Word: congos
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...Congo was certainly a shambles. The week began with the President firing the Premier and the Premier firing the President. For days, sphinxlike President Joseph Kasavubu had watched the havoc wreaked by Patrice Lumumba's turbulent decrees, had talked privately of plans to end the chaos, and hesitated. Finally, taunted by scornful party youth leaders, who threatened to withdraw their support. Kasavubu roared: "By God, I will...
Since the Congo was still operating under the unratified "loi fondamentale" be queathed by the Belgians, the constitutional legalities involved in all this were unclear, but Lumumba left no one in doubt as to who held the initiative. Next day, as Kasavubu and his new Premier-designate Ileo sat timidly in the President's home, Lumumba's police fell upon a crowd of Kasavubu followers and opened fire, killing two. wounding twelve, and hauling scores away to jail...
Aglow with success, the erratic Premier saved his shocker until the end. "The United Nations has plotted with Kasavubu to overthrow my government and failed," he shouted. "We must demand the immediate withdrawal of all United Nations troops from the Congo...
...threat of civil war was bad enough, but Hammarskjold was now more alarmed at the busy activities of Soviet Russia, which had first come in to help under the U.N.'s aegis, was now operating high, wide and handsome on its own. Fifteen Ilyushin transports, with "Republique du Congo" freshly painted on their sides, were flying in and out of Stanleyville, carrying troops and supplies to Lumumba's forward units. Also in the interior were 100 Russian trucks, and Soviet "technicians" were ar riving almost daily from the north...
...considered the Russian intervention so serious that he had a special statement ready at his press conference warning the Soviets "to desist from unilateral activities." Ike charitably admitted there was no direct evidence of Russian military pilots operating the 11-yushins. But the pilots were certainly not Congolese-the Congo has nobody capable of flying a two-engined plane. To all this the Russians retorted that they would continue aiding Lumumba as long as they wanted...