Talk:Dag Hammarskjöld/Archive 1

Archive 1

Death

"South Africa Archishop Desmond Tutu, head of the South African Commission still investigating and exposing the crimes of the apartheid era, has come upon documents said to point to a Western plot to kill U.N. Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjold in 1961!" [1]

See also:

• Letters Say Hammarskjold Death Western Plot
• UN assassination plot denied
• Letters Say UN Sec-Gen Dag Hammarskjold's Death A Western Plot
• NOTES FOR MEDIA BRIEFING BY ARCHBISHOP DESMOND TUTU

I like this article:

• http://www.lrb.co.uk/v23/n15/matthew-hughes/the-man-who-killed-hammarskjold

— Preceding unsigned comment added by NeoUrfahraner (talk • contribs) 06:37, 22 August 2005 (UTC)

Humanitarian

I can't argue that he wasn't a humanitarian. He won the Nobel Peace prize..!

So I'll agree with Filipman on that one that category:Humanitarians is warranted. So lets stop reverting with the edit summary "trolling" or "vandalism". If you want to comment, do so here.

Fred-Chess 13:38, 9 March 2006 (UTC)

Undue weight

The article as it stands gives too much coverage of the various conspiracy theories surrounding his death and not enough to the official account. I plan to address this. --John 17:26, 19 July 2007 (UTC)

Even people against whom there are "conspiracies" can die by accident, or being in the wrong place at the wrong time etc - look at Spencer Perceval.

A better way of getting rid of" DH would have been to introduce a two-terms limit or similar: there would always be the possibility of "someone/something unexpected" being on the plane etc. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 87.86.0.10 (talk) 14:10, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

I've addressed the issue. Sorry it took so long. It would be great to have some English-language sources for the CT claims. --John (talk) 21:09, 13 February 2008 (UTC)

"Denied"?

TIME article at the time:

"Reported Linner, with undisguised frustration: "This was the culmination of a long series of wrongful acts by these officers, including the organization of attacks on the United Nations, repeated threats, and incitements to violence." O'Brien issued an ultimatum: remove all remaining white officers, or else. When Tshombe flatly refused, U.N. troops went into action, while Hammarskjold, who had just arrived for a personal inspection, waited in Léopoldville.

Attack. Long before dawn one morning last week, a company of Indian troops backed by Irish armored cars surrounded the Elisabethville post office' held as a communications center by a Tshombe garrison. In French and Swahili, demands were megaphoned that the garrison yield the building. The answer was the rattle of machine guns. The U.N. returned fire, and for two hours streams of red tracer bullets crossed each other in the predawn darkness. An Indian soldier was hit in the face; he screamed. A Katanga gendarme, hit in the belly, fell from a second-story window, picked himself up, staggered away with his entrails hanging out. The driver of an armored car was decapitated, and his car lunged weirdly into a wall.

Other U.N. troops were deployed throughout the city. Indians took the state radio building after a charge with fixed bayonets. Swedish troops attacked the home of Tshombe's Interior Minister Godefroid Munongo (who had fled). Shortly after dawn, the U.N. forces gained their objectives, and O'Brien called a press conference to announce that "the Katanga secession is over. Katanga is now a Congolese province." The cease-fire announcement was vastly premature.

Siege. O'Brien, 43, an intense Irishman with literary leanings (he is noted for a study of Irish Insurrectionist Charles Stewart Parnell) had badly misjudged Moise Tshombe, the strength of his gendarmerie, and above all their determination to fight for Katanga's independence. After the announcement, the central government in Léopoldville named Egide Bocheley as Katanga's "High Commissioner" to replace Tshombe. Bocheley, a follower of far-left Vice Premier Antoine Gizenga, flew off for Elisabethville. When his plane landed, it was not safe for him to leave the airport, and he spent the night sitting up in a chair. Elisabethville was under siege. "

And so on.

