CONGO: From Colonialism to Socialism to Democracy

(French) Congolese Colonial
Army soldier, circa 1905

After the September 1958 referendum approving the new French Constitution, French Equatorial Africa was dissolved. Its four territories became autonomous members of the French Community, and Middle Congo was renamed the Congo Republic. Formal independence was granted in August 1960.

Congo's first President was Fulbert Youlou, a former Catholic priest from the Pool region in the southeast. He rose to political prominence after 1956, and was narrowly elected President by the National Assembly at independence. Youlou's 3 years in power were marked by ethnic tensions and political rivalry. In August 1963, Youlou was overthrown in a 3-day popular uprising (Les Trois Glorieuses) led by labor elements and joined by rival political parties. All members of the Youlou government were arrested or removed from office. The Congolese military took charge of the country briefly and installed a civilian provisional government headed by Alphonse Massamba-Debat. Under the 1963 constitution, Massamba-Debat was elected President for a 5-year term and named Pascal Lissouba to serve as Prime Minister. President Massamba-Debat's term ended abruptly in August 1968, when Capt. Marien Ngouabi and other army officers toppled the government in a coup. After a period of consolidation under the newly formed National Revolutionary Council, Major Ngouabi assumed the presidency on December 31, 1968. One year later, President Ngouabi proclaimed Congo to be Africa's first "people's republic" and announced the decision of the National Revolutionary Movement to change its name to the Congolese Labor Party (PCT).

On March 18, 1977, President Ngouabi was assassinated. Although the persons accused of shooting Ngouabi were tried and some of them executed, the motivation behind the assassination remains unclear. An 11-member Military Committee of the Party (CMP) was named to head an interim government with Colonel (later General) Joachim Yhomby-Opango to serve as President of the Republic. Accused of corruption and deviation from party directives, Yhomby-Opango was removed from office on February 5, 1979, by the Central Committee of the PCT, which then simultaneously designated Vice President and Defense Minister Col. Denis Sassou-Nguesso as interim President. The Central Committee directed Sassou-Nguesso to take charge of preparations for the Third Extraordinary Congress of the PCT, which proceeded to elect him President of the Central Committee and President of the Republic. Under a congressional resolution, Yhomby-Opango was stripped of all powers, rank, and possessions and placed under arrest to await trial for high treason. He was released from house arrest in late 1984 and ordered back to his native village of Owando.

Che Guevara in the Congo, c. 1965

After 2 decades of turbulent politics bolstered by Marxist-Leninist rhetoric, and with the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Congolese gradually moderated their economic and political views to the point that, in 1992, Congo completed a transition to multi-party democracy. Ending a long history of one-party Marxist rule, a specific agenda for this transition was laid out during Congo's national conference of 1991 and culminated in August 1992 with multi-party presidential elections. Sassou-Nguesso conceded defeat and Congo's new President, Prof. Pascal Lissouba, was inaugurated on August 31, 1992.

Congolese democracy experienced severe trials in 1993 and early 1994. President Lissouba dissolved the National Assembly in November 1992, calling for new elections in May 1993. The results of those elections were disputed, touching off violent civil unrest in June and again in November. In February 1994, all parties accepted the decisions of an international board of arbiters, and the risk of large-scale insurrection subsided.

Congo's democratic progress was derailed in 1997. As presidential elections scheduled for July 1997 approached, tensions between the Lissouba and Sassou-Nguesso camps mounted. When President Lissouba's government forces surrounded Sassou-Nguesso's compound in Brazzaville with armored vehicles on June 5, Sassou-Nguesso ordered his militia to resist. Thus began a 4-month conflict that destroyed or damaged much of Brazzaville. In early October, Angolan troops invaded Congo on the side of Sassou-Nguesso and, in mid-October, the Lissouba government fell. Soon thereafter, Sassou-Nguesso declared himself President and named a 33-member government.

