Mobutu Sésé Seko
From Wikiquote
Mobutu Sésé Seko Nkuku wa za Banga (or Mobutu Sese Seko Koko Ngbendu Wa Za Banga; October 14, 1930 – September 7, 1997) was the President of Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo) from 1965 to 1997.
 |
This political figure or monarch article is a stub. You can help Wikiquote by expanding it. |
[edit] Attributed
- Who taught us corruption? I believe it was you, frankly... It's an import. [In an interview with a French reporter, as featured in "Mobutu: King of Zaire."]
- It takes two to corrupt – the corrupted and the corrupter. [1]
"The very existence of the Nation was threatened. Threatened on all sides, from the interior and exterior. From the interior, by the sterile conflicts of politicians who sacrificed the country and their compatriots to their own interests. Nothing counted for them but power...and what the exercise of power could bring them. Fill their own pockets, exploit the Congo and the Congolese, this was their trademark. Given such examples, both national and provincial administrations were mired in inertia, inefficiency, and worse yet, corruption. At all levels, many of those in our country who held a morsel of public power allowed themselves to be corrupted, served individuals and companies who paid bribes and neglected the others... ...certain politicians, to maintain themselves in power or to regain it, did not hesitate to seek help from foreign powers... ...the social, economic and financial situation of the country is catastrophic." - Mobutu explaining the reasons behind his November 1965 coup[1]
"Positive non-alignment, or indiscriminate openmindedness to the world, is a fundamental feature of Zaire's foreign policy. To this end, we are exerting ourselves in a bid to promote genuine cooperation among all countries that are willing to accept Zaire for what it is...The debacles that Zaire has faced and continues to face in various areas - colonization, alienation, exploitation, secession, rebellion - are due to the imperialist policies of the superpowers who have assumed the right to govern the world. Thus, we do not want to be involved directly or indirectly in any attempt to subjugate a state or group of states." - Mobutu explaining his foreign policy[2]
"In our African tradition, there are never two chiefs; there is sometimes a natural heir to the chief, but can anyone tell me that he has ever known a village that has two chiefs? That is why we Congolese, in the desire to conform to the traditions of our continent, have resolved to group all the energies of the citizens of our country under the banner of a single national party."[3]
"We are resorting to this authenticity in order to rediscover our soul, which colonization had almost erased from our memories and which we are seeking in the tradition of our ancestors."[4]
"We are seeking our own authenticity, and we will find it because we wish, in the innermost fibers of our being to discover it."[5]
"Clearly, I would be lying if I said I do not have a bank account in Europe; I do. I would be lying if I said I do not have considerable money in my account; I do. Yes, I do have a fair amount of money. However, I would estimate it to total less than 50 million dollars. What is that for twenty-two years as head of state in such a big country?" Mobutu to congressman Mervyn Dymally, 1988[6]
"Between a brother and a friend, the choice is clear." - Mobutu announcing the break in diplomatic relations between Zaire and Israel at the United Nations Security Council, November 4, 1973[7]
"Zaire is the country that has been the most heavily exploited in the world. That is why farms, ranches, plantations, concessions, commerce, and real estate agencies will be turned over to sons of the country." - November 30, 1973, on the eve of "Zairianization"[8]
"In a word, everything is for sale, anything can be bought in our country. And in this flow, he who holds the slightest cover of public authority uses it illegally to acquire money, goods, prestige or to avoid obligations. The right to be recognized by a public servant, to have one's children enrolled in school, to obtain medical care, etc. ...are all subject to this tax which, though invisible, is known and expected by all." - November 25, 1977[9]
"If you want to steal, steal a little in a nice way. But if you steal too much to become rich overnight, you'll be caught."[9]
"It is simply not true." - when asked by the New York Times, "Do American military supplies go through Zaire to Savimbi in Angola?"[10]
"Treating me as a thief is a grave, unacceptable, intolerable insult which stems from contempt and racist condescension." - Mobutu, in response to claims by the Belgian media that he was taking Belgian aid for himself[11]
"As regards George Bush, I've met him thirteen times. We know each other from way back. He was in charge of the CIA and knew Zaire's problems backwards. He received me at his home in Maine with his mother, wife and children and grandchildren. I met him again recently at the funeral of Emperor Hirohito. He is an intelligent, open and sensitive man, with strong convictions." - Mobutu, on his friendship with George H. W. Bush[12]
"The chief is the chief. He is the eagle who flies high and cannot be touched by the spit of the toad." - October 1991[13]
"If I could do it all again, I'd be a farmer." - Mobutu to his national security advisor, Honoré Ngbanda, "the Terminator"[14]
