused of watching Lumumba beaten and paraded through the streets. The guilt of the UN is established in the Belgian sociologist Ludo de Witte who has uncovered proof of the Belgian GovernmentƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s and the UNƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s complicity in the killing of Lumumba having analyzed 8000 telegrams exchanged between Congo and New York UN diplomats.
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The last letter addressed by Lumumba to his wife is poignant:
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ My dear companion,
I write you these words without knowing if they will reach you, when they will reach you, or if I will still be living when you read them. All during the length of my fight for the independence of my country, I have never doubted for a single instant the final triumph of the sacred cause to which my companions and myself have consecrated our lives. But what we wish for our country, its right to an honorable life, to a spotless dignity, to an independence without restrictions, Belgian colonialism and its Western allies-who have found direct and indirect support, deliberate and not deliberate among certain high officials of the United Nations, this organization in which we placed all our confidence when we called for their assistance-have not wished it.
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ They have corrupted certain of our fellow countrymen, they have contributed to distorting the truth and our enemies, that they will rise up like a single person to say no to a degrading and shameful colonialism and to reassume their dignity under a pure sun.
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ We are not alone. Africa, Asia, and free and liberated people from every corner of the world will always be found at the side of the Congolese. They will not abandon the light until the day comes when there are no more colonizers and their mercenaries in our country. To my children whom I leave and whom perhaps I will see no more, I wish that they be told that the future of the Congo is beautiful and that it expects for each Congolese, to accomplish the sacred task of reconstruction of our independence and our sovereignty; for without dignity there is no liberty, without justice there is no dignity, and without independence there are no free men.
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ No brutality, mistreatment, or torture has ever forced me to ask for grace, for I prefer to die with my head high, my faith steadfast, and my confidence profound in the destiny of my country, rather than to live in submission and scorn of sacred principles. History will one day have its say, but it will not be the history that Brussels, Paris, Washington or the United Nations will teach, but that which they will teach in the countries emancipated from colonialism and its puppets. Africa will write its own history, and it will be, to the north and to the south of the Sahara, a history of glory and dignity.
Do not weep for me, my dear companion. I know that my country, which suffers so much, will know how to defend its independence and its liberty. Long live the Congo! Long live Africa!
Patrice
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Malcolm X, speaking at a rally of the Organisation of Afro-American Unity in 1964, described Patrice Emery Lumumba as ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-the greatest black man who ever walked the African continent. He didnƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t fear anybody. He had those people [the colonialists] so scared they had to kill him. They couldnƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t buy him, they couldnƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t frighten him, they couldnƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t reach him.ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ We are being repeatedly preached by these same Governments who are committing grave crimes across the world. These incidents should give us the smaller nations the strength to finally demand that they stop this charade of pretending to be human rights saviors when we know too well that they have been and continue to commit crimes against humanity each day.
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Shenali Waduge
May 25th, 2012 at 3:38 pm
Those days, they engaged in assassinations. Later, They stopped that long ago.
In the case of Arab spring, the “rebels” were speaking very good English and either living or studying in the west.
Now, they are fully prepared for attacking Iran too and there is a missile shield in operation in case Iran attacks Europe with missiles.
May 25th, 2012 at 5:15 pm
As Chomsky observes most past US Presidents were War Criminals, including Kennedy who too, was eventually gunned down by CIA, which hopefully will be revealed probably in 2025, when the files go public. So was his brother, King, Malcolm X etc. etc. There is no current leader in Asia, Africa or South America to take on US head on. Even China is reluctant reason being the heavy US business there, China being the Factory of the world. People like Mahinda CAN take on these bullies, downright hypocrits, yet he too is tied down to 20 billion dollar trade with US and his pre-occupation of making Sri Lanka a developed country, a noble conviction in deed.
Someone or an institution need to take US on at UN and UNHCR on an official scale as US take on other countries. The American Vulturism has been going on for far too long encroaching countries and that too can be a possibility in Sri Lanka with the backing of these slimy, sleezy leaders of the UNP and NGO heads, beginning with a spontaneous protest, which will drag on for months until the vultures intervene in the name of so called democracy and Freedom and Human Rights. The Trade delegates from US, US businesses and the US Officials from top to bottom in US embassies are all crooks working for CIA. Our stupid Politicians get caught to anyone who demostrates fluent English and who dress in business attire. Now is the time for deterrence in Sri Lanka with probable space for Chinese Navy in Magampura Harbour and a bit of space to Russians in Trincomalee. ‘You cannot simply have the best of both worlds’
May 25th, 2012 at 7:17 pm
Now that we know that the west had an input into Prabahakaran was the killing of potential sinhala leaders like Gamini, Lalith and othes part and parcel of this strategy. What ever it is, they have successfully achieved a status where by we are groping in the dark for good leaders.
May 25th, 2012 at 8:41 pm
AnuD,
This is applicable to Gonseka as well.
“In the case of Arab spring, the “rebels” were speaking very good English and either living or studying in the west.”
Greencard Gonseka, Anoma and his 2 children are now US citizens. Like Arab Spring “rebel” leaders, USA demanded the release of Gonseka!
They NEVER did that before!
Strange how you avoid the obvious.
May 25th, 2012 at 8:50 pm
Lorenzo,
Ponsekas chlidren will never be in Sri lankas’ fighting rebels. Nor Raja’s children fighting LTTE.
We are the FOOLS talking endlessly on matters beyond our control.
Like Stanley, I too shall retire.
