According to AFP 20 report, Belgium returned the only part of the remains of the slain Republic of Congo former leader Patrice Lumumba - a tooth - to Lumumba on the same day. The family hopes to turn a dark page in Belgium's colonial history.
In a live televised ceremony, Belgian Federal Attorney General Frederic van Liwe handed a small bright blue box to Lumumba's relatives, which contained Lumumba's teeth. Fan Liwei said the legal action taken by Lumumba's relatives to receive the relics had "served justice".
This tooth will be placed in an urn and then transported to today's Democratic Republic of Congo , which is what we often call Congo (Kinshasa).
Patrice Lumumba Source: Foreign media
Lumumba is the leader of the Congolese national liberation movement. He strongly opposed Belgium's greedy colonial rule. After the independence of the Republic of Congo in 1960, Lumumba became the first prime minister. Shortly afterwards, Lumumba clashed with Belgium and the United States and was ousted in a coup. On January 17, 1961, Lumumba was murdered by a conspiracy between separatists and Belgian mercenaries. He was only 35 years old.
Lumumba's body was subsequently dissolved in acid and never found, except for one of his teeth, which was kept as a "trophy" by a Belgian policeman who killed him. In 2016, Belgian authorities confiscated the tooth from the policeman's daughter after a lawsuit filed by Lumumba's family.
During the colonial period of Congo , Belgium not only plundered wantonly, but also led to the brutal murder of 10 million Congolese people. This brutal colonial history and the murder of Lumumba have always been a source of pain between Belgium and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Lumumba's son Roland told a news conference in Brussels on Friday that returning the relics would allow his family to "end their mourning." From June 27th to 30th, Congo (DRC) will hold national mourning to commemorate the burial of Lumumba's remains.
This tooth has finally been returned. Has Belgium's colonial blood debt been paid off?
(Original title: Belgium returns the "teeth" of the former leader of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which were kept as trophies)
Source: Global Times New Media
Process Editor: TF016