In January 1998, the Sassou-Nguesso regime held a National Forum for Reconciliation to determine the nature and duration of the transition period. The forum, tightly controlled by the government, decided elections should be held in about 3 years, elected a transition advisory legislature, and announced that a constitutional convention would finalize a draft constitution. However, the eruption in late 1998 of fighting between Sassou-Nguesso's government forces and a pro-Lissouba and pro-Kolelas armed opposition disrupted the transition to democracy. This new violence also closed the economically vital Brazzaville-Pointe Noire railroad, caused great destruction and loss of life in southern Brazzaville and in the Pool, Bouenza, and Niari regions, and displaced hundreds of thousands of persons. In November and December 1999, the government signed agreements with representatives of many, though not all, of the rebel groups.

The December accord, mediated by President Omar Bongo of Gabon, called for follow-on, inclusive political negotiations between the government and the opposition. During the years 2000-2001, Sassou-Nguesso's government conducted a national dialogue (Dialogue Sans Exclusif), in which the opposition parties and the government agreed to continue on the path to peace. Ex-President Lissouba and ex-Prime Minister Kolelas refused to agree and were exiled. They were tried in absentia and convicted in Brazzaville of charges ranging from treason to misappropriation of government funds. Ex-militiamen were granted amnesty, and many were provided micro-loans to aid their reintegration into civil society. Not all opposition members participated. One group, referred to as "Ninjas," actively opposed the government in a low-level guerrilla war in the Pool region of the country. Other members of opposition parties have returned and have opted to participate to some degree in political life.

Congolese Flag, 1970-1992

A new constitution was drafted in 2001, approved by the provisional legislature (National Transition Council), and approved by the people of Congo in a national referendum in January 2002. Presidential elections were held in March 2002, and Sassou-Nguesso was declared the winner. Legislative elections were held in May and June 2002. In March 2003, the government signed a peace accord with the Ninjas, and the country has remained stable and calm since the signing. President Sassou-Nguesso allowed Kolelas to return to Congo for his wife's funeral in October 2005 and subsequently asked that parliament grant Kolelas amnesty. Parliament complied with Sassou-Nguesso's request in December 2005.

In 2007, Sassou-Nguesso announced he would allow the return of former president Pascal Lissouba, along with a pardon for the 2001 in absentia conviction for “economic crimes” for which Lissouba had been sentenced to 30 years. Although a general amnesty has been granted to Lissouba since December 2009, he has not yet returned to the country. Now a health condition requiring regular treatment not available in Brazzaville seems to be the only real obstacle to his return. Former Prime Minister Joachim Yhombi-Opango returned to the country in August 2007, after the Council of Ministers granted him amnesty in May for a 2001 conviction in absentia for allegedly improperly selling the country’s oil while in office. Legislative elections were held in June and August 2007 and were widely viewed as disorganized and marred by irregularities, with low voter turnout. Presidential elections were held in July 2009, and Sassou-Nguesso was declared the winner. Legislative elections are slated for 2012.

All images used are in the public domain and were obtained via Wikimedia Commons.

Treasury Designates Four Venezuelan Officials for Providing Arms and Security to the FARC

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) today announced the designation of four Venezuelan government officials pursuant to the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act (Kingpin Act) for acting for or on behalf of the narco-terrorist organization the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), often in direct support of its narcotics and arms trafficking activities. 

“Today’s action exposes four Venezuelan government officials as key facilitators of arms, security, training and other assistance in support of the FARC’s operations in Venezuela,” said OFAC Director Adam Szubin. “OFAC will continue to aggressively target the FARC’s support structures in Venezuela and throughout the region.”

As a result of today’s action, U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions with today’s designees and any assets that they may have under U.S. jurisdiction are frozen. OFAC designated the following individuals for sanctions today:

•Amilcar Jesus Figueroa Salazar (“Tino”): a member of Venezuela’s delegation to the Latin American Parliament (Parlamento Latinamericano) who has served as a primary arms dealer for the FARC, and is a main conduit for FARC leaders based in Venezuela. He has also provided training for the FARC. 

