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Kivu governor speaks out against perpetrators of the Gatumba massacre who remain in power 'while their place belongs in The Hague'

16 Aug 2007

Dear all,

Please find below excerpts from media articles and statements on recent
developments related to the ICC's investigation in Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). They include reports of a Kivu governor speaks out against perpetrators of the
Gatumba massacre who remain in power 'while their place belongs in The Hague';
Congolese press coverage of the Lubanga trial; and outcomes of public information campaigns in Kinshasa led by ICC and DRC Coalition for the ICC.

The following digest includes articles and documents we have received from
diverse sources including international news agencies, local newspapers and
other sources. Please note that it is not exhaustive and does not represent
views from all parties concerned. We will continue to provide the most inclusive
information as it becomes available. Please note that all French translations
below from are unofficial and provided by the CICC Secretariat as a service to
our members, and should not be disseminated in official documents.

Please also take note of the Coalition's policy on situations before the ICC
(below), which explicitly states that the CICC will not take a position on
potential or pending situations before the court. The Coalition, however, will
continue to provide the most up-to-date
information about the ICC.

With regards,

Sasha Tenenbaum
CICC Communications
[email protected]

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DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO

I. DRC GOVENOR SAYS PERPETRATORS OF GATUMBA MASSACRE BELONG IN THE HAGUE

i. « 3rd Anniversary of the Gatumba massacre - Victims' families before the ICC,
» by F.m. (Le Phare-Kinshasa), 14 August 2007,
http://fr.allafrica.com/stories/200708150610.html

"August 3, 2004 - August 13, 2007, it has been three years since the Congolese
belonging to the tribes Banyamulenge, Bafuliro, Babembe and Barundi were
massacred in a camp reserved for refugees and located in the locality of Gatumba
in Burundi not far from the border with the DRC.

This tragedy occurred at night according to concordant testimonies including one
from a Le Phare special correspondent who arrived early on the scene the
following morning, it was armed men coming from the Democratic Congo who tore
into the tents where the Congolese subjects peacefully slept, and by means of
bayonets, these attackers started to cut the throats of children, women and men
of all ages in their sleep.

...Members of the victims' families of which Mr. Ruberwa, national president of
the RCD party [Rassemblement congolais pour la Démocratie] is one, note with
bitterness that three years later, there is no one launched an immediate
inquiry--however promised-to determine who is responsible, exclaimed Benjamin
Serukiza [Vice-Governor of South Kivu]. Before pointing out the responsibility
of the government 'which must at all costs defend the lives of its citizens.'
'And to push the nail in deeper, the president of the Banyamulenge community in
Kinshasa is astonished that 'certain self-proclaimed perpetrators and commanders
of this villainous massacre are in the process of a power sharing struggle
piloted by the international community while their place belongs in The Hague,
seat of the International Criminal Court. Before announcing that the victims'
families of this massacre already seized the ICC and the dossier is on the right
track.

At a time when the nation commemorates this painful event, the country could
fall prey to another war in Kivu which is always a risk...."

[Translation from the French is unofficial by the CICC Secretariat]


II. CONGOLESE PRESSE REPORTS ON ICC LUBANGA TRIAL AND ASSEMBLY OF STATE PARTIES
MEETING

i. Articles in the Congolese newspapers Le Potentiel, Le Phare, L'Avenir and
others online widely reported the announcement that on 4 September 2007, ICC
Trial Chamber I will hold a preparation hearing for the child soldiers' case
against DRC's Thomas Lubanga Dyilo.


For additional information see:

1. "ICC considers a preparatory audience before the trial," by Tantia SM
(L'Avenir), 7 August 2007,
http://www.groupelavenir.net/spip.php?article13036 (in French)

2. "La Hague : hearing expected in preparation for Lubanga trial," by Hilaire
Kayembe (Le Potentiel), 7 August 2007, (link unavailable)
3. "Affaire Thomas Lubanga: the latest developments explained to the media," Le
Phare, 14 August 2007,
http://www.lepharerdc.com/www/index_view.php?storyID=3680&rubriqueID=9 ;
http://fr.allafrica.com/stories/200708070349.html ; and
http://www.digitalcongo.net/article/45597 (all in French)

ii. The Congolese newspaper Le Phare reported on the upcoming 6th session of
the Assembly of States Parties of the ICC (meeting from 30 November to 14
December 2007 in New York.

