ABAKO

The Alliance des Bakongo (abbreviated Abako, bakɔngɔ on Lingala Boyókani bwa; originally Association of Bakongo pour l' unification, la conservation, le perfectionnement et l' expansion de la langue Kikongo, German Association for the Unification of the Bakongo, preservation, improvement and development of language Kikongo ) was a political and cultural union of the Bakongo and later locally significant party in the early Democratic Republic of Congo in the years after independence in 1960. She was the first independence movement in the Belgian Congo, its president Joseph Kasavubu, the first President of the country.

History

Before independence

The Abako was originally from the Christian Kimbanguistenbewegung, which numbered many followers, especially among the Bakongo ethnic group, out. Originally used only as cultural association, the Abako developed from 1950 to the most powerful mass movement against the Belgian colonialists. This in turn promoted the principle of divide et impera, the Mouvement National Congolais first to create and thus to weaken the nationalist movement as a counterweight to Abako.

When on December 8, 1957 municipal elections were approved by the Belgians for the first time, presented the Abako in the settlement area of ​​the Bakongo and thus also in the capital Leopoldville almost all mayor.

As of 1958, the establishment of political parties was supported by the Belgian colonial administration first legalized, so the Abako since this year officially could occur as a party.

In 1959, Joseph Kasavubu was elected president of the Abako which a rebellion against the colonial administration triggered in the same year, during which several representatives of the nationalist movements were arrested.

In the organized In May 1960, parliamentary elections, the Abako won only 12 of the 137 seats, which is why it later also not managed to form a government.

After independence,

As the Democratic Republic of Congo was released on June 30, 1960 in Independence, Joseph Kasavubu was elected by the National Assembly, the first president of the newly formed state. Patrice Lumumba, whose party MNC - L could take the most seats in parliament claim for themselves, became Prime Minister.

Since the Abako under Kasavubu was considered more moderate and pro-Western, while the MNC Lumumba was more likely assigned to the left-wing camp, there were violent clashes between the two parties. In addition to that the Abako because they feared a patronizing the Bakongo by other ethnic groups, came rather for a federal form of government, while the MNC -L aimed at creating one centralized state. This has even led to some Abako trailer publicly sympathized with the Separatists Moïse Tshombe.

Constitutional conflict

On September 5, 1960 finally dismissed Kasavubu Patrice Lumumba as Prime Minister, who declared Kasavubu deposed shortly thereafter. However, both politicians refused to abandon their offices. However, appointed Joseph Kasavubu Iléo the new prime minister, but was not immediately able to take over the official duties of Lumumba.

Mobutu's coup

To resolve the constitutional conflict coup of General Mobutu chief of staff in September 1960 and initially declared itself neutral. However, it emerged after a short time a collaboration between Kasavubu and Mobutu Abako military regime, which eventually culminated in the assassination of Lumumba, which Iléo Joseph, who had been so previously appointed by Kasavubu as Prime Minister, was able to resume his duties as such.

On August 2, 1961 Joseph Kasavubu dismissed Iléo and sat favorites of USA Cyrille Adoula as the new Prime Minister. When he resigned in 1964, sat Kasavubu former separatists Tschombé a. After his dismissal Mobutu staged a coup and took off again Kasavubu and banned in 1967, the Abako.

Foreign Relations

Since the Abako unlike Lumumba's MNC was seen as more moderate, it had good relations with the U.S. and other Western states. For this reason, the Abako was regarded by the States of the Casablanca group as a political opponent. This eventually led to tensions between the Abako and the seconded from the countries of the Casablanca Group peacekeeping contingents.

Furthermore, the Abako maintained good relations with Fulbert Youlou the President of Congo- Brazzaville. On the one hand, this was due to the fact that Youlou, was just as Kasavubu Abako, attributed to the pro-Western camp. On the other hand Youlou based his power on the living in the south of Congo- Brazzaville people of the Bakongo, which also provided the basis of the Abako.