From this rostrum the most authoritative voices in world politics have taken up, with a greater or lesser degree of passion, the question of the emancipation of the peoples of Africa who are still under colonial rule.
2. Some, like the President of the United States [868th meeting], have proposed a plan for the raising and development of the African States; if that plan were carried out with sincerity and in concert by all the nations which are in a position to do so, it could have favourable results for the whole of Africa and for the peace of the world in general.
3. There would be no doubts about the results if, as President Eisenhower asks, all the countries represented in this Assembly were to undertake to respect the right of the African peoples to choose their own way of life and to decide for themselves the course they wish to follow and if, of course, they all respected their commitments.
4. Others, like Mr. Khrushchev, the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR [869th meeting], propose quite simply that all colonial countries, Trust or Non-Self-Governing Territories, should be granted complete independence and freedom to build their own. national States in accordance with the freely expressed wishes of their peoples.
5. This last offer, although it does not deal with the material problems, which I suppose are to be understood, seems to me to be of the same scope as the preceding one.
6. Thus, as the two great Powers of the world agree that colonial peoples who aspire to freedom shall attain it quickly, endowed with the means which will enable them to create for themselves an honourable place in the concert of free nations, we cannot but rejoice and hope that an agreement will soon be reached on this great plan for the peaceful liberation of dependent peoples; we must emphasize, however, that it must be based on genuine disinterestedness on the part of the nations signing the agreement.
7. Then, proud in the full realization of their legitimate nationalism, the free States will be able to advance with their heads high along the great road of peace opened up by men of good will.
8. For the people of my young Republic of the Congo (Brazzaville), which, with the generous assistance of France, has just attained full independence, nationalism has been and will, I trust, long continue to be a marvellous and absorbing faith. I presume that it must be the same for those who aspire to sovereignty and are impatiently awaiting the day when they will be able to cross the threshold of this Assembly Rail.
9. As we understand nationalism, however, if it is to. retain its true meaning, its real and practical value, it must not blind us, it must not be a mirror to snare larks, which loses its usefulness as soon as the sun has set.
10. For us the true faith which must inspire all the peoples of Africa, both those which are still dependent and those which have recently attained independence, must not lead to xenophobia or racism.
11. Some of the recent experiences of emancipation should give cause for reflexion.
12. Surely the courage of those who are responsible for the conduct of the young African States should lie in frankness, even brutal frankness, towards the masses, who only want to be enlightened, rather than in misrepresentation, blaming the former administering Power for all the present disappointments and difficulties, which are normal hazards for a Territory that has suddenly been raised to the status of a nation.
13. But, proud as we are of this nationalism which hallows our flag, we sometimes notice in the speeches of certain leaders — who are not, I must explain, our former colonizers, who respect their commitments — a keen desire for pan-nationalism which hangs like a shadow over our first hesitant steps as a sovereign State.
14. There have, of course, always been men who have dreamt of universal States where everything would be for the best in the best of worlds. Pan-Africanism, in particular, has always had its supporters and we are grateful to them for upholding this noble idea. For my part, I find that many leaders, perhaps through nostalgia for the past and a desire to revive it, have very quickly mounted the horse of pan-Africanism, immersing themselves, not without emotion, in pre- colonial history and placing its heroes on pedestals of glory and grandeur. This intense desire to revive the past, which we well understand, failed, through complacency rather than through ignorance, to heed certain lessons of the past which provided a logical explanation of the collapse of the great African groups.
15. In their great longing to revive a world composed of colourful figures and chivalrous legends, all these promoters of pan-Africanism — and no one could blame them for it — forgot that these great kingdoms and empires had disappeared well before the colonial era, partly, it is true, because there was no administrative structure but first and foremost because their rulers experienced great difficulty in imposing the authority of the central power on egalitarian tribes.
16. All this leads us to think that today nothing is changed and that, in a world which we should like to be stable but which unfortunately is far from being so, what is required before all else is great wisdom.
17. Before dreaming of expansion and domination, before Singing ourselves into this alluring game of leadership, we must first make certain that our own affairs are wisely managed. That, let it be understood, does not mean that I extol individualism as a form of administration suitable to the Africans.
18. In an age when anything other than large groups is out of the question, it would be unrealistic to wish to retire into one’s shell — a fragile shell at that. I can tell you, for instance, that my Government would very much like to see a great African economic community take shape on the occasion of this fifteenth session of the General Assembly, which would be able, through reliance on all the States of Africa, to develop jointly certain natural resources for the benefit of Africans. But that is not the question we are considering today. I simply referred to it in passing.
19. If our main aim, I was saying, is to manage our own affairs successfully, that does not mean that we can afford to hold aloof from what is happening on our borders. We should concern ourselves all the more with such matters in that here in the United Nations each of us has something to say about the fate of the others. This leads me to a question which we have very much at heart, for great sorrows should not remain unvoiced.
