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Zaire Postwar Reforms
World War II marks a watershed in the history of the
Belgian
colony. Profound social and economic changes stirred up
the
collective consciousness of Africans both in the rural and
urban
sectors. The heavy demands made upon the rural milieus by
the war
effort accelerated the flow of migrants to the towns; a
new class
of educated, French-speaking Africans called
evolués (sing.,
évolué--see
Glossary) came into being, increasingly
vocal in
their demands for reforms; and the frequency of labor
disputes and
strikes in the industrial centers of Katanga Province (now
Shaba
Region) drew attention to the changing attitude of African
mine
workers. Nor were the changes limited to the domestic
arena.
Anticolonial sentiment was quickly emerging as a
fundamental
reality of the international scene, and the United Nations
(UN) was
becoming a major forum for promoting the aspirations of
the
colonized. No longer could the Belgian Congo be kept in a
state of
splendid isolation. These pressures and challenges on
Belgian
officials resulted in the idea of a Belgo-Congolese
community,
articulated for the first time in 1952. Rather than a
radical
change in the constitutional relationship, what the
Belgians
envisioned was a polity in which Africans and Europeans
would learn
to live in harmony with each other, share the same
interests, and
ultimately become equal participants in the political life
of the
Belgian Congo.
As a first step toward this goal, the 1952 decree on
immatriculation
(see Glossary) provided for the juridical
assimilation (i.e., transferring the persons concerned
from the
jurisdiction of customary law to that of European law) of
Africans
who were able to show "by their upbringing and way of
life" that
they had reached an adequate "state of civilization." The
decree,
which reasserted the provisions for immatriculation in the
Colonial
Charter, was followed by a series of measures designed to
break
down the barrier of racial discrimination between
Africans, whether
matriculated or not, and Europeans. A decree of February
1953
allowed Africans to own land in urban and rural areas, and
in 1955
they were allowed free access to public establishments and
authorized to buy alcoholic beverages. Several years
later, in
1958, substantial changes were introduced in the judicial
system of
the colony. From then on, offenses committed by Africans
could be
tried in all courts of law instead of just in native
tribunals.
The really critical step toward political participation
came
with the March 26, 1957, introduction of the urban
statute, a move
intended to give urban Africans a meaningful share of
power at the
local level. In each of the several communes included in
the major
towns, Africans were given the opportunity to elect
communal
councils, to be headed by burgomasters nominated by the
councils
from among their members. At the city level, a town
council would
be appointed by the provincial governor from among the
members of
the communal councils and headed by a first burgomaster. A
May 10,
1957, decree introduced equally significant changes in
rural
administration. The most noteworthy involved the
establishment of
rural councils (conseils de secteur), whose members
were to
be appointed "after taking into account the preferences of
the
inhabitants." The highly ambiguous phrasing of the decree
meant
that considerable leeway would be allowed to the
provincial
authorities in designating council members.
The psychological impact of these reforms on the
political
consciousness of Africans cannot be overstated. For the
first time
in the history of the colony, the basic premises of
paternalism
were openly called into question: a legitimate alternative
to the
status quo had come into view; new opportunities suddenly
materialized for genuine political participation at the
local
level. From this perspective, the 1957 urban reform must
be seen as
the decisive factor behind the crystallization of
aspirations for
political independence. On the other hand, the official
ban on the
organization of political parties, combined with the
growth of
ethnic self-awareness in the urban sectors, meant that
electoral
competition was structured along ethnic lines.
Ethnic distinctions among the inhabitants of the Congo
area had
always been fluid: the concept of who was or was not a
member of a
specific ethnic group had never been as rigid as Europeans
believed. Yet the Belgian administration acted as if rigid
distinctions did exist. The identity cards of Congolese
listed the
ethnic group to which they belonged, and they were
required to
supply this information in filling out forms. The European
emphasis
on ethnic identity helped reinforce the concept of such an
identity
among the Congolese.
Another critical factor that contributed to the
increase in
ethnic awareness was the process of urbanization.
Congolese
migrated to population centers to look for work. Once in
the cities
and towns, they came into contact on the one hand with
other
individuals with whom they shared language, culture, and
history
and on the other with quite different peoples. To promote
their
culture and to offer mutual support, these people formed
ethnically
based associations, the benefits of which they
communicated to
family and friends who had remained behind in rural areas.
The formation of ethnic associations reinforced ethnic
lines
between groups and at the same time made more apparent
their
relative size and social, economic, and political status.
If
members of one ethnic group were perceived as having the
best jobs,
whether or not this was so, indignation among the others
might be
aroused. One of the most notable examples of this response
was in
Léopoldville, where the Kongo people, who believed that
they had
always been the leading ethnic group in the Belgian Congo,
felt
threatened by the influx of people from far upriver. It
was in
large measure in response to this perceived threat to
their
position that some of the Kongo formed in 1950 the
Association for
the Maintenance, Unity, and Expansion of the Kikongo
Language
(Association pour le Maintien, l'Unité, et l'Expansion de
la Langue
Kikongo). This organization later became the Alliance of
the Kongo
People, or Alliance des Bakongo, known as Abako
(see Nationalist
Awakenings
, this ch.).
Thus, in most instances, and particularly in
Léopoldville and
Élisabethville (now Lubumbashi), electoral processes had a
catalytic effect on the rise of ethnic sentiment. Almost
everywhere
ethnic associations served as the main vehicles of
political
mobilization, and in some regions ethnic conflict reached
alarming
proportions. The flurry of ethno-nationalist activity
generated by
the 1957 decrees brought further pressure to bear upon the
Belgian
authorities to accelerate the pace of political reforms.
Data as of December 1993
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