•Cliver Antonio Alcala Cordones: a Major General of the Fourth Armored Division of the Venezuelan Army who has used his position to establish an arms-for-drugs route with the FARC.

•Freddy Alirio Bernal Rosales: a Congressman for the United Socialist Party of Venezuela and former Mayor of the Libertador Municipality of Caracas who has facilitated arms sales between the Venezuelan government and the FARC. 

•Ramon Isidro Madriz Moreno (“Amin”): a key officer of Venezuela’s intelligence service (SEBIN) who has coordinated security for the FARC.

The U.S. Department of State designated the FARC as a Foreign Terrorist Organization in 1997 and as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist pursuant to Executive Order 13224 in 2001. The FARC was identified by the President as a significant foreign narcotics trafficker pursuant to the Kingpin Act in 2003.

Today’s action continues Treasury’s ongoing efforts under the Kingpin Act to apply financial measures against significant foreign narcotics traffickers and their networks across the globe. Treasury has designated more than one thousand individuals and entities worldwide pursuant to the Kingpin Act since June 2000. 

Penalties for violations of the Kingpin Act range from civil penalties of up to $1.075 million per violation to more severe criminal penalties. Criminal penalties for corporate officers may include up to 30 years in prison and fines of up to $5 million. Criminal fines for corporations may reach $10 million. Other individuals face up to 10 years in prison and fines pursuant to Title 18 of the United States Code for criminal violations of the Kingpin Act.

DPRK Remains Recovery

You can read about the crimes of North Korea and other Marxist countries at the e-library for the Anti-Marxists Internet Archive.

Office of the Spokesperson

State Department

Question Taken at the September 8, 2011 Daily Press Briefing

QUESTION: Are there any updates on resuming the search for the remains of U.S. service members in North Korea? Are there set plans to meet with the North Koreans to discuss this issue?

ANSWER: The United States considers remains recovery operations to be an important humanitarian mission. The United States remains committed to achieving the fullest possible accounting for U.S. POW/MIAs from the Korean War, as well as from other conflicts. We refer any questions of remains recovery operations with the D.P.R.K. to the U.S. Department of Defense.

GEORGIA: People and History

Georgia's recorded history dates back more than 2,500 years. Georgian, a South Caucasian (or "Kartvelian") language, unrelated to any outside the immediate region, is one of the oldest living languages in the world and has its own distinct alphabet. Located in the picturesque Mtkvari River valley, Georgia’s capital, Tbilisi, is more than 1,550 years old. In the early 4th century, Georgia became the second nation in the world to officially adopt Christianity. Georgia has historically been situated on the margins of great empires, and Georgians have lived together in a unified state for only a fraction of their existence as a people. Since at least the 1st century B.C. through the 18th century, much of Georgia's territory was fought over by Persian, Roman, Byzantine, Arab, Mongol, and Turkish armies. The zenith of Georgia's power as an independent kingdom came in the 11th and 12th centuries, during the reigns of King David the Builder and Queen Tamar, who rank among the most celebrated of all Georgian rulers.

In 1783, the king of Kartli (in eastern Georgia) signed the Treaty of Georgievsk with the Russians, by which Russia agreed to take the kingdom as its protectorate. In 1801, the Russian empire began the piecemeal process of unifying and annexing Georgian territory, and for most of the next 2 centuries (1801-1991) Georgia was ruled from St. Petersburg or Moscow. Exposed to modern European ideas of nationalism under Russian tutelage, Georgians, like the influential writer Ilya Chavchavadze, began calling for greater Georgian independence.

