CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE BULLETIN - CONGO

• Document Type: SPECIALCOLLECTION
• Collection: FOIA Collection
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 06541063
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: March 16, 2022
• Document Release Date: August 5, 2016
• Case Number: F-2014-02699
• Publication Date: March 11, 1961

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11 March 1961
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CENTRAL
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CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE BULLETIN
11 March 1961
DAILY BRIEF
Congo: J a 9 March discussion on the Congo with an
American official, Hammarskjold expressed the belief that
further outbreaks in the Lower Congo were unlikely for the
time being. Relations between the UN and local authorities
however, remain uneasy. He indicated that he had not yet
found a replacement for Dayal and said that Makki Abbas of
Sudan, the interim appointee for the job, was "not the best
man in the world but would be all right." Hammarskjold is
also hopeful that several additional countries will contribute
contingents to the UN fors Another UN official has said
that the Somali and Malagasy republics might contribute a
battalion each within a month.
The Tananarive conference, by conceding the existence
of several de facto centers of power in the Congo, has
strengthened Katanga's claim to autonomy and has enhanced
Tshombe's 'Position as the leading figure in the anti-Gizenga
bloc.
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*Laos: El his remarks to Ambassador Thompson on
Laos,�KEushchev took a generally positive line, pointing
out that the US and the USSR agree that the objective should
be neutrality for Laos, that this represents a step forward,
and that bilateral conversations should be continued. He said
that neither the US nor the USSR stands to gain anything from a
continuation of the fighting and that this would only damage
relations between the two countries. He warned, however, that
any prolonged delay in reaching a solution would complicate
the problem and could cause the fighting to flare up.. He al.s.23
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Situation in the Congo
According to a UN military official in New York, the
1,000-man Moroccan contingent in Katanga seems to have
embarked on a systematic program of harassment and non-
cooperation with the UN Command. Their morale is said to
be completely broken, and they allegedly have "laid down
their arms." fflammarskjold had hoped to send the group to
Matadi in a show of force, but the troops reportedly stated
that they would obey directives only from Rabat. Rabat has
ordered this group--the only remaining part of a force which
originally totaled 3,200--to withdraw from the Congo, but
it has been delayed by transportation difficulti_e_9
The Tananarive conference apparently has agreed that
the existing central authority should be scrapped, along with
the present provincial structure. In their place a group of
new states, based largely on tribal lines, would be created,
with an ill-defined "community of united nations" arrange-
ment for a central authority, presumably in Leopoldville,
which would become a "neutral city." The participants ap-
parently are agreed that any solution reached at the conference
will be an interim one and that any definitive reform must wait
until the country is pacified. The absence--and presumably
the nonconcurrence--of Gizenga will make implementation
of these proposals difficult and will probably lead to opposi-
tion to them among his international supporters.
Tshombe seems to have been successful in his efforts
to reach agreement on replacing the present structure with
a loose confederacy. Except for Albert Kalonji of southern
Kasai--who is largely dependent on Tshombes patronage--
the other participants have an interest in retaining some
type of central authority�Kasavubu and Ileo by virtue of their
positions in the present central government, and Leopold-
ville Provincial President ICamitatu because of his long as-
sociation with Lumurnbars ideals of a unitary state. However,
local ties still have considerable importance for most of them,
and none seems to be willing to face up to strong pressure,
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from Tshombe. As a result, the conference has been able
to issue a vague communique recognizing states now exist-
ing "by right or in fact."
The only well-defined point on which the participants
agree seems to be opposition to the UN. For the most part
they are trying to limit their discussions to general princi-
ples, leaving contentious details to be worked out in a larger
conference tentatively scheduled for the end of March in
Elisabethville. Such a conference, which might be attended
by as many as 400 leaders of varying political stature, would
be likely to become involved in extensive wrangling.
11 Mar 61 CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE BULLETIN page 2
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