#CongoWeek Day 2 - Monday, October 21: Leopold II Theme: Congo’s History Action: Visit friendsofthecongo.org to learn more about Congo’s history Film proposed: Congo: White King, Red Rubber Black Death Watch here youtube/watch?v=aUZLtkLA0VE Few facts about Leopold II and the movement to stop him 1. Read more about Maria Fearing, African-American who went to the Congo in the late 1800. nowafrican.org/en/maria-fearing-when-alabama-met-congo/ 2. When Booker T Washington found out that millions were dead in the Congo under the rule of Leopold, he wrote an article to let the American people know about the situation unz.org/Pub/Outlook-1904oct08-00375 3. Mark Twain also broke his silence on the Congo as he used his talent as a writer to speak up. He wrote King Leopolds Soliloquy: A Defense of His Congo Rule. diglib1.amnh.org/articles/kls/twain.pdf 4. Also read about the work of the Congo Reform Association in stopping Leopold IIs rule in the Congo and the atrocities his military force was committing in the Congo. muse.jhu.edu/journals/journal_of_colonialism_and_colonial_history/summary/v011/11.1.pavlakis.html The Congo reform association challenged world governments support to Leopold. Can you imagine if E.D. Morel went to see Ford and others to tell them he wanted conflict-free tires from the Congo? He went directly to the issue of the UK and other governments supporting Leopold while the massacres went on. 100 years later, are we following the lead of those who build the first international human rights campaign in the world? 5. E.D. Morels book that made the UK government investigate Leopolds crimes in the Congo ia600308.us.archive.org/14/items/redrubberstoryof00more/redrubberstoryof00more.pdf Studying Leopold today, it is clear to me that the present corollary to Leopold II of Belgium is President Paul Kagame of Rwanda. 1. Both were backed by the United States 2. Both helped get resources out of the Congo to the US 3. Both are responsible of heinous crimes in the Congo 4. Both have been implicated in the carving up of the Congo 5. In both cases, many people actually knew or know that they could not/cannot do what they did/do without support of the United States. For Leopold, the US supported him because he supported Abraham Lincoln during the civil ar by being the European nations giving the US arms so the US thanked him of his support via Henry Sanford by being the first country to recognize the Congo as a personal property of Leopold. For Kagame, it is simple... he is a US ally on the war on terror. Rwandan soldiers are deployed on in Sudan, Haiti... Rwandan generals wanted for war crimes by the Spanish court that tried Pinochet of Chile are promoted at the UN. The current Rwandan General who heads the UN mission in Mali is an example. I hope you read... and share...
Posted on: Mon, 21 Oct 2013 15:32:13 +0000
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