If you are a history lover, news junkie, or student of political science, government, international studies, international relations, international law, diplomacy, public policy, etc. then this is a blog that will catch your eye!
The early 1960s was a time of conflict in the present-day Democratic Republic of the Congo. Belgium’s abrupt decolonization threw the country into chaos, and United Nations peacekeepers were called in when the province of Katanga seceded.
On this day in 1961, the UN peacekeepers launched a military operation to gain strategic positions around Elisabethville (now Lubumbashi) after Katangan rebels attempted to isolate UN troops from each other.
You can read on at the link to learn more about the Congo Crisis and to learn about the evacuations from Elisabethville that took place when the military operation started.
On this day in 1964, the John F. Kennedy library in Cairo, Egypt was burned to the ground by protesting Congolese students. The protesting students were angry about U.S. support of Joseph Kasa-Vubu over the Soviet-backed Congolese Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba. Of the 20,000 books in the library, only 8 could be saved.
To learn more about the chaos surrounding the protest and the aftermath of the fire, read on at the link.
On this day in 1964, Operation Dragon Rouge, a joint U.S.-Belgian force, rescued hostages in the Congo after 111 days of captivity.
324 people had been taken hostage by the Simbas, a rebel group in the Congo. Among them were American FSOs, including Commercial Officer Michael Hoyt, who discusses his experiences at the link.
In 1960, the then Republic of the Congo (later the Democratic Republic of the Congo) gained its independence from Belgium. Shortly afterwards, Moise Tshombe, a politician, declared the southernmost province of the new country to be independent, creating the nation of Katanga.
Katanga had a wealth of natural resources, including copper, so nations like France, Britain, and Belgium turned a blind eye in order to benefit from trade with the new nation.
To learn more about this secession, and how it later failed, read on at the link.
On this day in 1960, Belgium suddenly handed over control of the Congo to a slapdash representative government. Because of the turnover, within a week the newly independent African nation descended into chaos.
Two different U.S. Foreign Service Officers discuss their opinions of this hasty handover and the violent repercussions that happened as a result. Read what they said at the link.
