Turkey initially supportedLeopold II’s pledge to “civilize” Congo, and recognizedCongo Free State after theBerlin Conference in 1885.[2] This changed quickly after the public outcry in Turkey and other countries over harsh labor practices and atrocities committed against Congolese, who lived in a humiliatingly strict system of segregation, by theBelgians.[2] KingLeopold II of Belgium would go on personally owning the Congo Free State from 1885 to 1908.[2]
Following independence, Turkey was one of the first to establish diplomatic relations with DR Congo.[3] Turkey, through mainlyTIKA launched many programs, worth US$ 137 million in economic aid during the next 30 years.[3]
^abcKabuya-Lumuna Sando, C. Histoire du Congo. Les quatre premiers présidents. Kinshasa: Secco and Cedi, 2002.
^abcMabiala Mantuba-Ngoma, P. “La nouvelle histoire du Congo. Mélanges eurafricains offerts à Frans Bontinck, C.I.C.M.” Cahiers Africains 65–66–67 (2004), pp. 1–365.
^abGondala, C. D. The History of Congo. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2002.
^Grove, Brandon. Behind Embassy Walls: The Life and Times of an American Diplomat. Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 2005.
.svg)
