AS a young history student I was fascinated with last week's BBC2 documentary uncovering the truths of the Belgian administration in the Congo in the late 19th and early 20th century.

The sad truth is that what happened under the reign of Leopold II in the Congo has for so long been undocumented. The film, part of the Africa Lives On The BBC campaign, was educational and encouraged our understanding of the continent.

The more you understand why something has turned out the way it has, the more you can empathise and think with an open mind. These kind of documentaries are superb.

The Congo still to this day has little political power in the world. It is terribly exploited and the roots of evil from Belgian rule still exist.

Ask anyone on the street what they knew about Hitler and the Nazis, and everyone would be able to say he attempted to wipe out a whole race. It is well documented that six million Jews were killed in the holocaust, an atrocious figure.

However, not enough people know that ten million people were killed in the Congo under Leopold II.

Still the Belgian royal family do not talk about it, do not publish evidence that it happened and, arguably, live with the tremendous wealth that ensued from what was one of the worst examples of the failure of humanity.

James Goodman,

Dringthorpe Road,

Dringhouses,

York.

Updated: 10:37 Tuesday, July 26, 2005