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DRC, PART II: Media Coverage of the Third DRC Case

07 Feb 2008

Dear all,

The second part of today's DRC digest contains news articles on today's arrest
and transfer of Congolese Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui to the International Criminal
Court (ICC). He becomes the third rebel leader from Ituri to be transferred to
the ICC.

The top newswire stories filed today come from the AP, AFP, Reuters, IRIN and
IWPR. Of particular interest is the profile piece by AFP on Colonel Ngudjolo's
rise to the highest military ranks in the DRC as well as IWPR's in-depth article
examining the case's far-reaching implications.

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 and
current situations before the Court or situations under analysis. The Coalition,
however, will continue to provide the most up-to-date information about the ICC.

With regards,

Mariana Rodriguez Pareja
CICC Communications

************

RELATED NEWS ARTICLES

i. "Third Congo Warlord to Face Justice," by Lisa Clifford (IWPR), 7 February
20007, http://www.iwpr.net/p=acr&s=f&o=342527&apc_state=hfrpacr

"Detention of another militia leader from Ituri follows a sensitive period where
Congo's government was enticing rebel groups to lay down arms and make peace.

Human rights groups hope the arrest of a former rebel leader from the Ituri
region of the Democratic Republic of Congo, DRC, will lead international
prosecutors higher up the chain to other military and civilian leaders accusing
of committing atrocities in local wars.

...Just days ago it was a different story for Ngudjolo, a former nurse from
Bunia whom ICC prosecutors accuse of six counts of war crimes and three of
crimes against humanity in connection with an attack on a village in Ituri. He
and two other top rebel leaders from Ituri were in the capital to undergo
military training after agreeing to demobilise as paramilitaries and accept jobs
as colonels in the regular army.

...Human rights activists applauded Ngudjolo's arrest, saying it sent an
important signal to those in Congo who consider themselves untouchable.

'We have condemned this cycle of impunity in the DRC whereby warlords - instead
of being prosecuted for the crimes they committed against civilians - are being
promoted. It has been a common practice in Congo to reward war criminals with
positions in the army,' said Geraldine Mattioli from Human Rights Watch.

'It sends the wrong signal to warlords - that committing crimes is a good way to
get to the top of the army.'

...Ngudjolo allegedly urged fighters under his command to "wipe out" Bogoro,
which at the time was under the authority of the rival UPC, a mainly Hema group.

Katanga is also charged in connection with the same attack, which prosecutors
allege was carried out by a joint force of FRPI and FNI guerrillas.

...[ICC Deputy Prosecutor]Bensouda told IWPR it would be 'very convenient' to
try the two men together and said prosecutors were considering asking judges to
join the cases. Katanga was arrested in connection with an unrelated incident,
and was brought to The Hague after several years in custody in Kinshasa.

Ngudjolo's journey to the Netherlands was rather different. He was appointed a
colonel in the Congolese army in December 2006, and arrived with much fanfare in
Kinshasa in November 2007, along with fellow rebel leaders Peter Karim and Cobra
Matata.

Karim was in charge of the FNI when a Nepalese peacekeeper died and seven others
were taken hostage during fighting in May 2006. Matata took over command of the
FRPI after Katanga's arrest, and human rights groups say the group continued to
commit serious abuses, including the unlawful arrest and torture of local
officials, some of whom were executed.

Eugène Bakama Bope, president of the Friends of the Law in Congo group, greeted
the news of Ngudjolo's arrest with 'joy', but said more detentions were needed.
'For us, warlords like Peter Karim and Cobra Matata who still occupy positions
of command within the Congolese military must also be prosecuted for their
crimes.'

The warrant was sealed, and was only revealed on February 7 this year. Bensouda
said this delay was designed to ensure 'processes' were in place to ensure the
smooth transfer of Ngudjolo to The Hague.

Mattioli, however, speculated that the court and the Congolese government waited
because they did not want to derail the demobilisation process. 'They wanted to
get the arms and soldiers out of the bush,' she said.

At that time, fighting between the army and another rebel group led by Laurent
Nkunda was intensifying in the neighbouring North Kivu province. Analysts say an
ICC arrest warrant against a rebel leader like Ngudjolo at that point could have
scuppered any chance of negotiating peace with Nkunda.

After years of war, rival militias including Nkunda's signed a peace deal in
North Kivu last month. They were promised an amnesty, though not for war crimes.

Bakama believes that Ngudjolo's arrest could now be causing Nkunda and others
some concern, undermining their hopes that making peace would automatically
confer impunity for past actions. 'Warlords like Laurent Nkunda think that after
the peace talks in Goma, all their actions will be granted amnesty,' he said.

With Ngudjolo in ICC custody, human rights groups are concerned that Karim and
Matata could head back into the bush. But that has not happened so far, and they
not be in danger of imminent detention. Bensouda suggested the court was turning
its attention from Ituri to look at cases of mass sexual violence, forced
displacement and killings elsewhere in eastern Congo.

...The court is also investigating officials from the DRC and other countries
who financed and organised the various militias. 'We're looking at who is
supporting these people,' said Bensouda..."

ii. "Congo warlord flown to The Hague," BBC News (UK), 7 February 2008,
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7232459.stm

"... An ex-rebel leader from the Democratic Republic of Congo has been flown to
The Hague to face war crimes charges at the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui, now a colonel in the Congolese army, was arrested on
Wednesday, a court statement said.

