TV5MONDE: For the first time officially, the King of the Belgians went to the Congo. How to interpret the fact that the king simply reiterated his regrets, without apologizing about colonization, as some expected?
Jean Omasombo, Congolese political scientist, researcher at the Royal Museum for Central Africa in Brussels: It does not seem surprising when we follow the relations between Belgium and the Congo since independence. Belgium only advances under pressure, in a really calculated way when this pressure becomes very strong.
Belgium has taken another small step. We saw it for example at the end of the 90s, with the Lumumba affair. Work in academic circles had put forward many elements on the responsibility of the Belgian power at that time. Belgium set up a parliamentary commission of inquiry in 2000, without it going beyond establishing the moral responsibility of the country.
The government had also talked about setting up a Lumumba foundation, but it stopped there. There were also debates around Leopold II. So in this continuity, we generally feel that the lines are moving.
It is well known that the king can do nothing without the approval of the government. And to reach a compromise at the level of the Belgian government, it is not easy.
This time, he mentions his deepest regrets. The king took a step, emphasizing “very deep“, bringing an art object as a symbol. But that’s not enough.
(See again : DR Congo: the King of the Belgians renews his regrets, but no excuses
TV5MONDE: Where is Belgium on the recognition of colonial crimes?
John Omasombo: With the Black Lives Matter movement in the United States, we addressed the question of unbolting the statues, in particular of Leopold II. There was a form of panic, and that’s when the king took a step. To anticipate, to find a strategy to pass the storm. It is as if Belgium, through its sovereign, discovered at that time the misdeeds of colonization.
And since then, we have set up a parliamentary commission on the colonial past. For a few months, it has been said that Belgium will have to return a certain number of objects whose origin is still unclear. We follow a model: because France did it with Benin and some African countries.
TV5MONDE: How is the work of this commission developing? What debates do they raise?
John Omasombo: At the beginning of the year, a first report was made public. It is a working text of about 500 pages, which is not yet finished, to show that the study is evolving. But the Parliament and the Commission are encountering difficulties on the direction to give to this work. Because for some, it’s about presenting the benefits and harms of colonization. The benefits, that is to say the creation of roads, hospitals, schools,… But we must remember: Who served these roads, these hospitals?
There is always a discourse affirming to the Congolese: “We left you a great country. Today it is a big country with a lot of wealth. That is the creation of Leopold II.“And by the way, in the king’s speech in Kinshasa, he seemed to emphasize this element.
Like his uncle Baudouin, on June 30, 1960, during the proclamation of independence, who praised colonization very heavily. This time, in his speech, the king refers quite subtly to the Congo, a vast country ” which is our creation together and of which Lumumba himself emphasized the importance of unity “. It remains in the heritage of a certain discourse around colonization, which would still have left an important work.
(See again : Philippe of Belgium in the DRC: “The Congolese population expects more than regrets”
TV5MONDE: In your opinion, these demonstrations are still insufficient. What paths could the Belgian authorities take to confront these questions more head-on?
John Omasombo: In terms of financial compensation, Belgium will never be able today to pay, I don’t know how many billions, for 10 million deaths.
For me, it’s first about knowing the story. We must not erase colonization. Our job is to approach the experience of colonization to understand it better, to understand what happened so that it can’t happen again. Because today, the Congo continues to remain primarily a space that does not have enough memory. There are almost no archives.
Moreover, we wanted to conceal the Lumumba affair. It took the pressure of studies and years to be able to recognize it. We must first learn to face up to this reality that we must not water down or elude.
Next Monday, Belgium will hand over Lumumba’s tooth to the family. The king did not allude to it. There has not yet been a judgment: the children of Lumumba have filed a complaint, but there is no trial. Until then, Belgium had not spoken. We’re going to put the tooth back in without this necessary trial being conducted.
We seem to recognize today that there is a big problem, linked to colonization. But how to deal with this problem? We are looking for tips to circumvent it amicably, without delving into its roots.
(See again : DRC: the King of the Belgians begins a highly symbolic visit
TV5MONDE: What does the restitution of this tooth, the only relic of the body of the politician assassinated in 1961, represent?
John Omasombo: The question of Lumumba’s tooth is fundamental. Lumumba made the identity of Congo, by his speeches, by his action, by his commitment.
But he has no grave, or found body. The return of the tooth is the construction of the identity of the Congo, as a nation belonging to the Congolese. So that the Congo becomes the property of the Congolese again. Symbolically, it is an important element.
It is as if Belgium, through its sovereign, discovered at that time the misdeeds of colonization. John Omasombo.
TV5MONDE: Regarding the restitution of works of art, is this an important step for the Congolese?
John Omasombo: When President Mobutu gave his first speech at the United Nations in 1973, he insisted that these looted works of art were not raw materials. It is not to be put on the same level as gold, diamonds or copper. But Mobutu still demanded restitution, because without them, we find ourselves a people without memory, without cultural references.
When the Congolese Prime Minister came to Belgium, he was taken to the Royal Museum to say that Belgium was going to return works. Today, it is already a positive step, that the king brings a kakuungu mask.
But some Congolese criticize, for example there are caricatures circulating calling out the king: “ What’s the use of bringing this back to us, where’s the gold? Is that all you give us back? And you forgot the statue of your great-great-great-uncle “. Especially since the Congolese crisis has been going on for years. ” The king only brings us a mask, while the whites have stolen a lot “. For a good part of the public, that is the speech.
(See again : DRC: “After regrets, this visit by the King of the Belgians must be one of apologies”
It’s something symbolically, but we would have liked in the Congo that the gesture was much stronger. We stay more formal. Some think it’s actually starting, but so far it’s not getting very far. So I would say it’s mixed. It is neither nothing nor a great victory.