Evening star., 1960-08-10
Lumumbo Offers to Help U. N. Replace
Be|gions, Koton9o Ready to Negotiate

LEOPOLDV1LLE, the Congo,
Aug. 10 (AP).-Premier Patrice
Lumumba, who has been threat
ening a lone-wolf invasion of
rebellious Katanga Province.
offered today to help the United
Nations to get Belgian troops
out Of the Congo. Most are now
concentrated in Katanga.
In a letter to U. N. Secretary
General Dag Hammarskjold,
Mr.. Lumumba said his govern
ment is at the disposal of the
international organization.
A pacific note was sounded at
the same time in Kantanga's
capital, Elisabethville, by pro-
vincial Premier Noise Tshombe.
Mr.. Tshombe announced he has
cabled Mr.. Hammarskjold that
he is ready to negotiate with a
U. N. envoy for the eventual
entry of U. N. troops.
Mr.. Lumumba's government
had threatened a general mo-
bilization for invasion of Ka-
tanga unless U. N. troops en-
tered that seceSsionist province
by the week end.
No Shooting Expected
Information Minister Anicet
Kashamura voiced the mobili-
cation threat in an interview
and added: I'VE will enter Ka-
tanga alone"
Whatever the weight of this
declaration, officers of the U. N.
task force told newsmen they
expect orders to move into ka-
tanga before Saturday. Com
manders of the 12,000-man
U. N. force were confident a
detachment will enter soon,
and without any shooting.
Even the Congolese people
gave little weight to- Mr.. Lu-
mumba'S warning yesterday
that he would send his own
and other African soldiers into
the rich, rebellious domain of
Mr.. Tshombe. But Mr.. Lu-
mumba told Thomas Kama,
the Congo's delegate at the
United Nations, in a telephone
talk: I'VE are ready to go to
war unless the U. N. acts"
Await Hammarskjold
The diplomatic community
and U. N. officials awaited the
return of Secretary General
Dag Hammarskjold, probably
tomorrow, to see how he deals
with Mr.. Lumumba in carrying
out the Security Councils new
mandate to replace Belgian
troops in Katanga with U. N.
troops.
Mr.. TShombe, who blocked a
scheduled entry of U. N. troops
last Saturday with a threat of
war. backed down yesterday
and offered conditions for them
to enter the territory he has
declared independent of Mr..
Lumumba's central government
in Leopoldville.
The f1edgling Congolese army
stepped up efforts to consolidate
its police powers. Jeeps with
steel-helmeted Congolese SOL
diers of the new commander,
Gen. Victor Lundula. eriss-
crossed Leopoldville, where the
authority to maintain order
theoretically is in U. N. hands.
The overnmen pressed
measures to thwart what it
terms "Subversive agitation"
Embassy Staff Leaving
In the wake of the expulsion
Of Belgian Ambassador Jean
Van Den Bosch, most members
Of the 25-man embassy staff
we're preparing to leave in re-
sponse to orders to get out or
face arrest.
Belgian conSulates in key
cities were ordered closed.
The government prepared a
decree banning seven French
language newspapers. including
the conservative Paris daily lie
Figaro. and expelling 10 corre-
spondents.
Information Minister Kasha-
mura said severe and drastic |
sanctions also are planned for
the local press. In recent weeks
Leopoldville has seen the birth
of several newspapers financed |
by various political movements.
Some have attacked the gov
ernment and its members in
terms that most countries would
consider libelous.
Voices Gratitude to U. N.
But the main concern in
Leopoldville for the present is
what happens next in the Ka-
tanga crisis.
Mr.. Lumumba summoned
neWsmen to his residence for