Birchers and red agitators

This is a re-release of an old anti-Communist propaganda film from the 1960's, narrated by American Congressman Donald L Jackson. The original title was “Katanga: The Untold Story”. The new release (with a slightly longer title) is introduced by G Edward Griffin of the John Birch Society and Reality Zone. Griffin is otherwise most known as the mastermind behind the Chemtrails documentary “What in the world are they spraying”.

Katanga was an anti-Communist state which broke away from the Congo following that nation's independence from Belgium. The breakaway republic, led by Moise Tshombe, was supported by the Belgians, foreign mercenaries and the powerful mining corporation Union Minière. Tshombe accused the central Congolese government of being Communist-influenced. Katanga was widely seen as a Belgian-colonialist puppet, and was eventually overrun by UN troops and reintegrated into the Congo. Its short existence spanned 1960 to 1963.

Donald Jackson supported Katanga, visited the breakaway republic and interviewed Tshombe. The interview is included in the documentary. At one point, the Katangan leader compares himself to Chiang Kai-shek. Jackson's narration is a long propaganda pitch for Katanga, depicted as a tranquil and prosperous haven of racial tolerance, religious freedom and economic prosperity. At one point, the local Jewish (!) community invited Jackson and Tshombe to take part in a bar mitzvah (apparently, these were Greek Jews who had moved to the region prior to World War II). Chaotic “Central Congo”, by contrast, is said to be dominated by “red agitators” and political opportunists. Tshombe's involvement in the abduction and murder of nationalist Congolese leader Patrice Lumumba is not mentioned at all (I suppose it's possible that the details weren't widely known at the time).

As far as I know, Republican Congressman Jackson had no connections to the John Birch Society. Their interest in “Katanga: The Untold Story” is due to its criticism of the United Nations. Both the United States and the Soviet Union supported the UN intervention in the Congo, something the Birchers presumably see as proof positive that the US federal administration is infiltrated by reds and Illuminati.

Personally, I regard the documentary to be interesting (in its own way), and I therefore give it four stars, despite its obviously contentious nature…