May 25th, 2012 at 10:00 pm
There is a saying that “if you cannot beat them, join them”. Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia are doing very well. Perhaps our leaders are also going to follow them.
May 25th, 2012 at 10:16 pm
To learn more about ‘democracy – US and Western Style’ watch the following…
http://www.forbiddenknowledgetv.com/videos/history/cia-covert-action-in-iran-vietnam-laosthe-congo-cuba-and-guatemala-1965documentary-film.html
http://www.forbiddenknowledgetv.com/videos/geopolitics/stealing-a-nation—full-film.html
and many more at http://www.forbiddenknowledgetv.com/videos/geopolitics
Spread the word…it is only through creating and spreading awareness that ordinary people can change the course of history for the better just like what Shenali has been doing.
May 25th, 2012 at 11:13 pm
Alloy,
Don’t tell lies.
Malaysia’s time over. Going down like hell. mahathir & co ate the country off.
In 1985 M$ 1 = S$ 1
Now M$ 2.5 = S$ 1
Malaysia has so much resources including various Alloys. Every project contactor should allow 30 -40% for the big boss.
Will Maharaja create similar situation in Lanka ?
We have to wait for the newt Gonseka with no corruption and alittle bit more brain.
May 26th, 2012 at 1:13 am
Dham,
I live in a country sandwiched between Malaysia and Indonesia. I know particularly about Malaysia because the satellite TV channel I watch comes from Malaysia (which is owned by a former Sri Lankan). Yes I know the dollars of two counties were equal in 1985. It has gone a long way since then and has stabilized at M$2=1S$ for some time. But what has happened is, that country has advanced tremendously. Most of construction materials and equipment that used to come from UK and Germany are made there and are exported other countries in the region now. Even the shops in our Quarry Road and Maradana sell mostly Malaysian products for water supply.
GOSL should encourage our local entrepeneurs to do the same. Like Malaysia we also should make computer and other hightech parts and sell to US.
Our Millenium’s software runs Landon stock exchange and Virtuasa is doing well in the US. So we have great people and it is up to the leadership to use them to uplift the country from the pres4ent level of under development.
May 26th, 2012 at 2:07 am
Alloy,
How long you lived there ? I too lived in the same contry as you for 15 years.
Since 1985, malaysian GDP increase less than 5 times. Sri Lankan 6 times dispite a big war. Contry of your residence 8 times. What is the reason ? Corruption in Malaysisa is more than Sri lanka.
In 2000 some SriLankan products were worse than cheapest chinese products.
Now they are on par with Australian products. True , Malaysian industrial sector grew a lot, but compared to your country they went down, because in 1985 the ratio between the two was only 4 fold but now 6 fold. Malaysians already complaining a lot about hardhsips already.
May 26th, 2012 at 3:49 am
Dham,
How about Thailand and Singapore?. I thought our bone of contention is the saying that “If you cannot beat them, join them”. I remember this readily as this was the advise given to me by my departmental head (a senior engineer from a South Asian country) when I complained about the corruption of local engineers of a certain wealthy African country who were working under me. Anyway I did not follow his advise and what happened about six months later was another story.
I think corruption alone does not impede the development of a country. Japan and South Korea were very corrupt countries. There were numerous stories how they bribed our people in SL. But they are very developed countries now because US backed them to the hilt and our people are falling over each other to get there.
More than half the expatriate population in this country are Malaysians. My first assistant (a hard working Chinese engineer, about 22 years ago) was a Malaysian. I meet Malaysian sales people and businessmen almost everyday when they want to have inputs in my projects and they are proud of their country. They have never hinted or complained of any difficulty in doing work in their country or living conditions. However it is known that there is corruption particularly at provincial level due to the involvement of politicians.
I do not think you were here. We use B$.
May 26th, 2012 at 4:35 am
No. I thought you are in Singapore. Brunie is a different storey. It is not a country but an oil company.
Malaysian Chinese always complain about malaysian corruption. However they are still patriotic.
I was in Thailand too.hell of lot of corruption.
Talk to your neigours Saba or Sarawak Indians. They abosulutely hate KL.
SriLankan Tamils in Malaysia are extremely rich.
But these models do not suitable for us. We need zero corruption here and now. It is too late to catch up.
In 1985 we had $500 GDP, now $2500, compare that with Singapore $7500 to $50000. It is 15 times to 20 times and widening.
Maharaja is still partying. Ponseka fooling around waiting fo US invasion. Ranil is making sure no proper opposition.
Even out Stanley from Melbourne is fed up.
May 26th, 2012 at 7:17 am
Dham,
I thought you were from the intelligence apperatus when you wrote about Fony’s brother who happened to be my good friend of almost fifty years. I was saddened. Anyway thanks for the dialog which actually was in the context of Shenali’s article and my suggestion that we should join the club.
May 26th, 2012 at 7:37 am
Lorenzo:
There are lot of journalists who have got money from the govt. So, they are obliged to write in support of the govt.
They are hell bent to write against SF. So, no point counteracting it at least right now.
May 26th, 2012 at 7:42 am
It is a Fact that corruption hinders the development of the country. Here with Statistics they have proved – all those underground economies contribute to less development. That is why here, even some people had proposed legalizing marijuana, legalizing prostitution, opening restircted areas for drug injection. These are extreme cases.
In Sri Lanka it is destructive. For example, building weak structures which will fall down in no time just like a overhead ramp broke down.