France: a final tribute to former Congolese president Pascal Lissouba
Funeral of the former Congolese president, Pascal Lissouba.
A mass was given in his honor, this Monday, August 31, 2020, in the cathedral basilica of Saint Jean-Baptiste in Perpignan, France.
Florence Morice / RFI
Text by: RFI Follow
3 min
A last tribute was paid this Monday, August 31 to the former Congolese president, Pascal Lissouba.
It happened in Perpignan, in the south of France.
In accordance with his family's wishes, it was there that he was buried “provisionally” until the “conditions” were met for his return to his country.
Pascal Lissouba had lived in exile for twenty-three years, since he had to leave power in favor of Denis Sassou Nguesso, at the end of a deadly war.
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It is a ceremony of more than three hours which took place in peace, in the presence, outside, of the municipal and national police who were cragnant with possible clashes.
Before the arrival of the coffin, greeted by applause and a few raised fists, several supporters of the former president sang songs in his honor, chanted to the sound of "
In the Congo, it's not going
".
During the mass, his relatives who spoke painted a portrait of him as an intellectual, attached to “
democracy and the emancipation of his people
”, in the words of his youngest son, Jeremy Lissouba .
A man who would have "
suffered from his exile
" and to have been "
misunderstood
" ... "
deprived of his dream of development
", estimated Mireille Lissouba, his eldest daughter.
She spoke first and concluded her tribute with these words: “
One day, one day he will go home
”, which triggered applause.
Among the political figures present: Pascal Tasty Mabiala, current First Secretary of UPADS, the party founded by Pascal Lissouba, but above all several of his former collaborators, also in exile, such as his former Minister of Oil, Benoit Koukebene, that of Justice , Joseph Ouabari Mariotti and supporters of the diaspora.
The mayor of Perpignan, elected National Assembly Louis Aliot, attended mass.
The Congo was represented by its Ambassador to France, Rodolphe Adada, alongside rare members of the French PCT federation, Denis Sassou-Nguesso's party.
The president of this federation finally invited his activists not to participate "
for security reasons
", considering that they "
were not welcome
".
►
To read also: Pascal Lissouba's family wishes to repatriate his body to Congo-Brazzaville
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