By Stephen R. Weissman: Fifty years ago, the former Belgian Congo received its independence under the democratically elected government of former Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba. Less than seven months later, Lumumba and two colleagues were, in the contemporary idiom, “rendered” to their Belgian-backed secessionist enemies, who tortured them before putting them before a firing squad. The Congo would not hold another democratic election for 46 years.  One horrible crime cannot, by itself, change history. But the murder of Patrice Lumumba, the most dynamic political leader the Congo has ever produced, was a critical step in the consolidation of an oppressive regime. Read More…