20. There may be some in this august Assembly who feel that there has been too much talk of the Congolese problem. It is true that long before we were admitted to this Hall it had been spoken of with passion and bitterness. It has been used for the purpose of rekindling the cold war; it has been wrongfully used to criticize certain people severely and to cast doubt on the value of certain institutions. Day after day the speakers who come to this rostrum refer to the question of the Congo. If after so many speeches, this great controversy could stop at this point and we could see the slightest glimmer of peace appearing, we should not have spoken in vain.
21. I, for my part, shall not revert to what has been said already, to the resolutions which have been adopted and will remain in the files of the United Nations, testifying to the wealth of patience that can be exercised by men when they are imbued, as are all of you, with the ideals of universal peace.
22. I simply want to state, in a few words, my Government’s views on the situation in what was the former Belgian colony of the Congo, because as a true son of the Congo I think that I can usefully speak about this country as others have done before me.
23. Like them, we think that colonialism has had its day and that it must give place to the right of peoples to self-determination. But although this colonialism of which so much has been said in this Assembly must disappear forever, it is certainly not in order that it may be replaced by a new ideological colonialism, which, as was so well said by Mr. Charles Okala, my colleague from Cameroun [866th meeting], would make the African a mere cipher in a huge mass, overpowered by a philosophy which is, and always will be, alien to him.
24. Let those who claim to be so anxious to see freedom, justice and peace prevail in Africa allow their peoples to speak freely instead of imposing on them imported doctrines which will never be anything but imported doctrines.
25. On 3 September 1960 when I was at Brazzaville, I saw fourteen foreign technicians, who had no transit visas for my country and no entry visas for Leopoldville, disembarking at our airport at Maya-Maya; they had diplomatic passports and I was told that the Congolese Government had asked them to come, to replace the Belgian technicians who had left. I wondered what Government had asked for them. Between ourselves, do you think that these technicians, or self-styled technicians, had been approved of by the hardworking and free population of Leopoldville? Do you think, too, that the Congolese had claimed independence in order to see the Belgians replaced by other colonizers, reconnoitering their territory and not even speaking their language? I was rather doubtful about this, and though I still had doubts on that score some weeks ago, I have none today, since I have learnt here in New York that Colonel Mobutu of the Congolese National Army has expelled these technicians from the country without there being the slightest reaction on the part of the Congolese people.
26. I do not think I am mistaken in suggesting that these technicians were thrust upon the territory without United Nations approval. I do not think I am mistaken in saying that, under the terms of the resolution adopted by the Security Council on 22 July 1960 there can be no foreign intervention in the Congo (Leopoldville) except under United Nations supervision.
27. In fact, the whole matter is very complex because human beings are very complex.
28. You entrusted the United Nations with a mission. Why not let it carry out that mission with due respect — I say this for those who would not respect them — for the resolutions which have been enacted and approved?
29. Here in this great Assembly, where so many engineers mid builders have been consulting one another daily for weeks and months to establish peace, to plan it and strengthen it, you have all agreed that United Nations action in the former Belgian Congo was essential to enable it to regain its stability, as you have all agreed on the draft resolution submitted to the Security Council on 9 August 1960, which states that the United Nations must not be used to influence the outcome of internal conflicts in the country.
30. Why, then, should the United Nations not put its trust in the only person in the country legally vested with authority under the Basic Law of 19 May, 1960, whose constitutional authority has never been questioned? I am referring to the present Head of State, who on 11 September last sent the following cable to all the Heads of the independent States of Africa: “After two months of independence we have found that the first Government has not deserved the confidence that the Congolese people placed in it. It has not devoted its attention to the country's vital and urgent problems, namely the maintenance of order, the provision of work for all and respect for fundamental freedoms. The country was on the brink of anarchy and destitution and it was absolutely essential to save it. That is why on 5 September we, with Mr. Bomboko, our Minister for Foreign Affairs, in full conformity with the Basic Law which serves as our provisional constitution, took the grave decision to dismiss the Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister and five other Ministers who were betraying the true interests of the Congolese nation and leading it in a direction contrary to its fundamental aspirations. An announcement of the composition of a new Government is imminent. Meanwhile the only lawful and legitimate Government is the one headed by Mr. Ileo Joseph. We therefore request you to deal only with the authentic Government and not with Mr. Lumumba, the ex-Prime Minister, and the other Ministers who have been dismissed and who, in trying to go on governing, are simply usurpers. On behalf of the Congolese people we thank the African States for the generous aid, both military and technical, which they have so kindly given through the United Nations to our young independent State. It is our great desire that relations between the Republic of the Congo and all the independent States of Africa should continue to be harmonious and should even be strengthened, for the good of our African peoples. Signed: Joseph Kasa-Vubu, President of the Republic."