Red Army in Tbilisi, 1921

The independent Republic of Georgia was established on May 26, 1918, in the wake of the Russian Revolution. Pro-Menshevik president Noe Zhordania and a social-democratic government led the country until March 1921, when it was occupied by the Bolshevik Red Army. Georgia became a Soviet Socialist Republic the following year. Several of the Soviet Union's most well-known leaders in the 1920s and 1930s were Georgian, such as Joseph Stalin, Sergo Orjonikidze, and Lavrenti Beria, the head of Stalin’s secret police. During the Soviet period, Georgia was one of the wealthiest and most privileged republics, and its Black Sea coastline was a popular holiday destination for the Soviet elite. On April 9, 1991, shortly before the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Supreme Council of the Republic of Georgia declared independence from the U.S.S.R.

Georgian soldiers charge against an
Ossetian rebel position, 2008.

Like other former Soviet Republics, Georgia’s newly declared independence was followed by ethnic and civil strife. Secessionists took control of parts of South Ossetia and most of Abkhazia prior to cease-fire agreements brokered in 1992 and 1994, respectively. Georgia began to stabilize in 1995. However, the separatist conflicts in Georgia's regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia remain unresolved. Periodic flare-ups in tension and violence culminated in a 5-day war in August 2008 between Georgia and Russia. French President Nicolas Sarkozy negotiated a cease-fire between Presidents Mikheil Saakashvili and Dmitriy Medvedev on August 12, 2008, which remains in effect, although Russia has not fulfilled some of its cease-fire commitments, including withdrawal of its forces to pre-war positions. As part of the Saakashvili-Medvedev cease-fire agreement, the European Union established the EU Monitoring Mission (EUMM), which patrols the undisputed Georgian side of the administrative boundary lines with Abkhazia and South Ossetia but does not have access into those regions of Georgia. The cease-fire also called for international peace talks on the situation, which have taken place regularly in Geneva since October 2008 among the EU, United Nations (UN), Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Georgia, Russia, and the United States, with the participation of de facto representatives from Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

In August 2008, Russia recognized the independence of both Abkhazia and South Ossetia. As of August 2011, only three other countries had recognized the independence of the two territories. All other countries, including the United States, have confirmed their continuing support for Georgia’s political sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Painting and Red Army photo in the public domain. Georgian soldier photo by Jonathan Alpeyrie via

Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0 Licence. All images obtained from Wikimedia Commons.

Sharp Cites Strength of U.S.-South Korea Alliance

By Army Sgt. 1st Class Tyrone C. Marshall Jr.

American Forces Press Service

JOINT BASE MYER-HENDERSON HALL, Va., Sept. 2, 2011 – The former commander of U.S. forces in Korea lauded those who contributed toward U.S. and South Korea efforts to maintain peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula during his retirement ceremony here yesterday.

“For the last three years I have been honored to be the commander of United Nations Command, Combined Forces Command and U.S. Forces Korea,” said Army Gen. Walter L. “Skip” Sharp. Sharp, who is retiring after 37 years of service, provided his thoughts on the U.S.-South Korea alliance, after relinquishing command July 14.

“It has been an honor to help lead the strongest alliance in the world -- the Republic of Korea-U.S. alliance,” he said. “I know we all hope for the day that North Korea will change its policies and become a responsible nation of the international community.”

Sharp looks forward to the day when North Korea “has rid itself of nuclear ambitions, stop threats and attacks on the Republic of Korea and the world, and has provided its people with the freedoms they rightly deserve.”

But until that day comes Sharp is ““confident the Republic of Korea-U.S. alliance is ready to defeat any future North Korean attacks.”

The former commander also thanked his South Korean counterparts for their support and leadership during his tenure.

“To our great Korean friends, and those I served under and with in Korea, thank you for all that you’re doing to protect Korea,” he said. “It is because of your leadership the Republic of Korea military is so strong, prepared to face any North Korean threat, and is globally deployed today.”

Sharp also addressed those serving in the Defense Department for their commitment to making the alliance successful.

