CURRENT INTELLIGENCE WEEKLY SUMMARY: CONGO

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0000202769
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RIPPUB
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U
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4
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June 24, 2015
Document Release Date: 
November 17, 2011
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Case Number: 
F-2009-00914
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April 16, 1961
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(b)(1) (b)(3) COPY NO. 77 OCI NO. 0275/61 13 April 1961 CURRENT INTELLIGENCE WEEKLY SUMMARY APPROVED FOR RELEASE[] DATE: 11-02-2011 CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY OFFICE OF CURRENT INTELLIGENCE Lo9PiF~6 40- NU LAHANUt. IN S 5 . o Ci DECLASS; EIED CLASS. GliAN 'ED IONS NEXT REV:E AUTHt SE RET CURRENT INTELLIGENCE WEEKLY SUMMARY Maneuvering is continuing between officials of the Stan- leyville and Leopoldville re- gimes. A meeting between Gizenga and members of Ileo's cabinet reportedly scheduled for 10 April did not take place. Officials in both capitals ap- parently are becoming increas- ingly distrustful of each other. Leopoldville Provincial Presi- dent Kamitatu, who has been a leader in the efforts to bring the two sides together, now be- lieves that negotiations will be postponed at least until next week. The chief causes of the postponement apparently were an. order from Gizenga "dismiss- ing" Kasavubu and an attempt by Mobutu at unilateral nego- tiations with officers of Gi- zenga's forces. Gizenga, who claims that as acting head of the "legitimate government" he is empowered to remove the chief of state if he proves unfit to govern, has issued a decree re- placing Kasavubu with a "presi- dential college" composed of the ministers of Lumumba's cab- inet who no w are in Stanlevville and Cairo. Mob}itu flew to Bumba on 9 April, allegedly to meet General Lundula, Gizenga's army commander. However, according to Kamitatu, Lundula refuses to operate inde- pendently of Gizenga, and Mobu- tu's trip apparently was fruit- less. Gizenga reportedly is un- willing to go to any negotia- tions without Kamitatu, who would refuse to attend any talks in which Mobutu is a participant. UN-Congolese Relations The possibility remains of new violence in the lower Congo river area between the Congolese and the UN Command. In reply to Hammarskjold's proposal that a token Nigerian police unit be admitted to Matadi, Kasavubu insisted on a phased arrival. This was deemed unsatisfactory by the secretary general, but he told a group of Western rep- resentatives on 8 April that the reply did not warrant strong UN action. Hammarskjold implied that he hoped to gain further concessions from the Congolese by negotiation Congolese officials in Leopoldville were told on 11 April that UN chief representa- tive Dayal would return to the Congo. Foreign Minister Bomboko asserted this would lead to new incidents between the UN and the Congolese forces. He said that no UN forces would be al- lowed in Matadi and that the Indian contingent presently be- ing sea-lifted would be fired on if it attempted to land there. Foodstuffs are piling up at Leopoldville warehouses and sizable quantities of fish, ba- con, and meat are going to waste. SE RET WEEKLY REVIEW Page 4 of 21 CURRENT INTELLIGENCE WEEKLY =.TMARY A senior official of th@ Congo- lese transport company blamed' the UN for refusing to issue instructions for distribution and warned that company opera- tions would soon be bottle- necked at Leopoldville, and that facilities at Matadi would have to be shut down. The Leo- poldville problem, according to the company, has nothing to do with the issue of UN troops in Matadi. Military Operations in Katanga Tshombe is continuing his harassment of UN officials in an effort to halt the UN attempt to blunt his military operations around Kabalo. Elisabethville banks reportedly are no longer honoring UN checks, and Katanga p fwe' id1 la C`, rif f -k9Y f:.' c`vr 35 u{.p 71 .Gemena Bumba ~Aketi t. Con9. Basoko Late ~~ A16en Stanleyville coquilhatville .Opals Atlantic ocean luabourg Bakwang 31592 .Kong0In Albert viii. Kabalo troops at the Kamina base, where some 1,400 Indian troops are stationed, are maintaining road- blocks and mining roads in the area. The UN has reinforced its contingent of Ethiopians at Kabalo; a 'spokesman for the or- ganization said on 10 April that the UN was in "complete control" of the town. Efforts to airlift 1,200 Indian troops to Katanga from the Tanganyika port of Dar es Salaam, where the US transport Blatchford remains with some 2,300 Indian troops on board, are stalemated for lack of suit- able aviation fuel in Tanganyika and the limited airport facili- ties there. The UN apparently is attempting to airlift all or part of the Indian contingent in UN aircraft. Hammarskjold has about 15 C-54s at his disposal, which could carry 40 troops each trip. Any of the Indian troops not airlifted presumably would go by sea to Matadi, or to Lagos, Nigeria. Hammarskjold fears that Tshombe's military operations foreshadow intensified civil war in Katanga unless the UN can promptly establish its authority. He believes that Tshombe's moves, are an effort to undercut Jason Sendwe, who on 7 April proclaimed himself chief of 4-he Lualaba state and called oa its people to resist Tshombe's troops. The. secretary general said that he is coming to the conclusion, that Tshombe is "simply a criminal and outlaw" and that the ele- ment of force on Tshombe's side in diplomatic bargaining with the UN must be removed. 13 Apr 61 RET Page 5 of 21 SE (CIE T White mercenaries played a crucial role in the military effort against the Baluba tribesmen of north Katanga; Tshomb6 apparently is un- der pressure from traditionalist leaders in the Katanga legisla- ture, who have introduced a bill calling for the establish- ment of a prime minister's of-' fice. Under this system Tshombe as president would have a large- ly symbolic role, and actual power would be wielded by the premier. The traditionalists reportedly hope to install their spokesman, Interior Minister Munongo,in the new office. Mu- nongo is an extreme conservative who is strongly opposed to the Belgians and is generally un- friendly to other Europeans. Nevertheless, the Social- ist Paul-Henri Spaak, who will most likely be the next foreign minister, is expected to adopt a more cooperative attitude toward the UN and is said to be planning to absorb the Min- istry of African Affairs into the Foreign Ministry, in the hope of eliminating a, major source of pro-Katanga influence and an important channel for undercover dealings with Tshomb6. The new government, however, would not advocate a Congo policy which would seriously arouse the Belgian public and jeopardize the pros- pects for the domestic re- forms in which the elec- torate ig nrimnrilcy inter-