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,873396-1,00.html —Preceding unsigned comment added by 84.234.60.154 (talk) 01:05, 15 February 2008 (UTC)

Alternative Theories Section

I recently reverted some edits made by John. He contested two points. I'll respond to each: 1. He claims that "Alternative Theories" is a weasel word. I contend that "Conspiracy Theory" is a loaded term that is somewhat synonymous with a fringe opinion that is generally looked on with disdain. "Alternative" is factually accurate and agnostic as to the validity of the theories. It is completely unbiased, letting the theories stand on their own merits without implicit support.

2. John also deleted the section on dismissing evidence that would suggest foul play. I assume that he is editing in good faith, and simply questions the validity of this statement. I'd urge him to read the report of the UN commission, which explicitly considers this evidence, and dismisses it as not being sufficiently credible. The evidence was initially reported in UN transcripts, and then was dismissed in the official inquiry. It is misleading to say that no evidence was found.

For the record, I don't have a strong opinion that Hammarskjold was assassinated. But the wikipedia article on this was poor and did not sufficiently explain why there was even a contraversy. Editing out information because you don't agree with it, or labeling it a "conspiracy theory" is dangerously close to censorship. If a third party reads that Hammarskjold was assassinated, the wikipedia page should provide the factual information that allows that person to make their own decision.

--Thesoxlost (talk) 19:01, 29 November 2008 (UTC)

I see you are relatively new here, so I will try to be nice. [2] is not a reliable source. Conspiracy theories are theories involving conspiracies, which is the perfect title for a section describing theories involving conspiracies. Removing sourced material because you disagree with it is not on. I won't throw around the word "censorship" as you have done, but behavior like this does have the effect of making it harder to assume good faith on your part. Please have a think about what I said. --John (talk) 19:30, 29 November 2008 (UTC)

Its good that you are being nice. Thank you for that. I'd hate to see you being rude or unreasonable. You did not delete the information with that reference that you say is not WP:RS. You deleted information that was unreferenced. Thats fine. I undid your revision and added the reference. It came straight from the UN special commission report. As for the reference that the above ref WP:RS, I agree with you. I've located a WP:RS source, and added that to the page.

Please re-read the definition of weasel words. "Alternative" in no way implies support for any statement without a reference. The first paragraph for Conspiracy Theory in the wikipedia article states that it is "also sometimes used dismissively in an attempt to portray hypothetical speculation as being untrue or outlandish". That means that "Conspiracy Theory" can be interpreted in a way that violates the NPOV policy, by implicitly suggesting that the theories should be dismissed as speculation, untrue or outlandish.

The reference you gave was the 4th volume of a video on plane crashes. It contradicted the UN official report, which clearly states that there were bullet holes in the Swedish guards. Compared to an official UN report, your reference may seem to have the same validity as "When Animals Attack, Vol. 7." Perhaps you find it hard to assume good faith in replacing dubious information with an official report from the United Nations; I assure you the edit was in good faith. You have added it back in, and I have integrated your referenced information to make it consistent with the UN report.

--Thesoxlost (talk) 19:54, 29 November 2008 (UTC)

Macarthur Job, Air Disaster Volume 4, Aerospace Publications Pty Ltd, 2001 ISBN 187567148X, p 142, as the use of ISBN and a page number suggest, is a book by a respected aviation safety writer, not a video. Please reread our policy on reliable sources. The link you provided to the report doesn't seem to work for me, meaning I cannot check what it does and does not say. --John (talk) 20:12, 29 November 2008 (UTC)

Here, have a look yourself. --John (talk) 21:57, 29 November 2008 (UTC)

The link works fine for me. It could be because I have a saved cookie or something; the UN website may not allow direct access to its documents. I've changed the reference to a UN document template. If you click on the link, it will take you to UNdocuments, which has a link that you can follow to the document. Let me know if it doesn't work.

--Thesoxlost (talk) 00:35, 30 November 2008 (UTC)

Undue weight to fringe theories

This article does seem to give undue weight to fringe theories (which contradict each other) on Hammarskjold's death. LeContexte (talk) 12:55, 16 January 2009 (UTC)

LeContexte, what would you like to see removed? Unlike other conspiracy theories (e.g., JFK), there isn't a good account of the Hammarskjold crash. The UN report defaults to pilot error because there is no evidence to support any particular theory. Given the frequency of assassinations in Africa around this time, I don't think one would be "fringe" to question whether the official UN account leaves something out. I don't think I am alone there: there are numerous investigative accounts of the crash that have a healthy amount of skepticism about the offical account.