For additional information, see
"ICC to hold 6th Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute," by Nicole
Lidimbo (Le Phare), 4 August 2007,
http://www.laprosperiteonline.net/affichage_article.php?id=2155&rubrique=La Un
e (in French)

III. ICC AND DRC COALITION FOR THE ICC HOLD PUBLIC INFORMATION CAMPAIGNS IN
KINSHASA

i. "Congo-Kinshasa: Préparation du procès Thomas Lubanga - Les victimes
présenteront leurs observations et leurs arguments à la Cour, " by Rich Ngapi
(Le Potentiel-Kinshasa), 11 August 2007,
http://fr.allafrica.com/stories/200708110061.html

"No date has been set for the lawsuit of the chief of the Congolese militia,
Thomas Lubanga Dyilo. Only, on September 4, 2007, an audience for the
preparation of this lawsuit will take place at the International Criminal Court
in The Hague.

The parties and the participants in the procedure will deliver their opinions on
the questions of a procedural nature which will be necessary to resolve before
the lawsuit. For the first time of the history of international criminal
justice, the victims have the possibility, under the terms of the Statute of
Rome, to submit their observations and their arguments to the Court.

With an aim of facilitating an equitable and diligent procedure, the parties and
the participants in the procedure (the Prosecutor, Defense, and victims via
their legal representatives) will deliver their opinions on the questions of a
procedural nature before the lawsuit of Thomas Lubanga Dyilo.

This is what the section of public information and sensitizing of the ICC
through its office on ground in DRC, announced during a press conference held,
on August 10th 2007 at the Center of Studies for the Social Action (CEPAS) in
Kinshasa.

Patrick Tshibuyi (assistant in charge of public Information and the programs of
sensitizing) and Mrs. Fatou Sylla-Pastier (co-ordinator of the Victims'
Participation and Reparation Section), indicated to the audience that the
September 14 hearing is a response to the decision handed down on July 18 2007
by the Trial Chamber.

....Madame Fatou specified that the participation of the victims can intervene
at various phases of the proceedings and take various forms. It is however up to
the judges to give the directives. In the majority of cases, the 'participation
of victims' will be done by a legal representative, 'in a manner which is
neither prejudicial nor contrary to the rights of and requirements of an
equitable and impartial trial'.

......Establishing a balance between punitive justice and 'reparative' justice
will make it possible for the ICC not only to bring criminals to justice but
also to return justice to the victims."

[Translation from the French is unofficial by the CICC Secretariat]

ii. Information campaign of the DRC Coalition for the ICC in Bas-Congo : "Hemedi
a sensibilisé l'Université Kongo au droit pénal international, " Le Phare, 14
August 2007,
http://www.lepharerdc.com/www/index_view.php?storyID=3672&rubriqueID=10

"The DRC Coalition for the ICC organized in Bas-Congo projected films on
international justice for the 5th birthday of the entry into force of the
Statute of Rome on July 1, 2002 and the Day of international justice, on July
17, 1989....This event benefiting students of the l'Université Kongo Law
Faculty, Economic Sciences and Polytechnic of this same university located at
150 km of Kinshasa was led by Christian Hemedi, coordinator of the DRC National
Coalition for the ICC (CN-CPI).

...Moved by the pertinence and content of the films, students at Law School of
the l'Université Kongo made known their interest in pursuing their dissertations
toward the end of their studies on the topic of International Criminal Justice.
This is the case with Paul Mbenza Vangu, third year law student, who said he
found the event edifying and that it enabled him to make the distinction between
ad hoc jurisdictions, the International Court of Justice and the International
Criminal Court...."

[Translation from the French is unofficial by the CICC Secretariat]

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CICC's policy on the referral and prosecution of situations before the ICC:

The Coalition for the ICC is not an organ of the court. The CICC is an
independent NGO movement dedicated to the establishment of the
International Criminal Court as a fair, effective, and independent
international organization.

The Coalition will continue to provide the most up-to-date information about the
ICC and to help coordinate global action to effectively implement the Rome
Statute of the ICC. The Coalition will also endeavor to respond to basic queries
and to raise Awareness about the ICC's trigger mechanisms and procedures, as
they develop. The Coalition as a whole, and its secretariat, do not endorse or
promote specific investigations or prosecutions or take a position on Situations
before the ICC. However, individual CICC members may endorse referrals, provide
legal and other support on investigations, or develop partnerships with local
and other organizations in the course of their efforts.

Communications to the ICC can be sent to:

ICC
P.O. box 19519
2500 CM the Hague
The Netherlands