Parliamentary
Committee of enquiry in charge of determining
the
exact circumstances of the assassination of Patrice Lumumba
and
the possible involvement of Belgian politicians
Summary
of the Activities, Expert’s Report and full conclusions
The
proposal to set up this enquiry committee was submitted by the PRL-FDF-MCC,
Agalev-ECOLO, VLD, SP and VU-ID groups in the Chamber. On 2 February 2000 it was
unanimously approved by the Commission for Foreign Relations. On 23 March 2000,
the plenary meeting of the Chamber decided to form the investigation committee.
Geert Versnick was appointed Chairman, assisted by a bureau with Claude
Eerdekens as First Vice-Chairman, Herman Van Rompuy as Second Vice-Chairman and
Daniel Bacquelaine, Ferdy Willems and Marie-Thérèse Coenen as reporters. In
total, 15 commissioners1
were appointed.
The
creation of this investigation committee is a consequence of the debates held in
the Commission for Foreign Relations on 8 December 1999 following the
publication of the book “The Murder of Lumumba” by Ludo De Witte. The
Minister had received questions about the possible responsibility of the Belgian
authorities in this case, but had stated that he could not assess responsibility
based on a book.
In
order to reach a conclusion from an official Belgian instance, it was decided to
create a parliamentary investigation committee.
Besides
reaching conclusions about Belgian responsibilities in the murder of the first
Prime Minister of the Congo, Patrice Lumumba (and his fellow-victims Okito and
M’polo), it was also the intention to instigate a debate on colonisation and
decolonisation.
One
of the conditions of being able to look into the future open-mindedly is that
one comes to terms with the past. The incompletely explained past inhibits
collaboration with a number of countries from Central Africa. This obstacle
needs to be removed now that it is clear that Belgium, together with its
partners in the European Union, intend to take initiatives in order to make
amends to that region and contribute to the well-being of the population by
closer international collaboration.
The
principle of a parliamentary investigation committee was adopted. It has the
powers of an examining magistrate, which is a compelling and useful feature
enabling free access to the required archives and the hearing of witnesses as
well as the conduction of searches enabling a full investigation.
The
Commission also decided to ask for the assistance of a number of experts who
were responsible for content-related and historic-scientific work. It must be
emphasized that the experts were able to work freely and fully independently,
guaranteeing the scientific objectivity of this commission. The politicians then
thoroughly analysed the expert reports (in addition to testimonies and working
documents) to draw their conclusions and make political recommendations.
During
the appointment of the experts, candidates were not only assessed on their
scientific qualities but emphasis was also placed on their independence and
neutrality. The college of experts2
consisted of the following Professors:
Luc
De Vos, Jules Gérard Libois, Emmanuel Gerard and Philippe Raxhon. In
a number of specific assignments, they were assisted by Professors Eric David
and Eric Suy, Jean Omasombo and subsequently, also, by Bart Preneel.
The
experts divided their investigation into 4 different phases about which they
reported in detail:
Phase
1: 30/06/’60 – 05/09/’60
Phase
2: 05/09/’60 – 10/10/’60
Phase
3: 10/10/’60 – 27/11/’60
Phase
4: 27/11/’60 – 17/01/’61
In
addition, reports were submitted about “Secret Funds”, “King Boudewijn and
the Crisis in The Congo” the “Union
Minière”, the “Sûreté de
l’Etat” and “Decoding coded telexes”.
In
addition to the scientific research of archives, hearings were organised with
witnesses. A total of more than 40 witnesses were heard. As well as relatives of
the victims, the authors of the most relevant books (Brassine and De Witte) were
also heard. All relevant witnesses who were still alive were questioned: for
example the Belgian, Congolese and Katangese Ministers of that time, the Belgian
advisors and diplomats in Brussels, the Congo and Katanga of the time,
ex-military and state security employees as well as citizens who played a role.
The
following is a summary of the experts’ report and the full conclusions of the
investigation committee as well as an introduction to the committee’s report.
[2]
Mr. Jules Gérard-Libois, Chairman-founder of the Centre
de Recherche et d’Information Socio-politiques (CRISP), (Chairman)
Mr.
Emmanuel Gerard, a Professor at the KUL (Catholic University of Louvain),
(Secretary)
Mr. Luc De Vos, a Professor at the KMS (Royal Military School) and the KUL
Mr. Philippe Raxhon, a Professor at the UL (University of Liège)
These
4 experts were assisted in their activities by an additional 4 experts for
specific assignments:
Mr. Jean Omasombo, a Professor at the University of Kinshasa
Mr. Eric David, a Professor at the ULB (Brusels University) and Mr. Eric Suy,
Emeritus Professor at the KUL, both because of their specialisation in
international law
Mr. Bart Preneel, a Lecturer at the KUL was given a temporary assignment to
decode a number of telexes