That said, I wouldn't necessarily disagree if you argued that a particular theory isn't sufficiently supported to justify inclusion. What did you want to remove? --Thesoxlost (talk) 16:00, 16 January 2009 (UTC)

The problem is that the sources used are in the large part fringe works/reports, rather than serious investigations. The silliest example is the purported admission by Truman that Hammarskjold was murdered - if this had really been said then it would surely be more widely reported than in one popular compendium of "Great Mysteries of History" and an obscure website. LeContexte (talk) 16:17, 16 January 2009 (UTC)

Contradiction

"Like his predecessor Trygve Lie, Hammarskjöld ended his term a lame duck, no longer on speaking terms with one of the UN's most important members, the Soviet Union. His bad relations with both the Soviets and the French led directly to financial crisis and the looming threat to bankruptcy, as both these governments refused to pay their peacekeeping dues. It would be up to his successor, U Thant, to rehabiliate the office of Secretary-General."

"Today Hammarskjöld is viewed perhaps as the greatest Secretary-General because of his ability to shape events in contrast to his successors. This view is one that is commonly shared by intellectuals around the world, such as the historian Paul Kennedy, who hailed Hammarskjöld in his book The Parliament of Man."

Maybe it's not directly contradictory (the judgment today as opposed to 40 years ago) but the 2nd claim should at least be elaborated. ugen64 20:19, 16 January 2007 (UTC)

I removed the "lame duck" thing. Is lame duck some sort of standard phrase in English? It seems POV to me. I found when it was added [3]. As I suspected, it was added by a user who's hardly made any other contributions. / Fred-Chess 23:23, 16 February 2007 (UTC)

Yes, "lame duck" is a phrase usually employed to describe a politician whose political effectiveness has been severely compromised or whose replacement has been elected. If Mr. Hammarskjöld had compromised his political effectiveness, then I suppose it would be accurate. I don't think of it as particularly pejorative or insulting, but a colorful and common phrase. It often crops up in discussing an American President's second term in office, if memory serves. See Lame_duck_(politics) for more details.--Foxhound 01:46, 30 March 2007 (UTC)

Okay, I learned something. Thanks. / Fred-J 17:15, 13 October 2007 (UTC) (same user as above)

There is a discrepancy between the page on the UNEF and events described on this page. In the former, the UNEF was created by a UN GA Resolution but the latter attributes it directly to Dag Hammarskjold. The UN Secretary General does not have the de iure power to create peace-keeping bodies independent of the Gen. Assembly.121.6.137.15 (talk) 12:21, 4 July 2009 (UTC)

Spirituality and Markings

There was a recent attempt (by user who describes himself as an 'atheist' on his user page) to remove all reference to 'Markings" and to Hammarskjold's spirituality. To do this, regardless of the controversy about it, would be to ignore a significant component of this mans life. One of the main reasons he is notable today is because of the high regard in which 'Markings' is held and on this point and Hammarskjold's approach to Christianity please see: Henry P van Dusen DagHammarskjold. A Biographical Interpretation of Markings.Faber and Faber London 1967 esp pp 189-190NimbusWeb (talk) 13:02, 5 August 2009 (UTC) In case of further attempted deletion by atheists or others who wish to misrepresent the core of Hammarskjold's life, here is the section:

In 1953, soon after his appointment as United Nations Secretary General Hammarskjold was interviewed on radio by Edward R Murrow. In this talk he declared: "But the explanation of how man should live a life of active social service in full harmony with himself as a member of the community of spirit, I found in the writings of those great medieval mystics [ Meister Eckhart and Jan van Ruysbroek (scholar) ] for whom 'self-surrender' had been the way to self-realization, and who in 'singleness if mind' and 'inwardness' had found strength to say yes to every demand which the needs of their neighbours made them face, and to say yes also to every fate life had in store for them when they followed the call of duty as they understood it."

