Rebellion & Reunion

The Congo last week found itself with a new political structure, a new name--and perhaps even a prospect of peace Among the island palms of placid Madagascar, most of the faction leaders me for a sweltering summit parley, agreed to split the nation into eight new sovereign states loosely joined. Tentative title: Confederation of Central African States.

Agreement was born of the fear that the U.N. would soon move in with force on the squabbling provincial bosses and take away their armies. With one voice, the leaders--Congolese President Joseph Kasavubu and Premier Joseph Ileo, Kasai Province's Albert Kalonji, Katanga Province's Moise Tshombe, and a covey of others--sent blunt warning to the U.N. to refrain from force and take no action until the Congo's black rulers could come up with a solution of their own. Then, to everyone's astonishment, the Congolese did just that.

Congo President Kasavubu, who had fought Tshombe's separatist demands for copper-rich Katanga, now was willing to accept them. The assembled dignitaries carved the new boundaries of the Congo along tribal lines. The city of Leopoldville woutd be a "neutral" capital, somewhat like Washington. D.C. There, Kasavubu would sit as first President of the confederation.

Dead & Wounded. Would it work? No one could say, for one key region--Eastern province--was still in the hands of Communist-backed Antoine Gizenga, who refused to join the talks and obviously would not abide by their decisions. In their new unity, the conferees of Madagascar seemed determined to get back control of their country from the U.N.

They condemned the imminent arrival of 4.700 new Indian troops to join the U.N. force, and seemed prepared to take on the U.N. in armed battle if it persisted in the aim to disarm them.

Dag Hammarskjold's men already had got a taste of bitter Congolese defiance. In Matadi, the Congo's major port, Congolese troops turned on the 135-man Sudanese U.N. garrison with rifles, machine guns, mortars and 37-mm. cannon in a two-day battle that left two Sudanese dead, 13 wounded. The rest piled their blue U.N. helmets in one pile, their weapons in another, then marched out to be shipped back to Leopoldville in humiliating surrender.

Journey to Manhattan. The Congolese victors promptly declared the port closed. With the entire flow of U.N. supplies at the mercy of the Congolese, Indian U.N. Congo Chief Rajeshwar Dayal threatened force, then negotiated with the Congolese to allow his men to reenter. Seizing its chance, Kasavubu's regime demanded more Congolese influence over U.N. operations. It insisted on joint control over all air traffic in the Congo, and Congolese inspection of all arriving ships. Above all, insisted the Congolese, one U.N. official must leave and not return: Rajeshwar Dayal.

At week's end Dayal flew back to Manhattan for urgent talks. Having lost the confidence of virtually all the Congolese, Dayal might not return. But whoever Hammarskjold chose as his successor would find a new spirit in the battered heart of Africa. Having insisted on diversity, the Congo's leaders now saw the usefulness of unity. And if from this, peace came, that after all was the U.N.'s goal in the first place.

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