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CAR/DRC: Upcoming mission of the OTP in CARr; DRC Parliament urged to adopt implementation law; Bemba's return to DRC; Recruitment of child soldiers restarts

12 June 2007

Dear All,

Please find below articles in relation to the opening of investigations in the
Central African Republic (CAR) by the ICC and the Democratic Republic of Congo
(DRC) situation.

I. UPCOMING MISSION OF THE OTP TO CAR
II. CONGOLESE PARLIAMENT URGED TO ADOPT IMPLEMENTATION LAW
III. BEMBA'S RETURN TO DRC
IV. RECRUITMENT OF FORMER CHILD SOLDIERS IN DRC

Please 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.

Regards,

Linda Gueye
CICC French Information Services Coordinator
[email protected]

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I. UPCOMING MISSION OF THE OTP TO CAR

An article issued in Centrafrique Presse reports that the President of the CAR
NGO la Ligue centrafricaine des droits de l'Homme, Goungaye Nganatoua Wanfiyo,
announced that officials from the Office of the Prosecutor would be traveling to
CAR in two weeks to discuss the opening of an ICC office, "they already want to
open a local office here, I believe this is a good thing and this is something
that we asked and we will see with them how to harmonize all this."

For more, see (in French only) "Vers l'ouverture d'un bureau de la CPI en
Centrafrique (ACAP)," Centrafrique Presse, 9 June 2007,
http://www.centrafrique-presse.com/index.php?id=85&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=1794&t
x_ttnews[backPid]=71&cHash=aa4c66f152

II. CONGOLESE PARLIAMENT URGED TO ADOPT IMPLEMENTATION LAW

An article from Le Potentiel (DRC) reports that a seminar on the ICC was held in
DRC, and involved the Deputy Minister of Justice who gave a brief presentation
of the draft text on implementation. Other participants included Frederico
Korel, a MONUC expert, who reviewed prosecution of international crimes by the
Congolses tribunals and Ms Nicole Odia, who discussed the admissibility of war
crimes cases and crimes against humanity that were brought by Conglese tribunals
before the Court. At the end of the seminar, Christian Hemedi, Coordinator of
the DRC Colaition for the ICC, called the parliament to adopt the implementation
law.

For more, please see (in French only) "Congo-Kinshasa: Le Parlement appelé à
adopter le projet de loi sur la lutte contre l'impunité," by Diosso Olivier (Le
Potentiel), 2 June 2007,
http://fr.allafrica.com/stories/200706020010.html

III. BEMBA'S RETURN TO DRC

Several media articles are speculating about the plans of DRC senator Jean
Pierre Bemba who is currently in Portugal for medical reasons. Bemba, whom many
believe to be a still unnamed suspect in the ICC prosecutor's recently opened
CAR investigation, is nearing the end of his 60-day stay in Portugal, and it
is unclear if he will return to DRC or remain in Portugal.

An article from BBC News maintains that Bemba is not likely to return to DRC for
security reasons since his house, cars and TV stations have been reportedly
destroyed. In contrast, an article from Le Potentiel (DRC) reports that Bemba's
political party (MLC) issued a statement confirming his imminent return to DRC.

For more information, see the articles below :
1. "DR Congo's Bemba to stay abroad ," BBC News, 10 June 2007,
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6738427.stm
2. "Retour de JP Bemba : débat sans objet,"Le Potentiel, 10 juin 2007,
http://www.lepotentiel.com/afficher_article.php?id_article=47206&id_edition=4045
(French)
3. "Issue of Bemba's safety said to prevent his return to DRC Congo," RFI, 10
June 2007, no link available - See transcript below.


IV. RECRUITMENT OF FORMER CHILD SOLDIERS IN DRC

An article from Le Potentiel (DRC) reports that former child soldiers return to
the Maï Maï armed group, which had questioned the demobilization of child
soldiers in South Kivu.

For more information, see (in French only) "Reprise du recrutement d'enfants
dans les forces Maï Maï,"Le Potentiel, 11 juin 2007,
http://www.lepotentiel.com/afficher_article.php?id_article=47161&id_edition=4045

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AF1-DRCONGO-BEMBA
Issue of Bemba's safety said to prevent his return to DRCongo

Excerpt from report by Radio France Internationale on 11 June

[Presenter] In the Democratic Republic of Congo, Jean-Pierre Bemba's
authorization to leave the country expires today. The opposition politician
left Kinshasa in April, officially for medical reasons, after the acts of
violence which shook the capital. Bemba, who was wanted by the authorities,
took refuge in the South African embassy before going to Portugal. Two
months later, the leader of the MLC [Congolese Liberation Movement] still
hasn't returned. So he runs the risk of losing his seat as a senator. This
is what his chief of staff, Fidele Babala, said:

[Babala] In medical terms, Mr Bemba is better. He is in a position to return
to his country, and this is what he has said, but there remains a problem
which has not yet been resolved: the problem of his safety. With regard to
this issue, 45 days ago the opposition as a whole sent a memorandum to the
head of state. We are still waiting for the head of state to take a
decision on this.

I suppose that the president's camp is also waiting for a certain number of
confidence-building measures on the part of the MLC, but we are also
waiting to be able to sit down at a table to resolve the tricky issue of Mr
Bemba's safety.

[RFI journalist Cyril Bensimon] What will the MLC do if Jean-Pierre Bemba is
struck off from the Senate and is unable to return to the Democratic
Republic of Congo?

[Babala] I think that would be a real shame for our young democracy, which
should be fostered by an opposition. I don't think arriving at such
extremes would be in everybody's interest. Mr Bemba obtained more than 42
per cent of the country's vote in the most recent election. So these issues
should be treated with great care and attention, and above all in an
inclusive manner. I don't think excluding an opposition politician of Mr
Bemba's stature would be a good thing for our young democracy.

[Presenter] That was Fidele Babala, Jean-Pierre Bemba's chief of staff. He
spoke to Cyril Bensimon.

Source: Radio France Internationale, Paris, in French 1230 gmt 11 Jun 07




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