His only book, Vägmärken (Markings), was published in 1963. A collection of his diary reflections, the book starts in 1925, when he was 20 years old, and ends at his death in 1961. Markings reveals the close connection between Hammarskjold's inner spiritual life and his worldly duties: "We are not permitted to chose the frame of our destiny. But what we put into it is ours. He who wills adventure will experience it-according to the measure of his courage. He who wills sacrifice will be sacrificed-according to the measure of his purity of heart." Markings is characterised by Hammarskjold's intermingling of prose and Haiku poetry in the manner exemplified by the Japanese poet Basho in his Narrow Roads to the Deep North. In his Foreword to Markings the English poet WH Auden quotes Hammarskjold as stating "In our age, the road to holiness necessarily passes through the world of action." NimbusWeb (talk) 13:11, 5 August 2009 (UTC)

I should not describe myself as an atheist, because the term begs the quesion. The concept of atheism necessarily entails the opposite, theism, and the possibility that there is a God, which there is not. Be that as it may, at least I've declared myself, unlike some who create an account in Wikipedia for the sole purpose of pushing their religious beliefs. And I do not use my belief, or absence of it, as an excuse to justify distorting the truth and gaming the rules to further some holy or unholy cause. I have copyedited many articles concerning religion and never ran into a problem with the nutbar God-boxers hovering there. Look at George Washington Carver for an example. As for the section, quoting some crackpot theologist does not make a thing notable, and old Dag is plenty notable without the frill of religiosity he's been given here. His book is of interest, however, and I can just barely live with the new version of the section, which I've copyedited. --Milkbreath (talk) 19:21, 5 August 2009 (UTC)

I see now that a separate entry for 'markings' has been created. Suggest keeping the para on it here but expanding the markings entryNimbusWeb (talk) 07:32, 22 September 2009 (UTC)

References

Legacy

Legacy vs. Honors

The Legacy section had a "Prose" tag on it. But it seemed to me that this disparate group of items would be clearer if arranged in an organized bulleted list, and I am doing so. In the process I found that it includes honors granted to Hammarskjöld during his lifetime, which is not appropriate for "legacies" but can reasonably be separately grouped along with them. So I have divided it into two sections, Honors and Legacy.

Carleton, Up(p)sala

the conflicts

The Carleton University in Ottawa awarded its first-ever honorary degree to Hammarskjöld in 1954...

No problem with that, though I haven't checked it. But the article also said

He also held honorary degrees from [...]; and in Canada from Carleton College and McGill University.

Carleton College is in Northfield, Minnesota, USA; this is either a case of mislocating it in Canada, or of mentioning Carleton (U.) in Ottawa twice but getting its name wrong the second time. But the sentence is quoted verbatim from the cited source.

Similarly, the same source page says "Uppsala College", but this seems to be a blend of

• Uppsala University: a research university in Uppsala, Sweden, the oldest university in Scandinavia, founded in 1477: very likely
• Upsala College: a private college in East Orange, New Jersey, USA, founded in 1893 and closed in 1995 after several years of financial problems: very unlikely

the resolutions

According to Carleton University's own Carleton Through the Years page, the institution was called Carleton College when the honorary degree was awarded, and was renamed Carleton University three years later:

1954: Appointment of Architectural Associates for Carleton to prepare first master plan and to design first group of buildings. First honorary degree (LL.D.) conferred on Dag Hammarskjöld, Secretary-General of the United Nations.

...

1957: The Carleton University Act, 1957. Establishment of the School of Engineering. Establishment of the Institute of Canadian Studies.

I am deleting the misleading mention of "Carleton College" at the end of the sentence, and adding instead a brief note on the change of name, with reference.