"I cannot sleep at all on a plane and I am terribly scared of sleeping pills. To accuse me of wasting money - no, I am sorry. Just think of the time I save." - Mobutu, asked by a German journalist to justify the expense of his Concorde while the nation's economy was in crisis[14]
"When you are a soldier, either you surrender or you are killed. But you don't flee." - Mobutu, vowing to resist the Kabila rebellion[15]
[edit] About Mobutu
"General, if it hadn't been for you, the whole thing would have collapsed and the Communists would have taken over." - President John F. Kennedy during Mobutu's May 1963 visit to the White House[16]
"Though you are a young man and you come from a young nation, there are things we can learn from you." - President Richard Nixon during Mobutu's August 1970 visit to Washington[17]
"Only one man, previously noted for his outstanding services to his country, can assure the well-being of each one of us and create the conditions propitious of the people's moral and spiritual growth, and offer them a common ideal, the feelings of a joint destiny and the knowledge of belonging to one country." - 1970 MPR Congress[18]
"This man has spoken; he has written, set forth orientation and decrees. The sum total of his actions constitutes Mobutism, just as the sum total of Mao's teachings constitutes Maoism...The President and Founder of the MPR repeats incessantly that a people aiming for greatness should neither repudiate other nations nor copy them." - Mpinga Kasenda[19]
"In our religion, we have our own theologians. In all religions, and at all times, there are prophets. Why not today? God has sent a great prophet, our prestigious Guide Mobutu - this prophet is our liberator, our Messiah. Our Church is the MPR. Its chief is Mobutu, we respect him like one respects a Pope. Our gospel is Mobutism. This is why the crucifixes must be replaced by the image of our Messiah. And party militants will want to place at its side his glorious mother, Mama Yemo, who gave birth to such a son." - interior minister Engulu Baanga Mpongo[20]
"There just is no effective control over the financial transactions of the Presidency; one does not differentiate between official and personal expenses in this office...All endeavors to improve budgetary control in Zaire had to stop short before the operations of the central governing authority: La Présidence! The corruptive system in Zaire with all its wicked and ugly manifestations, its mismanagement and fraud will destroy all endeavors of international institutions, of friendly governments, and of the commercial banks towards recovery and rehabilitation of Zaire's economy. Sure, there will be new promises by Mobutu, by members of his government, rescheduling and rescheduling again of a growing public debt, but no - repeat - no prospect of Zaire's creditors to get their money back in any foreseeable future. There was, and there still is, one sole obstacle that negates all prospect: the corruption of the team in power." - Erwin Blumenthal[21]
"We know how allergic you are to candor and truth...For fifteen years now we have obeyed you. What have we done, during this time, to be useful and agreeable to you? We have sung, danced, animated, in short, we have been subjected to all sorts of humiliation, all forms of subjugation which even foreign colonization never made us suffer... After fifteen years of the power you have exercised alone, we find ourselves divided into two absolutely distinct camps. On one side, a few scandalously rich persons. On the other, the mass of people suffering the darkest misery." - Group of dissident parliamentarians, cataloguing the abuses of Mobutu's regime and demanding reforms, 1980[22]
"Mobutu truly has a malady. He is a kleptomaniac. Zaire is ruled by an uncontrolled thief. It is a kleptocracy." - Étienne Tshisekedi[23]
"I have come to appreciate the dynamism that is so characteristic of Zaire and Zairians and to respect your dedication to fairness and reason. I have come to admire, Mr. President, your personal courage and leadership in Africa." - Vice-President George H. W. Bush, visiting Kinshasa, November, 1982[24]
"Zaire is among America's oldest friends, and its president - President Mobutu - one of our most valued friends...And so I was honored to invite President Mobutu to be the first African head of state to come to the United States for an official visit during my presidency." - President George H. W. Bush[25]
"The strong ties of friendship between Zaire and the United States endure and prosper. And we are proud and very, very pleased to have you with us today." President George H.W. Bush[26]
[edit] References
- ↑ Young and Turner, p. 42
- ↑ Elliot and Dymally, p. 51
- ↑ Young and Turner, p. 211
- ↑ Lamb, p. 45
- ↑ Sean Kelly, America's Tyrant: The CIA and Mobutu of Zaire, p. 194
- ↑ Elliot and Dymally, p. 25
- ↑ Young and Turner, p. 138
- ↑ Zaire: A Country Study, "Zairianization, Radicalization, and Retrocession"
- ↑ a b D.J. Gould, "Patrons and Clients: The Role of the Military in Zaire Politics," in Isaac Mowoe, ed., The Performance of Soldiers as Governors, p. 485
- ↑ Kelly, p. 4
- ↑ Harden, p. 52
- ↑ Meredith, p. 308
- ↑ Meredith, p. 391
- ↑ a b Meredith, p. 532
- ↑ Meredith, p. 535
- ↑ Kelly, p. 2
- ↑ Kelly, p. 198
- ↑ Young and Turner, p. 164
- ↑ Young and Turner, p. 47
- ↑ Young and Turner, p. 169
- ↑ Meredith, p. 305
- ↑ Meredith, p. 306
- ↑ Kelly, p. 250
- ↑ Kelly, p. 244
- ↑ Kelly, p. 1
- ↑ Kelly, p. 3
