An Abb

Two years ago, when a labor uprising deposed the Brazzaville Congo's moderate President Fulbert Youlou, his leftist successor promised solemnly that "there will be no reprisals against Monsieur Youlou." There was good reason for caution, for the eccentric Youlou, a suspended Roman Catholic priest who still wears Dior-tailored habits, had been a popular President--and was the favorite son of the nation's most important tribal group.

But his talents and following made Abbe Youlou too dangerous to remain free, and so Revolutionary President Alphonse Massamba-Debat packed him off to a military camp on the outskirts of Brazzaville, locked him in a small house surrounded by 14 guards.

Purges & Plots. Even with Youlou in prison, Massamba-Debat found the going rough. His regime, falling increasingly under the control of the Communist Chinese embassy, has indulged in a series of purges and political repressions that have alienated much of his labor support, turned the Catholic Church against him, and fanned unrest. The vital port city of Pointe Noire is so close to rebellion that it is under an official state of emergency. In Brazzaville, two months ago, the secret police only crushed a counter-revolutionary plot within the government itself by arranging the assassinations of three senior officials, including the president of the Supreme Court, and jailing hundreds of functionaries suspected of "moderate" tendencies. Last month came more bad news: Abbe Youlou had escaped.

Alarmed, Massamba-Debat turned Brazzaville inside out to find him. For nearly a week, armed police and soldiers combed the native areas, even insisted on searching the homes of diplomats. In vain. When the abbe finally surfaced, it was across the river in Leopoldville, where Premier Moise Tshombe immediately granted him asylum and installed him in a heavily guarded government villa next door to Parliament.

Mumm's the Word. It was an important coup for Tshombe: no African state has more openly plotted to overthrow him and none has given the Congolese rebels more sustained support than the Brazzaville regime. But no one would tell how the escape was arranged. Sticking close to his villa, the abbe spent hours last week conferring with high-ranking visitors--changing into a splendid new habit before receiving each delegation and quaffing freely the only liquid he considers drinkable, Mumm's Cordon Rouge champagne. As for the obvious question of whether he was planning a counter-revolt against the foes, Youlou was also mum.

But the possibility was enough to cause panic in Brazzaville, where Massamba-Debat fired at least two members of his Cabinet, including the Interior Minister, who had been responsible for keeping Youlou safely behind bars. To replace him, Massamba-Debat named former Party Youth Boss Andre Hombessa, whose first official act was to fly off to Moscow to seek help.

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