July 1, 1960

Lumumba Assails Colonialism as Congo Is Freed

By HARRY GILROY

Special to The New York Times

eopoldville, Republic of Congo, June 30--An attack on colonialism by the Premier of the new Republic of Congo marred the ceremonies today in which King Baudouin of the Belgians proclaimed the territory's independence. [Early Friday the republic of Somalia was proclaimed.] The Congo independence ceremony before the two chambers of Parliament was attended by leading Belgian officials and diplomats from all over the world. It began in an atmosphere of friendship but was abruptly transformed by the militant speech of Premier Patrice Lumumba, who cited the sufferings of the African people at the hands of the whites.

Two hours later at a state dinner however, Mr. Lumumba toasted King Baudouin and praised Belgium for the magnificent work she had done in building the Congo. He said the Congolese people were grateful that Belgium had given them freedom without delay and the he said the two countries would remain friendly.

The ceremonies were held in the beautifully draped circular hall of the National Palace that was to have been the residence of the Belgian Governor General.

Kasavubu Expresses Goodwill

Joseph Kasavubu, the new nation's Chief of State, expressed goodwill toward Belgium and won hearty applause from the members of Parliament. Apparently as a result of behind-the-scenes discussion. Mr. Kasavubu dropped the last section of his prepared address, which was to have ended with the declaration: "I proclaim in the name of the nation the birth of the Republic of the Congo!"

Instead, Mr. Lumumba moved from his place alongside Premier Gaston Eyskens of Belgium and went to the lectern to speak. He wore the maroon sash of the Order of the Crown, Belgium's highest decoration, which he received last night.

He said that June 30, 1960 would be known for the "glorious history of our struggle for liberty." He asserted that no Congolese would ever forget the struggle in which "we have not spared our strength, our privations, our sufferings or our blood.

Cites 'Wounds' of Colonialism

It was a struggle that was indispensable, he said, for putting an end to the "humiliating slavery which had been imposed on us by force." He commented that colonialism had left wounds too keen and too painful to be wiped from memory.

Premier Lumumba reminded the members of the new Parliament of "the ironies, the insults, the blows that we had to submit to morning, noon and night because we were Negroes."

He declared Congo must be made the "rallying point of all Africa" and that the nation must put an end to the oppression of free thought and give to all citizens the fundamental liberties guaranteed in the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Man.

He said Belgium had finally understood the meaning of history and had not tried to oppose Congo's independence. He noted that Belgium was ready to provide help and friendship and that a treaty had been signed that would be profitable to both countries.

Baudouin Is Cheered

King Baudouin was cheered as he drove to the ceremony. In the first speech of the day he gave a careful statement of Belgium's claim to have delivered the Congolese from the Arab slave trade and to have created the fabric of civilization on which their parliament now rests.

The territory was acquired in 1885 by King Leopold II, Baudouin's great-grand uncle, as a personal empire. Belgium took it over as a colony in 1908.

King Baudouin foresaw as the principal dangers threatening the Congolese the inexperience of the people, tribal struggles and "the attraction that you exercise for certain areas of foreign powers desiring to profit from weakness."

He urged the Congo Parliament to continue the services established by the Belgians and to turn to Belgium for help whenever it was needed. He concluded: "My country and I recognize with joy and emotion that the Congo has acceded on June 30, 1960, in full accord and friendships with Belgium, to independence and international sovereignty."

Premier Lumumba's speech produced comments of surprise and disappointment among Belgian and other Western representatives. The Soviet diplomats present seemed to be enjoying the occasion.

Robert Murphy, former Under Secretary of State and head of the United States delegation to the independence ceremonies, presented credentials to Mr. Kasavubu and gave him a bust of Abraham Lincoln sent by President Eisenhower.

Mr. Murphy said the United States was prepared to finance the training of 300 Congolese in United States schools or institutions of other countries.

Clare H. Timberlake, who has been counselor of the United States Embassy in Bonn and who accompanied Mr. Murphy, is scheduled to become the United States Ambassador.

Congo Rises From Stone Age to Statehood in Few Decades

Fifty-five years ago, in the heartland of darkest Africa, which formally became the independent Republic of Congo today, the wheel was not used, language was not written, cannibalism and witchcraft were common, and the site of the capital, Leopoldville, was still a dense jungle.

That area became known to the outside world only eighty-five years ago. At that time the British-born American newspaper man Sir Henry Morton Stanley, who had earlier tracked down the missing Dr. David Livingstone, undertook a long exploration of the Congo River.

Sir Henry later tried to interest the British in the new land but failed. However, he succeeded with King Leopold II of Belgium, who decided to use his own great wealth to develop the Congo as a kind of personal estate after the Belgian Government had refused to show interest. King Leopold set up the Independent State of the Congo, which lasted until 1908, when the Belgian Parliament took it over as a colony.

The Belgian Government set out to substitute the carpenter's hammer for the tribal drum, introducing the twentieth century overnight to a primitive people divided into many warring tribes.

The 13,600,000 Congolese, scattered over an immense area of equatorial forest and savanna about a third as large as the United States, are still divided into about 200 tribes, some of them still warring.

More than 400 dialects are still spoken in the Republic of Congo. The range of social evolution almost covers the range of human growth, starting with the Stone Age aborigines in the Pygmy tribes, who use arrows and spears dipped in poison. The new state is home not only to the world's smallest human beings--the four-foot Pygmies--but also to some of the world's tallest--the seven-foot-tall Watusis.

There is also a "lost greatness" for the Congolese to remember in their new struggles. The Kingdom of the Congo flourished from the fourteenth century and even exchanged envoys with Portugal, the Vatican, Brazil and the Netherlands. But the kingdom fell victim to the slave traffic and began a rapid decline in the eighteenth century.

Today barely half of the Congolese can read and write, and only sixteen Congolese are university or college graduates. There are no Congolese doctors, lawyers or engineers, and no African officers in the 25,000-man Congolese Army.

The independence movement began among Congolese working for the colonial administration or for commercial companies in a land that is rich in copper and cobalt and industrial diamonds. At first, after World War II, the Congolese talked only of "equal pay for equal work," but following quickly upon this came talk of political rights.

In December, 1957, the Belgian colonial administration gave the Congolese their first measure of self-rule by holding elections in Leopoldville, Elisabethville and Jadotville. A year later the cry for "immediate independence and departure of all the Belgians" had become common.

The Belgian Government tried to carry out a plan for independence by stages, by rioting in Leopoldville in January, 1959, aroused pressure for early independence. That independence was agreed upon at a roundtable conference in Brussels earlier this year.