I haven't done similar research for Up(p)sala, but I am changing the name to "Uppsala University". -- Thnidu (talk) 20:50, 31 March 2011 (UTC)

Removed Cite

I have removed a citeation to [4] because it is broken. Problem remains that this is a needed cite, as the information presented is controversial. It is the Death Section, with the text "One TRC letter said that a bomb in the aircraft's wheel-bay was set to detonate when the wheels came down for landing." --DanielBC 02:33, 5 June 2006 (UTC)

Commented out first reference for two reasons: 1) dead link to article, but more importantly 2) there were two (now three, 3 Oct 2011) posthumous Nobel prizes: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erik_Axel_Karlfeldt and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_M._Steinman — Preceding unsigned comment added by Rhalden (talk • contribs) 01:52, 4 October 2011 (UTC)

Homosexuality

It is widely speculated that Hammarskjöld may have been homosexual, although he was not open publicly about his sexual orientation and likely would not have identified himself as such Atrian 14:37, 24 December 2006 (UTC)

Noble Lives examines how sexual orientation affected the careers of two historical figures generally accepted as gay, and a third whose sexual identity was in constant question during his lifetime. This unique book features comprehensive biographical accounts of Jazz Age author Glenway Wescott, Academy Award-winning composer Aaron Copland, and Nobel Peace Laureate Dag Hammarskjold, addressing the relationship between their homosexuality and their achievements in literature, the social sciences, music, diplomacy, and global politics. Noble Lives is the first English-language text to thoroughly—and objectively—explore the troubled sexuality of Hammarskjold, the former Secretary-General of the United Nations who died in a plane crash in 1961.—Preceding unsigned comment added by 90.3.146.131 (talk • contribs) 09:27, 26 May 2007

We know that Hammarskjold slept with Fernand Legros. Urquhardt write that Hammarskjold had a so-called relationship with a woman when he was young, but that's all, and he didn't marry that woman. At the beninning of their lives, many homosexuals try to be "normal." He didn't marry because he was homosexual.

Actually, even the biographers that write that he "was not homosexual" don't state that he was heterosexual, but "asexual." That is untrue, because he was indeed homosexual as well as one of his closest collaborators and personal friends, Sverker Astrom, who came out recently and he was 90 ! And he is still alive ; it would be possible to ask him what he knows about Hammarskjold's homosexuality. People who absolutely want to make him heterosexual or asexual are certainly homophobic people and liers. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.198.72.16 (talk • contribs) 06:24, 3 June 2007

Recently, the son of François Mauriac revealed that his father was a closeted and repressed homosexual. Roger Peyrefitte wrote that undoubtful truth years before Mauriac's son. And remember that when Peyrefitte was saying that someone is gay, he was generally right ; he revealed that Dag Hammarskjold had an affair with Fernand Legros. So homophobic people can say that Hammarskjold was a heterosexual Casanova, but it is simply not true : he was a homosexual, this is not speculation.~

Legros has been described as a "playboy, millionaire, art dealer and CIA agent..." [108] A native Egyptian, with apartments in Switzerland, France and Spain, he was a homosexual whose lovers included the Secretary-General of the United Nations (Dag Hammerskjold) and members of French cabinet. [109] A naturalized American, Legros resorted to at least four passports: French, American, Canadian and British.—Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.212.188.32 (talk • contribs) 16:06, 1 June 2007

90.3.96.63 (talk) 15:35, 18 February 2008 (UTC)

He was clearly homosexual; there is no evidence to the contrary. Noble Lives: Biographical Portraits of Three Remarkable Gay Men - Glenway Wescott, Aaron Copland and Dag Hammarskjold Werdnawerdna (talk) 23:20, 4 November 2008 (UTC)

There is hearsay evidence he wasn't gay and some self-denial, please see: Henry van Dusen. Dag Hammarskjold: A Biographical Interpretation of Markings Faber and Faber London 1967 p 83. I agree a strong case undoubtedly can be made for his homosexuality; but it isn't completely a one-sided argument and not everyone who considers the alternative is a homophobe.NimbusWeb (talk) 18:10, 5 August 2009 (UTC)

Possible, but there is much less evidences that he was heterosexual, so... —Preceding unsigned comment added by 90.35.213.198 (talk) 21:58, 20 September 2010 (UTC)

