Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1960-11-27

conspiring with Communists to
overthrow the state.
Since then, Mr.. Opangualt
has joined Able Youlou in a
pro-Western coalition govern
ment. National Assembly Pres
ident Alphonse Massamba-
Debat, who is reputedly neu-
tralist-minded. figures to be
Able Youlou's chief opponent
in the future.
Dacko Party Splits
In the Central African Re-
public, David Dacko inherited
his uncle'S ample waiStline and
his woodworking Mesan
Party, which controlled all 40
seats in the National Assembly. |
Since then a rupture has &C.
Cured and nine Deputies have
withdrawn from Mesan to form
the Medac Party, which has the
support of most students and a
good proportion of the civil
service.
Mr.. Dacko, who has xenopho-
bic tendencies and lacks the
sure hand of his uncle, main
tains the support of the power
full tribal chiefs. Some rough
days are ahead.
| Although tall Francois Tom
balbaye has been President of
Chad since April of last year,
the real power behind his gov
eminent land behind many be-
fore it, was Gabriel Lisette, a
handsome 41-year-old Panama
born mulatto who entered poll
tics after a brilliant career in
the French colonial service.
Mr.. Lisette. an advocate of
, parliamentary democracy. had
ruled Chad (Which is twice the
size of France) before. both in
his own name and through
puppet Premiers. But he
> guessed wrong on Mr.. Tom
! balbaye, who favors a strong
presidential regime of the De
Gaulle type. When Mr.. Lisette
was in France two months ago,
! Mr.. Tombalbaye fired him from
! all his posts, banned him from
' the country and assumed for
himself the real as well as the
apparent power in Chad.
; Now Mr.. Tombalbaye's party
has split into two sections, one
.. of which supports him and the
; other Mr.. Lisette, thus adding
! another dimension of dissension
, to a republic already split
. sharply between Muslims and
animiStS.
! The situation. then, in the
vast area Of Equatorial Africa
cit is farther from Brazzaville
to Chad's capital of Fort Lamy
than it is from Paris to Mos
6 cow is that four pro- Western
i ! Presidents enjoy a somewhat
/ shaky control over their more
2 radical opponents. a controI
! which they are bending every
Z effort and some democratic
r principles to consolidate.
The situation across the
n river in the ex-Belgian Congo
= further complexities matters
t The Able Fulbert Youlou is Of
: the same Bakongo tribe a.
n enigmatic CongoleSe President
S Joseph Kasavubu, whom HI
e warmly supports against Pa
n trice Lumumba,
a Able Youlou and Mr.. Kasa'
vubu would like to reconStitutt
re the ancient Kingdom of thu
= Congo, which stretched alonl
t, both banks of the river and int
d Portuguese Angola.
% Although the Presidents o
Ie the other states of ex-Frencl
n Equatorial Africa have little in
= terest in this project, one get
q the feeling that there are goin,
l. to be some boundaries re-drawl
h in this part of the world befor
very long.
n Early this month, Mr.. Tom
10 balbaye, Mr.. Dacko and MI
" Mia flew into Brazzaville t.
h confer with Able Youlou. Mex
n month, seven other President
W of former French Africa Wi
is meet here with the same fou
De leaders.
Mt Something more than man
I'd goes is ripening in Brazzavillt
ly TOMORROW: New equa
20 tOrial republics look to
tn United States for aid.