31. For us, the Congolese of Brazzaville, the problem is clear, for there is no prob. m. The Congo solution is a matter for the Congolese alone, for the only Congolese representative legitimately so termed and vested with authority by the representatives of the people.
32. Hence, a few days ago, when I was broadcasting to my country, in our language, the news of our admission to the United Nations, I asked the Congolese leaders, our neighbours and brothers, to take the Congolese problem in hand, since the solution lay with them and it was for them alone to find it. I also asked them to summon up their patriotism, their brotherly feelings, their courage, to put an end to these fratricidal conflicts which bring discredit on them and plunge women and children into poverty and grief.
33. Today I am happy to know that this appeal has been heard and it is my fervent hope that the roundtable conference which is to meet on the initiative of President. Kasa-Vubu will produce a humane and generous solution of the problem which is exercising all our minds.
34. In order to put an end to this atmosphere of mistrust which hangs over the United Nations forces stationed in the capital of the Republic of the Congo, I suggest that they should be replaced by forces which have never worked in Leopoldville Province. In this way the partisan activities carried on by one or another group for the benefit of one or another party will automatically cease.
35. That is all I mean to say about my Congolese brothers. There is no point in going back over the matter in an endeavour to decide who is to blame. The damage is done; it exists. What is necessary now is to try to repair it, to find an antidote to the confusion and anarchy so that no further victims will pay for the fruits of independence with their lives.
36. Before leaving this rostrum, however, I should like to dwell at some length on the fate of my Congolese brothers who are under Portuguese domination.
37. When people speak of Portuguese overseas territories, it is generally Angola which is mentioned, a flourishing colony, the pride of the Portuguese, who are making a settlement of it. I shall not describe this territory, where such cities as São Paulo de Loanda and Lobito bear witness to the wealth of the country.
38. In that colony, as in most of the territories under Portuguese administration, patriotic and nationalist movements are springing up which cannot remain indifferent to the wind of independence that has been blowing across the soil of Africa for the last few years.
39. It is no secret that the Government in Lisbon remains indifferent to the legitimate claims of the people of Angola and those of other Portuguese territories in Africa.
40. Is the Portuguese Government’s policy of indifference reasonable? Can President Salazar show himself to be less generous than General de Gaulle has been? Can he show himself to be less generous than the Queen of England, whose African territories are acceding to independence one by one? Has the independence that France has so generously granted to its overseas territories diminished France’s prestige in the eyes of the world, in the eyes of the United Nations? All these questions which I am asking the Portuguese Government, any one of us could ask.
41. What can Portugal have to fear from a reasonable emancipation of the people whom it keeps, sometimes with undue severity, under its protection? Is it the eviction of the Portuguese from Africa? No one in the world thinks that and neither do you, gentlemen. Is it land reform? I do not think so, for there is still waste land in Angola and elsewhere for all those who want to settle on the land.
42. All that my brothers in Angola ask is that they should be regarded as human beings, that they should be given the opportunity to become citizens of their country and electors, that they should be permitted to choose their representatives.
43. Their elected representatives, as in all free countries, would then be able to make their views known and debate on equal terms with all those who have worked in these countries — one must have the courage to admit it — and who may have exactly the same rights there as the indigenous people but not more extensive rights.
44. As I said at the beginning of my statement, in this vast Assembly Hall of the United Nations, in which a session that has been described by the entire world Press as historic is taking place, where all the great world leaders speak, one after another, affirming their desire for peace and offering solutions of peace and peaceful coexistence, two voices have been raised solemnly to acclaim the right of the African peoples to self-determination, two voices which are usually antagonistic to one another, two voices which are said to be always conflicting but which today are in agreement on one issue, namely the emancipation of the peoples of Africa.
45. We Congolese of Brazzaville and Pointe-Noire, an independent people proud of our independence, appeal for that way of life, more especially and as a matter of pressing necessity yet in a completely disinterested spirit, for our brothers of Cabinda, the Congo ethnic minority occupying an enclave between the Republic of the Congo (Leopoldville) and our country. We ask it as a matter or urgency because this Portuguese colony, cut off from its administrative capital, Sao Paulo de Loanda in Argola, and even more from Portugal, having no port capable of receiving ships, does not manage to make its voice heard, for it is subjected to an "indigénat" system of which President Salazar himself is no doubt unaware.
46 . Whereas Angola, thanks to its natural wealth, has seen its territory transformed in the space of a few years, Cabinda has remained as it was eighty years ago, when the princes of Cabinda, of the Mangoio Kingdom, placed themselves under the protection of the Portuguese, with whom they had been trading for several centuries.
47. Its illiterate population has never known anything other than direct administration, but what an administration it is! I can assure you that on our frontiers the only two brick buildings in existence are allotted to the administrative services.
