On Their Own

Across the Congo River in last month's riots in the Belgian city of Leopoldville, it had been black v. white. In Brazzaville last week it was black v. black, and bloodier. Less than three months after voting for autonomy within the French Community, the new Congo Republic was already learning the perils of being on its own.

So long as the French were in control, the rivalry between the territory's two leading politicians was kept in hand. The flamboyant Abbe Fulbert Youlou--a Roman Catholic priest who is forbidden to say Mass but still wears a soutane--has long favored keeping a firm tie with France, once blurted in a fit of candor that is rare in Africa these days: "We will need French aid until the year X." His longtime rival, Socialist Jacques Opangault, dreams of the day when the former territories of French Equatorial Africa will be united in a federation on its own. When the time came to vote on the territory's status under the new De Gaulle constitution, Opangault's Deputies--seeing themselves losing by one vote--began smashing furniture and windows in the territorial assembly, eventually stomped out of the chamber. After that, the abbe was able to get himself elected Premier and to announce that there would be no more thought of elections until 1962.

Since the capital city of Pointe Noire is in the hands of a tribe allied to Socialist Opangault's loyal followers, the M'Boshi, the abbe hastily got the seat of government moved to Brazzaville. There he somehow managed to increase his majority in the Parliament from one seat to seven. Opangault again and again charged bribery, and announced that he and his party would boycott Parliament unless the Premier forthwith set a date for new elections. Last week the ultimatum expired, and the fighting began.

It quickly degenerated from a political brawl to old-fashioned warfare. Throughout the native quarters of Bacongo and Poto-Poto, Balali tribesmen, loyal to the abbe, and the M'Boshi went after each other with everything from broken bottles to the deadly assagai--the short spear used by Chaka, the "Black Napoleon," to conquer his 19th century Zulu empire. At first the M'Boshi in their white headdresses proved more adept at carving up their enemies just as their ancestors used to do, but the Balalis, wearing leaves in their hair, retaliated by setting whole blocks of M'Boshi shanties on fire. The official estimate of the number of dead was 98, but bodies, mutilated, decaying or bloated, continued to turn up. The occasional white resident who happened to wander into the danger zone was politely told to keep out of the way.

The abbe slapped a curfew on Brazzaville, went on the air to plead for calm, even spoke harshly to his own Balali followers. Eventually, to the embarrassment of the new republic, French troops had to be called in to restore order. An uneasy peace returned, with at least 500 people under arrest. Among them: Jacques Opangault, charged with "incitement to sedition, rebellion and pillage."

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