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Belgium Apologizes For Role in Lumumba Assassination VOA News 5 Feb 2002 18:19 UTC 
Belgium has formally apologized for its role in the 1961 assassination of Patrice Lumumba, the first prime minister of what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Foreign Minister Louis Michel told the parliament in Brussels Tuesday that the Belgian government expresses its profound and sincere regrets to Mr. Lumumba's family and the Congolese people.
Mr. Michel announced the creation of a $3.25 million fund in Mr. Lumumba's name to support democracy and conflict prevention projects in Congo, a former Belgian colony.
A Belgian parliamentary inquiry, completed last year, failed to link the Belgian government directly with the assassination of Mr. Lumumba. However, the inquiry said Belgium bore a moral responsibility by failing to act to prevent the killing of the charismatic anti-colonial leader after he was captured by his Congolese rivals.
Mystery continues to surround the assassination, with some historians accusing the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency of complicity because Mr. Lumumba had links to the Soviets.
Some information for this report provided by AP and AFP.
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