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Congo Brushes Aside Belgian Apology
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By ARNAUD ZAJTMAN
Associated Press Writer

February 6, 2002, 3:59 PM EST

KINSHASA, Congo -- Belgium's historic apology for its role in the 1961
assassination of Congo's first prime minister was brushed aside Wednesday in
this war-divided country, where residents are more interested in what their
former colonial ruler can do to help restore peace and democracy.

Most newspapers and television broadcasts were preoccupied with peace talks
taking place in Geneva between the government and major rebel faction,
rather than the slaying of Patrice Lumumba.

"Belgium must back our peace process instead of disturbing us with ancient
history," said Albert Ndjeke, a father of eight who stood in one of the
large groups that gather daily around newspaper vendors to catch up on the
news.

There was more interest in Belgium, where all major newspapers headlined the
formal apology read by Foreign Minister Louis Michel during a parliamentary
debate Tuesday on a report into Lumumba's killing. But critics voiced
concern the gesture would not go far enough in ending debate over Belgium's
colonial past.

The parliamentary report, concluded in November after an 18-month inquiry,
failed to link the Belgian government directly to Lumumba's assassination
but found ministers bore a "moral responsibility" by failing to act to
prevent it after he was captured by Congolese rivals.

Michel said the time had come for the government to present "its profound
and sincere regrets and apologies" to Lumumba's family and the Congolese
people.

Lumumba's sons, Francois and Roland, attended the debate and said they were
happy with the apology.

"Forty-one years after the murder, Belgium has taken its responsibility in
light of what occurred," said Francois Lumumba. "We are ready to turn the
page."

But back in Congo's grimy, crumbling capital, many felt the apology did not
go far enough.

"This is wordy language," said 19-year-old Ben Kabeya. "If Belgium wants us
to forgive, they should tell us the reasons why Lumumba's assassination took
place."

Government spokesman Kikaya Bin Karubi congratulated Belgium "for the
courage of this rereading of history," but said consultations were still
needed on reparations.

The death of Lumumba, a charismatic anti-colonial leader, shocked the world
during the turbulent months following Congo's independence from Belgium in
1960. Decades later, he remains the closest thing there is to a hero in a
country ravaged by corrupt dictatorship and war.

Precisely who was responsible for his death remains a mystery. Among those
blamed have been Congolese political opponents, former Belgian colonizers
and CIA agents who feared Lumumba's friendship with the Soviets.

Michel said the parliamentary report showed Belgian government officials
were involved in the transfer of Lumumba to the breakaway Congolese region
of Katanga, but not that the government had sought his "physical
elimination."

The investigating committee said it was able to pinpoint Lumumba's killing
down to three minutes -- between 9:40 p.m. and 9:43 p.m. of Jan. 17, 1961 --
but it did not say who committed the killing.

Belgium has been seeking to improve its relations with Congo, stepping up
development aid and playing a growing role in efforts to end the country's
latest civil war.

Michel said Belgium was donating $3.26 million to create a Patrice Lumumba
Foundation to finance conflict prevention projects and study grants for
young Congolese. A further $435,000 will be donated annually, he said.

But some critics said gestures like an apology did not fully address
Belgium's role in Congo.

"The apologies of the Belgian government to Lumumba's family are beside the
point," said former Belgian Foreign Minister Mark Eyskens, whose father,
Gaston Eyskens, was premier at the time of the assassination.

Eyskens called the apology a "slap in the face" to all the other Congolese
killed in the chaos that prevailed when Belgian troops left Congo.

Copyright (c) 2002, The Associated Press

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