"We are not beggars. We are a great people."

"We are going to show the world what the black man can do when he works in freedom."

"Blacks, like whites, are intelligent and courageous. They want to control their own affairs and develop their own country."

"The only thing which we wanted for our country is the right to a worthy life, to dignity without pretence, to independence without restrictions."

"The Congo belongs to the Congolese people."