Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1962-10-18
Conoo Constitution

It will not be surprising II President
Noise Tshombe of secessionist Katanga
Province raises number OF objections
to the draft of the new Federal con-
stitution that Premier Cyrille Adoula
of the central" Congolese government
has Just unveiled.
In many respects, this document is
Impressive and persuasive. Prepared
under the auspices of the United Nations
by a committee Of legal experts from
Switzerland, Canada, India and Nigeria,
it fits in well with Acting Secretary Gen
eral U Thant's plan for a national
reconciliation and pacification Of the
divided Congo. But Mr.. TShombe and his
Elisabethville regime have not been con-
suited in connection with its drafting,
and so they have understandable reser-
vations about it, want to study it closely,
and probably will ask for certain i'm
portant changes in the text.
It is true, of course, that Mr..
Tshombe has agreed Gin principle" with
Mr.. Thant'S plan for unifying the Congo
under a constitution establishing fed
eral or confederal system Of government
sited in Leopoldville. But the question
now is whether the document presented
by Premier Adoula guarantees enough
autonomy to the provinces-enough
states rights, so to speak-to satisfy
Katanga's much-maligned chief execu-
tive. He is fully entitled to raise ques-
lions on that score and to engage in
hard bargaining. Certainly, If he calls
for revisions in the document, he will
not be acting in bad faith. After all,
the draft is not final text to be handed
to him on a take-it-or-elSe basis. AS to
that, G. Mennen Williams, Assistant
Secretary Of State for African Affairs,
has had some pertinent things to say,
including the following statement OF
last August 80:
The National government Premier
Adoula's in Leopoldville], after consultation
with the provincial governments and inter-
ested political groups, will present federal
constitution to the Parliament. Under
present law this constitution cannot become
law without a two-thirds vote OF the Parlla-
ment in which all provinces and parties are
represented, plus approval by the provincial
assemblies Including, most important OF all,
Katanga's legislaturel.
Accordingly, Mr.. Tshombe will be
amply justified if he makes haste slowly
in connection with the Congo'S proposed
new constitution. In short, he has
right to be sure that the projected
liberalization will guarantee to Katanga
as much Self-rule as he has been insist
ing upon from the start. If such guar
antee is forthcoming, then there will be
good reason to demand that he cooper
ate in Mr.. Thant's plan for CongoleSe
unity. Meanwhile, however, nothing
could be less StateSmanlike than efforts
to depict him as an unreasonable man
who must be pressured into doing what
Mr.. Thant and his aides (who are not
infallible) think is right.
In any event, what deserves to be
noted now is that Mr.. TShombe has con-
tributed large sum Of his revenues to
the Adoula government, that he has
opened up a new bridge Of communica-
lions between his province and Leopold
vile and that he has established
formal truce with central" Congolese
troops In northern Katanga. These are
good auguries. Doctrinaire people ought
not to be allowed to spoil the prospect
by undertaking to force Mr.. Tshombe to
move too fast.