''M 24'' was a political movement in the
People's Republic of Congo
The People's Republic of the Congo (french: République populaire du Congo) was a Marxist–Leninist socialist state that existed in the Republic of the Congo from 1969 to 1992.
The People's Republic of the Congo was founded in December 1969 ...
. The grouping emerged from a strike organized on March 24, 1976. The March 24 strike had demanded the rehabilitation of the
Central Committee
Central committee is the common designation of a standing administrative body of Communist party, communist parties, analogous to a board of directors, of both ruling and nonruling parties of former and existing socialist states. In such party org ...
of the
Congolese Party of Labour (PCT). The leaders of the strike were arrested. The name 'M 24' was accorded by the
Congolese Students Association
Congolese or Kongolese may refer to:
African peoples
* Congolese people (disambiguation)
* Kongo people, a Bantu ethnic group who live along the Atlantic coast of Africa from Pointe-Noire (Republic of Congo) to Luanda, Angola, primarily defined by ...
(AEC) in
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
in reference to the coalition who backed the March 24 strike.
Leading figures of the M 24 network include
Pierre Nzé
Pierre Nzé (born 1939) is a Congolese politician and diplomat. During the single-party rule of the Congolese Labour Party (PCT), he held leading positions in the government and party. Later, he was Minister of State for Justice from 1997 to 199 ...
(former no. 2 of PCT),
Jean-Jules Okabando (former leader of the
Congolese Socialist Youth Union
, colorcode = red
, logo = UJSC-badge.jpg
, caption = Badge of the UJSC
, logo2 =
, caption2 =
, founded = 1969
, dissolved = 1992
, headquarters = Brazzaville, People's Republic of the Congo
, ideology ...
), Anatole Khondo and Nicodème Ekamba-Elombé (
trade union
A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...
ists).
When a new PCT Central Committee was elected in 1979, two members of the M 24 network (Nzé and Okabando) were included. The M 24 network was weakened in the mid-1980s as
Denis Sassou Nguesso
Denis Sassou Nguesso (born 23 November 1943) is a Congolese politician and former military officer. He became president of the Republic of the Congo in 1997. He served a previous term as president from 1979 to 1992. During his first period as p ...
strengthened his influence, and Nzé was excluded from the government. In 1987 Nzé left the PCT
Politburo
A politburo () or political bureau is the executive committee for communist parties. It is present in most former and existing communist states.
Names
The term "politburo" in English comes from the Russian ''Politbyuro'' (), itself a contraction ...
. He was not included in the PCT Central Committee elected in 1989.
[Bazenguissa-Ganga, Rémy. ]
Les voies du politique au Congo: essai de sociologie historique
'. Paris: Karthala, 1997. pp. 283-284, 287, 293
References
Defunct political parties in the Republic of the Congo
History of the Republic of the Congo
{{RCongo-party-stub