If we discount Legros, who is anything but a reliable source, neither side can make a convincing claim. I would say we should leave this question disputed. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Szederjei (talk • contribs) 22:17, 20 December 2010 (UTC)

Hammarskjold's own words best address the gossip: "The Assembly has witnessed over the last weeks how historical truth is established; once an allegation has been repeated a few times, it is no longer an allegation, it is an established fact, even if no evidence has been brought out in order to support it." — Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.226.21.180 (talk) 12:36, 10 March 2012 (UTC)

He was in the closet, that's all, and in good company, what's the matter ? If he wasn't killed en 1961, maybe would he finally come out as well as Sverker Astrom in 2003, a better year. 194.153.110.6 (talk) 14:59, 12 September 2012 (UTC)

Anyone have a reliable source for all this, or are you guys just content to spread a bunch of conjecture, speculation and gossip around?

I heard he had a small wiener, or was way way way it too big, no maybe it was crooked. No wait, maybe his mother cut it off?!?!?! None of the above?

Please! Do something constructive! --SergeWoodzing (talk) 01:41, 28 March 2014 (UTC)

″Hammarskjold was not openly gay during his lifetime. Given the climate in which he worked, public knowledge of his sexual orientation would likely have reduced his effectiveness.″ [5] University of Illinois --87.153.119.13 (talk) 13:44, 25 July 2014 (UTC)

Removed quote about Hammarskiöld being gay as it was not stated in the reference given. To the contrary: When the diary appeared posthumously in 1963 with the title "Markings, it caused a sensation, some Swedish journalists sneering that it revealed Hammarskjöld’s Christ complex, others his closet homosexuality. Actually, it did neither."

References

Riksbank

Mab819c (talk) 22:42, 16 March 2015 (UTC)This article says Hammarskjold was Governor of the Riksbank but the Riksbank page, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swedish_National_Bank#Governors_2 , does not list him among the Governors.

Assassination

It has been widely reported that the plane was shot down by a Belgian mercenary fighter-pilot. He was flying a French-made Super-Magister fighter jet. There were numerous accounts of this left out of the official report - reportedly because the accounts differed from one to the other. This has even been reported in popular media, in documentaries and interviews.

Then there is also the story of the Belgians actually throwing a party to celebrate the event at some royal palace. And even inviting a certain Swedish diplomat to the party, to his disgust.

Sources for this ? --El magnifico June 2006 (UTC)

I lived in the area of Ndola at the time of the incident. This is the first that I have heard of any Belgian jet. The only similar report was that a couple of Mustangs (WWII Vintage) flown by mercenaries that were seen in the area by two local boys but this was never substantiated. --Vumba 16:24, 8 June 2006 (UTC)

Actually the local boys that saw Mustangs were only a few of many that saw strange things that night. Among these sightings were flashes in the sky before the crash, plane going down in flames, tracer fire from another aircraft, some saw/heard a jet - others a prop aircraft, some saw one plane - some more planes.

The precence of a Fouga-Magister fighter jet in Katanga is certain. We know this plane hit UN forces many times during peacekeeping operations, and we know it was flown by Belgian mercinaries. We know that the crew of Hammarskjölds plane was very experienced, and one of the most experienced in using airfields in this area. They never reported any problems, yet they just suddenly vanished.

We know that the CIA, SOE and the Belgian foreign office were in bed together, trying to maintain control of the Congo at all cost. Killing the UN secretary general was maby not such a big thing for them.--El magnifico 22:45, 5 July 2006 (UTC)

In his autobiography Breaking with Moscow, Arkady N. Shevchenko, former Under Secretary General of the United Nations, wrote that the Soviet Union played a role in Hammarskjold's death. (Hardcover: Alfred A. Knopf, ISBN: 5550208288; Paperback: Ballantine Books, ISBN: 0345329147) -- Poldy Bloom 05:36, 13 August 2006 (UTC)

Interresting read. But whoever it was, I think we owe it to Hammarskjold to find whoever did this.--87.210.137.93 15:11, 6 December 2006 (UTC)

According to the official UN report on the crash, Hammarskjold died of a broken neck after being thrown from the aircraft. Apparently he survived a few minutes after the crash. A Sweedish sergent also survived the crash, but died later from his injuries.

