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n June 30, the 60th anniversary of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, King Philippe of Belgium wrote to its president Felix Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo, sending his "deepest regrets" for the pain and suffering inflicted on the Congolese people by the former Belgian ruler, King Leopold II. In 1885 Leopold acquired the rights to a large swath of land in central sub-Saharan Africa, which he named the Congo Free State. It was to be his own personal colony. Although the territory came with certain preconditions, Leopold saw fit to do with it as he pleased.