48. When the Secretary-General of the United Nations visited Brazzaville last January, a delegation of the inhabitants of the Cabinda enclave asked for shearing before Mr. Hammarskjold in order to hand him a petition in which it explained its grievances to the United Nations. As I am certain that it proved impossible to transmit this document to him., I shall summarize it for you and it will, of course, be available to the Fourth Committee.
49. The main points made by the petitioners were the following: (1) Contrary to the spirit of the Treaty — which I have here and which I shall also make available to the Fourth Committee — and in order to destroy the national spirit of the people of Cabinda, the first arbitrary act of the Portuguese, only a few years after the signature of the Treaty, was to incorporate our country administratively in the colony of Angola, without any prior consultation of the people. (2) Notwithstanding article 4 of the Treaty, which lays down that the chiefs of the country and its inhabitants shall retain ownership of the land belonging to them, the Portuguese Government has taken possession of all our land and is assigning and selling it as it pleases. (3) Apart from lower elementary education, which is exclusively in the hands of Catholic missionaries, there is not a single higher elementary or secondary school in Cabinda. After seventy-five years as a protectorate, Cabinda has not a single teacher or doctor among its own people. (4) There is not a single hospital other than the make-shift hospital in the capital with its twenty beds; there are no dispensaries, no maternity centres and only a few first-aid posts run by male nurses. (5) In the economic field no large investments have been made. There are no railway, no port, no permanent roads; only rough tracks which serve to take the great riches of Cabinda out of the country. In their statement the petitioners went on to say that in addition to their physical and material sufferings, they also endure mental sufferings. There is no freedom of speech, no freedom of conscience, no freedom to, work, no freedom even to dance. That is why the oppressed people of Cabinda, the petitioners continued, joyfully welcome your visit to this African territory, Mr. Secretary-General, and take advantage of this rare opportunity to raise their voices in order to make known to international opinion, through you, that they repudiate the Treaties which were signed between their forbears and Portugal, namely the treaty of Chimfuma signed on 29 September 1883, the treaty of Caio signed on 26 December 1884 and the treaty of Simulambuco signed on 1 February 1885, and request the United Nations: (1) to ask Portugal to withdraw immediately from the Cabinda enclave; (2) to recognize, the people of the Cabinda enclave as a sovereign nation, free to choose its own destiny and its alliances.
50. That is what the people of Cabinda were calling for last January. That is what they are asking you for today.
51. But is the Government in Lisbon even aware of the defects in the administration in this territory, which is entrusted to officials who are constantly being transferred in the interests of the service? We who are accustomed to western administration know what that means. I do not think I am exaggerating in asserting here that Cabinda is the dumping ground for incompetent civil servants, who are sent there to do penance for their sins.
52. Does the Government in Lisbon know that on 26 July last six peaceable inhabitants, one of them a woman with her baby on her back, were machine- gunned by soldiers because they had been caught fishing without a permit in the river Barrado Bengo and that all the huts in the village of Bengo were ransacked and set on fire? The Portuguese Government will have no difficulty in verifying whether what I am saying is correct.
53. Has the Government in Lisbon been informed by its Administration that the "Regidor" (paramount chief) of the village of Caio was imprisoned because he called his village Noveas Ideas in honour of the new African States' accession to independence? What crime had he committed?
54. We are convinced that the Portuguese Government is unaware of all these things. We are certain that this is the case, for it would not tolerate the use in the twentieth century of the methods of the Inquisition, the imprisonment of people for peaceful ideas, the destruction of radio sets to prevent them from listening to world news.
55. You will forgive me for lingering on this subject, but it was necessary for the United Nations to know that at the very time when, after seventy-five years of colonial domination, the Portuguese Government is condescending in propaganda posters to talk of collaboration between whites, blacks and half-castes, there are still people, peaceable Africans, who are enduring physical and mental suffering as a result of the lack of understanding shown by certain reactionary officials.
56. In this laboratory of universal peace, the Government of the Congo (Brazzaville), associating itself with all the statements made from this rostrum in support of peace and trusting that the disarmament problem will be speedily solved, hopes:
57. Firstly, that all men of good will who are attending this fifteenth session of the General Assembly will pledge themselves not to disperse until they have settled their differences and found a way of ensuring universal peace.
58. Secondly, that a settlement may quickly be reached so that the delegation of the Republic of the Congo (Leopoldville) sent by President Kasa-Vubu, the only person vested with authentic powers, with constitutional powers, may sit with us and make known the views of the free Congolese people with regard to their own future and their desire for harmony and for life.
59. Thirdly, that the United Nations will devote careful attention to the problem of the Portuguese colonies and more particularly to that of the people of Cabinda, who ask for freedom so that they can enjoy the right to respect of the human person and to justice.
60. In conclusion, may I say once again that the people of the Congo (Brazzaville) have faith in the future of the United Nations and complete confidence in Mr. Hammarskjold, its Secretary-General.