According to Christopher Robbin's AIR AMERICA (which the movie of the same name was based) the Aircraft on which Hammarskjold crashed was owned by one of many CIA front air charter services.

Brian Urquhardt's (former UN Undersecretary for Special Political Affairs and a protege of Ralph Bunche) biography of Hammarskjold dismissed the rumors of the plane being shot down or of any rumor of assination. -- Spacestevie 18:08, 18 January 2007 (UTC)

There are only 2 conspiracies surrounding Hammarskjölds death: 1. The rumor that the plane was shot down was perpetuated in order to conceal the reason for Hammarskjöld's sudden flight to Ndola in the middle of the night and 2. that the entire Rhodesian top brass, Lord Lansdowne and Moise Tshombe who were waiting at the airport at 3 a.m. all went home when the plane (whose lights were in sight) disappeared from the radar screens and a search-party was not sent out until 24 hours later. That Wikipedia perpetuates nonsensical, unfounded rumors and cites idiots like Egge is unacceptable. It is a well-known fact that can even be verified on Wikipedia (Operation Morthor) that Hammarskjöld travelled from Léopoldville to Ndola in the middle of the night in order to prevent a full-scale war that would have resulted due to the UN in the Congo having gone behind the Security Council's back and instigated a botched military coup in Katanga. Hammarskjöld was on his way to Ndola to apologize personally to Moise Tshombe, the British gov't having sent down Lord Lansdowne who dragged Hammarskjöld by the ear. This little embarrassing fact has conveniently been left out of every single media report on "the saint" Hammarskjöld and focus has instead been placed on the completely unsubstantiated claims that the plane was shot down. As for the testimonies of the Belgian mercenaries, the Swedish State Department's report clearly shows that all such claims are nonsense. Not only did the mercenaries' dates not match, but Fouga jets did not have sufficient fuel tanks to fly the distance claimed. The fact that such jets were used in Africa at the time is beside the point. The Swedish State Department's independent study conducted in 1991-93 after MI5 lifted its 30-year confidentiality seal on the Hammarskjold file was conducted by a senior diplomat who was personally at the scene of the wreckage 30 years earlier (he was the Swedish consul in the Congo in 1961) and asserts without a shadow of a doubt that there were no bullet holes in the fuselage and certainly none in Hammarskjöld's forehead. Egge's moronic claims to this were pure hearsay and a desperate cry for attention, for which he has been ridiculed. The report further showed that the crash of the Albertina (which was Swedish, not CIA), was without question result of pilot error. The pilots, however experienced, most likely made 1 of 2 errors: they either confused Ndola with Ndolo when conducting their flight plan, thereby flying in at the wrong altitude, or they mistook the analog altitude meters, which is easy to do. The plane crashed at just under 4 500 feet. There is a good chance that the pilots thought they were at 5 400 feet. This is not a beginner's mistake. It's the same error that one makes when looking at a watch thinking that it is 6:28 when it fact is 5:32 (confusing the hands). Last but not least, when a plane carrying the Secretary General of the UN, the most important man in Africa at the time, is about to land and the plane's lights are in sight, is it not odd that the airport is shut down and everybody sent home? This fact, while brought up repeatedly by the investigator, has conveniently never been reported by the Swedish or international media. To sum up: it was more convenient for the UN to have Hammarskjöld portrayed as a saint and instigate rumors about an assassination than to have the world know that he was to apologize for a military coup where 155 civilians, UN "peace-keepers" and Belgian soldiers were killed; and the two survivors of the crash may have lived if only a search party had been sent out when the plane went down (the claim by the airport chief that they thought the plane had "turned around" and gone back to the Congo is ridiculous seeing as they had radio contact). This, however, is not proof of an assassination, but proof of either incompetence / lethargy that they wish to conceal or that the dignitaries at the airport surmised that perhaps the plane was shot down by insubordinate soldiers with a surface-to-air missile and wanted to give them a chance to escape seeing as if that were so, Hammarskjöld would only have had himself to blame for not keeping UN-forces on a tighter leash. March 22, 2007

