Editing Belgian Congo (section)

==Congo Crisis and aftermath==
{{Main|Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville)|Zaire|Congo Crisis}}
The rebellion that had started in [[Mbanza-Ngungu|Thyssville]] in the Bas-Congo in July 1960 quickly spread to the rest of the Congo.<ref>For an overview of developments in the Congo after 1960 see: O'Ballance, Edgar (2000), ''The Congo-Zaire Experience, 1960–98'', Houndmills: MacMillan Press.</ref> In September 1960, the leaders split, with President Kasa-Vubu declaring prime minister Lumumba deposed from his functions, and vice versa. The stalemate was ended with the government's arrest of Lumumba. In January 1961, he was flown to the rich mining province of [[Katanga Province|Katanga]], which by that time had declared a secession from Léopoldville under the leadership of Moïse Tshombe (with active Belgian support). Lumumba was handed over to Katangan authorities, who executed him.

[[File:Congo Crisis dead hostages.jpg|thumb|Belgian soldier lying in front of dead hostages, November 1964, in Stanleyville during [[Operation Dragon Rouge]]. Belgian paratroopers freed over 1,800 European and American hostages held by Congolese rebels.]]
In 2002 Belgium officially apologised for its role in the assassination of Lumumba; the [[CIA]] has long been speculated of complicity, as they had seen Lumumba's politics were too far left. The Soviet Union during the Cold War years was active in expanding its influence in Africa against European powers, giving 'anti-colonialism' as a rationale for the increase of its power in the region.<ref>A first-hand account of the CIA's activities in the Congo in 1960–61 in: Devlin, Larry (2008), ''Chief of Station, Congo: Fighting the Cold War in a Hot Zone'', Cambridge: PublicAffairs</ref> A series of rebellions and separatist movements seemed to shatter the dream of a unitary Congolese state at its birth. Although the nation was independent, Belgian paratroopers intervened in the Congo on various occasions to protect and evacuate [[Operation Dragon Rouge|Belgian and international citizens]]. The United Nations maintained a large peace-keeping operation in the Congo from late 1960 onward. The situation did not stabilise until 1964–65. Katanga province was re-absorbed and the so-called [[Simba Rebellion]] ended in Stanleyville (province Orientale). Shortly after that army colonel [[Mobutu Sese Seko|Joseph Désiré Mobutu]] ended the political impasse by seizing power in a ''coup d'état''.

Mobutu had some support in the West, and in particular in the United States, because of his strong anti-communist stance. Initially his rule favored consolidation and economic development (e.g., by building the Inga dam that had been planned in the 1950s). In order to distance himself from the previous regime, he launched a campaign of Congolese "authenticity". The government abandoned the use of colonial place names in 1966: Léopoldville was renamed as [[Kinshasa]], Elisabethville as [[Lubumbashi]], Stanleyville as [[Kisangani]]. During this period, the Congo generally maintained close economic and political ties with Belgium. Certain financial issues had remained unresolved after independence (the so-called "contentieux"), for instance, the transfer of shares in the big mining companies that had been held directly by the colonial state.<ref>Willame, Jean-Claude (1989), "Vingt-cinq ans de rélations belgo-zaïroises", In ''Congo-Zaïre'', Brussels: GRIP, pp. 145–58.</ref> In 1970, on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of independence, King Baudouin paid an official state visit to the Congo.

Mobutu's régime became more radical during the 1970s. The ''[[Popular Movement of the Revolution|Mouvement populaire de la Révolution]]'' (MPR), of which Mobutu was the ''président-fondateur'', firmly established one-party rule. Political repression increased considerably. Mobutu renamed the Congo as the republic of [[Zaïre]]. The so-called "[[Authenticité (Zaire)|Zaïrisation]]" of the country in the mid-1970s led to an exodus of foreign workers and economic disaster. In the 1980s the Mobutu regime became a byword for mismanagement and corruption.<ref>Wrong, Michela (2001), ''Living on the Brink of Disaster in Mobutu's Congo, In the Footsteps of Mr Kurtz'', New York: HarperCollins, pp. 195–200.</ref> Relations with Belgium, the former colonial power, went through a series of ups and downs, reflecting a steady decline in the underlying economic, financial and political interests. As there was no danger of the country falling into Soviet hands, the Western powers maintained a neutral stance.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Bud |first=Guy |title=Imperial Transitions: Belgian-Congolese relations in the post-colonial era |journal=SIR |date=2013 |issue=2 |pages=7–8}}</ref>

[[File:Statue de Léopold II à Kinshasa.jpg|thumb|Equestrian statue of [[Leopold II of Belgium|Leopold II]] in Kinshasa]]
After the fall of the Soviet Union and end of the [[Cold War]] in the late 1980s, Mobutu lost support in the West. As a result, in 1990, he decided to end the one-party system and dramatically announced a return to democracy. But he dragged his feet and played out his opponents against one another to gain time. A bloody intervention of the [[Military of the Democratic Republic of the Congo|Zaïrian Army]] against students on the [[University of Lubumbashi|Lubumbashi University Campus]] in May 1990 precipitated a break in diplomatic relations between Belgium and Zaïre. Pointedly, Mobutu was not invited to attend the funeral of King Baudouin in 1993, which he considered a grave personal affront.

In 1997 Mobutu was forced from power by a rebel force headed by [[Laurent-Désiré Kabila]], who declared himself president and renamed Zaïre as the [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]]. Assassinated in 2001, Kabila was succeeded by his son [[Joseph Kabila]]. In 2006 Joseph Kabila was confirmed as president through the first nationwide free elections in the Congo since 1960. On 30 June&nbsp;– 2 July 2010, [[Albert II of Belgium|King Albert II]] and [[Yves Leterme]], the [[Prime Minister of Belgium|Belgian Prime Minister]], visited Kinshasa to attend the festivities marking the 50th anniversary of Congolese independence.

Certain practices and traditions from the colonial period have survived into the independent Congolese state. It maintains a strong centralising and bureaucratic tendency, and has kept the organizational structure of the education system and the judiciary. The influence of the Congo on Belgium has been manifested mainly in economic terms: through the activities of the [[Union Minière du Haut Katanga|Union Minière]] (now [[Umicore]]), the development of a nonferrous metal industry, and the development of the [[Port of Antwerp]] and [[Antwerp diamond district|diamond industry]]. To this day, [[Brussels Airlines]] (successor of the former [[Sabena]]) has maintained a strong presence in the DRC. It was estimated that in 2010, more than 4,000 Belgian nationals were resident in the DRC, and the Congolese community in Belgium was at least 16,000 strong. The [[Ixelles#Matongé|"Matongé"]] quarter in Brussels is the traditional focal point of the Congolese community in Belgium.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Swyngedouw |first1=Eva |first2=Erik |last2=Swyngedouw |year=2009 |title=The Congolese Diaspora in Brussels and hybrid identity formation |journal=Urban Research & Practice |volume=2 |issue=1 |pages=68–90 |doi=10.1080/17535060902727074 |s2cid=143979364}}</ref>