Evening star., 1960-08-25
Police Shoot
Over Heads Of
CongoCrowd
Protest Against
Lumumbo Routed
At Conference Site
BY LYNN HEINZERLING
Associated Press Staf Writer

| LEOPOLDVILLE, the Congo
Aug. 25.-CongoleSe police firec
over the heads Of antigovern.
ment demonstrators today out
side the Conference of Inde-
pendent African Nations here
Premier Patrice Lumumbs
had just entered the Palace OF
Culture to open the conference
when the demonstration against
his government started. A
police guard was dispatched tc
push back the demonstrators
1t appeared many of the Sc
or more policemen engaged ir
the action were firing blanks
but a number of bullets could
be seen kicking up dust in
front of the retreating demon
Strators.
Gendarmerie of the Con-
golese Army also joined in re-
pulsing the demonstrators, who
displayed placards reading
Down With the Fascist Gov
ernment of Lumumba," Down
With the Demagogue Lu-
mumba."
Young Men Beaten
A number of young men were
snatched out of the crowd by
police and gendarmes. They
were Slugged and beaten before
the eyes of scores of CORE
spondentS and some visiting
delegates.
Earlier, United Nations
troops from Sudan and Ghans
dug in at the Leopoldville Air.
port and set up machine guns
in the face of demands fol
return of the airport to Congo.
leSe control.
The United Nations remained
firm in the face of threat.
that the Congolese army in.
tended to move back into the
airport, from which Premier
Lumumba's units were oustec
last week after a series oi
clashes with U. N. personnel.
A young Sudanese officer sale
he had received orders tc
resist any attack by Congolese
troops and intended to carry
out the order.
Congo Sends Troops
Meanwhile, the Congolese
army completed the present
phase of it's airlift of troop.
to KaSai Province. The last ot
IL chartered planes used ir
the airlift took off this morning
with 40 soldiers.
Tribal war continues in KaSa
and Mr.. Lumumba's politica
opponents there have declared
their intention of setting up 6
new province with a large de.
gree of autonomy.
Meanwhile, nearly 5000
workers at the Utexleo textile
plant went on strike, high.
lighting the economic and So
cial dangers facing Mr.. Lu'
mumba.
The men gathered outside
the plant only a few hundred
yards from U. N. headquarters
Large detachments of police
stood by.
Confusion at Conference
Confusion was. apparent a
the Palace of Culture before thu
opening of the Africa nstate!
conference.
The hastily called confer.
ence is certain to suffer from
lack of preparation.
Telephones in the building
were not hooked up six hour.
before the scheduled start anc
nobody was quite sure how the
loudspeaker system with stimuli.
taneous Interpretation was
going to work.
Mr.. Lumumba, who has beer
calling on the Soviet Union fol
more and more advice in recent
weeks, welcomed a group oi
delegates brought to Leopold
vile in a Soviet plane last
night.
Eleven nations will be repre-
sented at the conference in
addition to the Congo-Algeria
Cameroons, Ethiopia, Ghana
Guinea, Liberia, Morocco
United Arab Republic, Sudan
Tunisia and Togo.
Two Russian ships have ar
rived at the Congo River port
of Matadi, it was reported here
with cargos of trucks, wheat
milk and sugar among other
things. 1t is not known how
many passengers the vessel.
carried, but the Russian ano
Eastern European population
of the Congo has been growing
Steadily in recent weeks.