No reports of flashing lights are not proof of an assassination. However, the fact two of his bodyguards had bullet wounds in them, that were attributed to an exploding case full of ammo, that wouldn't have been on the plane in the first place, let alone couldn't have been penetrated by small calibre bullets that were lit on fire, suggests a coverup. As does the fact airport staff were sent home after reporting a possible crash, and a search and rescue operation wasn't carried out until more than twenty four hours later. You have no clue what could have happened in that time. Don't assume you're right when you don't have any of the facts. It is a myth bullets can turn into lethal projectiles simply by being lit on fire. The casings could have turned into shrapnel when the cartridge ignited, but the lead bullet would stay where it was, and certainly wouldn't turn into a lethal projectile. Dag Hammrskjold's death was very convenient for the British and Belgian governments, considering he supported the nationalization of the copper mines, which would have cost both countries lots of money and business investments. You seem to ignore the fact the article cited Harry Truman. Read a little more, and stop assuming the governments were honest at that time. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 96.52.132.126 (talk) 22:37, 20 January 2011 (UTC)

Thanks for your reply. Why do you think I wrote this in the discussion section ?? To get people to write intelligently on the matter of course ! Good stuff --noone can catch - "el magnifico" 18:44, 21 May 2007 (UTC)

However, calling these Belgian terrorists "soldiers" is an insult to soldiers around the world --noone can catch - "el magnifico" 18:54, 21 May 2007 (UTC)

According to the BBC report at the time, Sergeant Harold Julian who survived, at least for a time, reported an "explosion on board, followed by several smaller explosions." http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/september/18/newsid_3790000/3790079.stm Mediaferret (talk) 06:29, 4 October 2008 (UTC)

"it was more convenient for the UN to have Hammarskjöld portrayed as a saint and instigate rumors about an assassination" Where did the UN instigate such rumors? Source? (szederjei) 18:11, 21 June 2009 (GMT)

The Transair DC-6 filed a false flight plan stating Luluabourg as the destination with Leopoldville as an alternative and arrived at Ndola unannounced having maintained radio silence throughout the flight. Upon contacting Ndola ATC the aircraft refused to give the normal information requested and was evasive in its answers. Ndola ATC had no information on the DC-6 other than what had been provided in the few minutes it was in radio contact. Nothing more was heard from the aircraft and it was assumed it had subsequently decided to land elsewhere - the lone survivor stated that Hammarskjöld had ordered the crew to divert to an unnamed destination before the crash. That was why it took so long to search for the aircraft, and why the ground parties had earlier gone home.

The DC-6 crew were tired, having been on duty since the previous morning, and descended below the height they had been cleared to i.e, 6,000 ft, hitting an unlit 4,357 foot hill that was not marked on their approach chart. The 'explosions' reported by the lone survivor was almost certainly the sound of the aircraft hitting the trees as it descended into them.

A couple of contemporary Flight articles: [6] and [7] and later 1962 ones: [8] [9]

BTW, SOE was disbanded in 1946 and MI5 deals with Britain's internal security only. Neither organisation would have had any involvement whatsoever. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 95.148.220.101 (talk) 16:30, 29 February 2016 (UTC)

"Hammarskjöld has been referred to as one of the two best secretaries-general"

This statement, while true as it stands ("has been referred to as"), turns out to be based on a single article in an English-language newspaper published in Japan (the other "best" SG was apparently Kofi Annan). Although I personally am inclined to agree with this judgement, I wonder if something so subjective and, above all, based on so little firm evidence belongs in a Wikipedia article. The Japan Times article in fact states "Most U.N. observers rate Dag Hammarskjold ... and Annan ... as the best secretary generals." "Most U.N. observers" at least sounds a good deal firmer, but who exactly are these observers? Is it a profession?213.127.210.95 (talk) 14:59, 24 February 2017 (UTC)

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