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New evidence has emerged in one of the most enduring mysteries of United Nations and African history, suggesting that the plane carrying the UN secretary general Dag Hammarskjöld was shot down over Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia) 50 years ago, and the murder was covered up by British colonial authorities.
At the end of his investigation Björkdahl is still not sure who killed Hammarskjöld, but he is fairly certain why he was killed: “It’s clear there were a lot of circumstances pointing to possible involvement by western powers. The motive was there – the threat to the west’s interests in Congo’s huge mineral deposits. And this was the time of black African liberation, and you had whites who were desperate to cling on.
>"Dag Hammarskjöld: evidence suggests UN chief's plane was shot down" by Julian Borger and Georgina Smith in Ndola
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/aug/17/dag-hammarskjold-un-secretary-general-crash
Eyewitnesses claim a second aircraft fired at the plane raising questions of British cover-up over the 1961 crash and its causes
>A British-run commission of inquiry blamed the crash in 1961 on pilot error and a later UN investigation largely rubber-stamped its findings. They ignored or downplayed witness testimony of villagers near the crash site which suggested foul play. The Guardian has talked to surviving witnesses who were never questioned by the official investigations and were too scared to come forward.
>"Dag Hammarskjöld was trying to stick to the UN charter and the rules of international law. I have the impression from his telegrams and his private letters that he was disgusted by the behaviour of the big powers."
Historians at the Foreign Office said they could not comment. British officials believe that, at this late date, no amount of research would conclusively prove or disprove what they see as conspiracy theories that have always surrounded Hammarskjöld's death.
>"Dag Hammarskjöld: nephew calls for new inquiry into death of UN chief"
by Julian Borger
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/sep/16/dag-hammarskjold-call-for-new-inquiry
Book argues plane carrying Hammarskjöld was shot down by mercenaries in 1961 and evidence covered up