Patrice Lumumba’s Struggle Against Belgian Imperialism Essay -- Politi

Patrice Lumumbas Struggle Against Belgian Imperialism It is hard to believe that in 2002 there is motionless imperialism being practiced in the world, but the fact of the matter is, it is. Imperialism is the policy of extending a nations territory or power by establishing potentiality over other nations. A modern example of imperialism is the Congo.At the 1885 Berlin Conference, where the European powers carved up most of Africa among themselves, they sanctioned the claim of Belgian King Leopold II to sole authority over the Congo, a land mass 75 times the area of Belgium. The Congo was virtually his private property. He wiped out several(prenominal) 10 million people, around half the population, in his determination to extract every last penny of profit.1 The Congo, later renamed Zaire, and now called the Democratic Republic of Congo, is indue with immense mineral wealth in. At the time of the rise of the independence movement in 1958, Congo was among the worlds l argest producer of copper, uranium, cobalt, industrial diamonds, and rubber.2 In the late mid-fifties and early 1960s there was a mass movement of resistance against the Belgian government. At the forefront of this struggle was Patrice Lumumba. In October 1958 Lumumba, a former postal employee, helped to found the Congolese National Movement (MNC), the first nationwide Congolese political party.3 MNC gained much mass appeal because it united the Congolese people across the divisions of language and culture in a struggle against the imperialist rulers. The Belgian government buckled under the pressure of the resistance and reluctantly agreed to declare June 30, 1960 emancipation Day and to hold free elections. MNC won more seats then any other party and Lu... ... the Congolese people when he wrote, This is a dreaded story of colonial brutality, of the way in which the United Nations serves the worlds major powers, and of the primacy of profit over democracy.9 People from So uth Korea to Puerto Rico are struggling against imperialism. Lumumbas champion has been documented in numerous books and movies. It is important that oppressed people learn from other oppressed people in the movement to end imperialism. 1 Charlie Kimber, Dark eye of Imperialism, Issue 92 of International Socialism Journal, Autumn 2001, http//www.isj1text.ble.org.uk/pubs/isj92/kimber.htm 2 Brian Williams, Imperialism vs. Congolese Freedom Struggle, Issue 28/Vol 65 The Militant, July 23 2001, http//www.themilitant.com/2001/6528/652852.html 3 Ibid4 Ibid5 Ibid 6 Kimber7 Ibid8 Ibid9 Ibid