“I would also like to thank the Department of Defense civilians, military and families serving in this very important part of the world,” he said. “It is because of your commitment, and those in Washington that focus on northeast Asia, the Republic of Korea is free and prosperous today.”

Sharp, who was born while his father served in the Korean War in 1952, thanked all those who fought and sacrificed for both the United States and the people of South Korea.

“To all the Korean War veterans that are here today and to all who fought to keep Korea free -- thanks for all that you did 60 years ago,” he said. “Your sacrifice and that of those who did not return will never be forgotten.”

Sharp expressed gratitude for his time leading U.S. forces in Korea and said he looks forward to continuing his work.

“For Joann and I, there was no better way to end our military career than to do so serving in Korea as the commander of United Nations Command, Combined Forces Command and U.S. Forces Korea,” he said.

“And I do pledge to continue to work to strengthen this great alliance,” Sharp continued, “and hope that we will be able to return to the ‘Land of the Returning Calm’ many times in the future.”

Air Force Pilot Missing From Vietnam War Identified

The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of a serviceman, missing in action from the Vietnam War, have been identified and returned to his family for burial with full military honors.

Air Force Major Thomas E. Reitmann of Red Wing, Minn., will be buried on Sept. 8 in Arlington National Cemetery.� In 1965, Reitmann was assigned to the 334th Tactical Fighter Squadron deployed out of Seymour-Johnson Air Force Base, N.C., to Takhli Air Base, Thailand.  On Dec 1, 1965, he was flying a strike mission as the number three aircraft in a flight of four F-105D Thunderchiefs as part of Operation Rolling Thunder. His target was a railroad bridge located about 45 nautical miles northeast of Hanoi. As the aircrew approached the target area, they encountered extremely heavy and accurate anti-aircraft artillery (AAA). While attempting to acquire his target and release his ordnance, Reitmann received a direct AAA hit and crashed in Lang Son Province, North Vietnam. Other pilots in the flight observed no parachute, and no signals or emergency beepers were heard. Due to the intense enemy fire in the area a search-and-rescue team was not able to survey the site and a two-day electronic search found no sign of the aircraft or Reitmann.

In 1988, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (S.R.V.) repatriated remains to the United States believed to be those of Reitmann. The remains were later identified as those of another American pilot who went missing in the area on the same day as Reitmann.

Between 1991 and 2009, joint U.S.-S.R.V. teams, led by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), analyzed numerous leads, interviewed villagers, and attempted to locate the aircraft. Although no evidence of the crash site was found, in 2009 and 2011 a local farmer turned over remains and a metal button he claimed to have found in his corn field.

Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory also used mitochondrial DNA - which matched that of his brother -- in the identification of Reitmann's remains.

For additional information on the Defense Department's mission to account for missing Americans, visit the DPMO web site at http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo or call 571-422-9059.

The Slovak Republic’s National Day

Hillary Rodham Clinton

September 1, 2011

Note: Czechoslovakia was one country ruled brutally by the Soviet Union.  The Prague Spring in 1968 brought a brief hope of democracy until the Soviet Army invaded Czechoslovakia, instated a new puppet government, and did away with the “counter-revolution.”  After the fall of the USSR, free elections resulted in the partition of Czechoslovakia as independent democratic countries: the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic, commonly known as Slovakia.

On behalf of President Obama and the people of the United States, I congratulate the people of the Slovak Republic on the anniversary of your constitution this September 1.

Nineteen years ago, the people of Slovakia adopted an independent constitution that enabled your country’s extraordinary transition to a sustainable democracy. Today the Slovak Republic is a pillar of regional stability, a leader in economic integration, and a model for security cooperation. Our two nations share a mutual commitment to promoting freedom and defending our shared democratic values around the world. The strong cultural and familial ties between Slovakia and the United States have fostered a close partnership and an enduring friendship between our countries and our people.

As you celebrate this milestone in your democratic heritage, I wish all Slovaks continued peace and prosperity in the year to come.