He is alleged to have planned a brutal attack by his National Integrationist
Front (FNI) fighters on Bogoro village in eastern Ituri region in 2003. He is
the third Congolese warlord to be sent to The Hague...."

iii. "Mathieu Ngudjolo: From nurse to Ituri warlord," by Sofia Bouderbala
(Agence France Presse), 7 February 2008, (link unavailable)

"From soldier to deserter to nurse and back to fighter: Mathieu Ngudjolo rose to
become one of the most important militia leaders in the Democratic Republic of
Congo.

Arrested in Kinshasa Wednesday, 37-year-old Ngudjolo was transferred to the
International Criminal Court on Thursday and stands accused of war crimes and
crimes against humanity committed in the northeastern Ituri region in 2003.

At the time, he was one of the leaders of the Nationalist and Integrationist
Front (FNI) created in 2002 with support from Uganda. The militia included many
members of the Lendu community and is accused of carrying out atrocities
directed at the Hema ethnic group.

Ngudjolo, 37, is a portly man with heavyset features that speak of times of
abundance after his years fighting in the jungle.

...Born October 8, 1970 in Bunia, the main city in Ituri, Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui
comes from a modest Lendu family.

He initially pursued a military career, becoming a corporal in the Zaire army
(FAZ) of former dictator Mobutu Sese Seko. When war broke out in 1996, he
deserted from the FAZ, which was driven out by a Congolese rebellion supported
by Rwanda.

During the four years that followed, Ngudjolo led a seemingly quiet life,
training as a nurse in Bunia. In 1998, a second conflict broke out in the DR
Congo, but he continued to work as a nurse.

When the war flared up again in 2002, he narrowly escaped an assassination
attempt by UPC rebels when they took over Bunia and decided to join the Lendu
militias. His military training and his charisma helped him rise quickly through
the FNI ranks to become an important commander.

According to human rights organisations, Ngudjolo in 2003 personally took part
in and ordered FNI fighters to carry out massacres in Bogoro, Tchomia, Mandro
and Bunia.

ICC prosecutors accuse him of war crimes and crimes against humanity
specifically linked to the February 2003 attack on Bogoro which they say left
over 200 people dead....

After the UN arrested him in 2003 for murder, he was released in 2004 due to
lack of evidence. He turned up again in Uganda, where he created the Congolese
Revolutionary Movement (MCR) in June 2005. Under his leadership, the MCR went on
to allegedly commit atrocities in Ituri.

...Ngudjolo was even made colonel in the DR Congo army and left Ituri in
November 2007 for military training in Kinshasa, where the ICC arrest warrant,
which had been kept under seal, finally caught up with him this week."

iv. "DR Congo war crimes suspect sent to international court," AFP (via Google),
7 Feb 2008, http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5hwhJUKW8wYFunJvJOXpXoWwaHzZQ

"A former Democratic Republic of Congo militia chief accused of war crimes and
crimes against humanity was due to arrive at the International Criminal Court in
The Hague Thursday, the ICC said.

Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui, former head of the Nationalist and Integrationist Front
(FNI), is accused of carrying out offences against the local population in 2003
in the northeast Ituri region of the central African nation.

He was arrested in Kinshasa Wednesday and sent to The Hague, according to a
statement released by DR Congo Justice Minister Symphorien Mutombo Bakafwa.

'The date of Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui's first hearing will be announced shortly,'
the ICC said....."

v. "Congo Turns Over War Crimes Suspect," AP (via Google), 7 February 2008,
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5i_BnBbXx0yyfuzek94CdLERnsiYAD8ULERCG0

"Congo has arrested and turned over for trial an army colonel and former rebel
leader accused of leading a deadly 2003 attack on a village in the country's
lawless east, the International Criminal Court announced Thursday.

Mathieu Ngudjolo was handed to court officials in Kinshasa on Wednesday and was
expected to arrive at the court's detention unit in The Hague later Thursday, a
court statement said.

.... Judges at the Hague-based court who ordered the arrest said evidence gave
'reasonable grounds to believe' that his forces murdered about 200 civilians,
mutilated others and captured women and girls to use as sex slaves.

Ngudjolo is accused of three crimes against humanity: murder, sexual slavery and
inhumane acts. He also is accused of six war crimes counts, including using
child soldiers in the attack...."

vi. "Congo ex-warlord sent to international court," Reuters, 7 February 2008,
http://africa.reuters.com/top/news/usnBAN737224.html

"A former Congo warlord was flown to the International Criminal Court in The
Hague on Thursday to face war crimes charges including murder, sexual slavery
and using child soldiers, a court spokesman said.

.... Ngudjolo is the third Ituri warlord to be transferred to the ICC.

Another Congolese militia chief, Thomas Lubanga, was taken into custody by the
court in 2006 and his trial is due to start on March 31. He is accused of
recruiting children under the age of 15 to kill members of another ethnic group.

The ICC is also in the process of prosecuting Germain Katanga, another Ituri
ex-militia leader who is accused of murder, sexual slavery and using child
soldiers.

Ngudjolo's arrest comes as the government of President Joseph Kabila is
attempting to bring to an end a decade of violence in Congo that experts
estimate has killed 5.4 million people, mainly through hunger and disease...."

vii. "DRC: Third ex-rebel commander charged with war crimes," IRIN News, 7
February 2008, http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=76629

"A third former rebel commander accused of committing atrocities in the Ituri
district of the northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has been flown
to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague to be tried on charges of
war crimes, including murder, conscription of children and sexual enslavement, a
spokesman for the tribunal said.

Col Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui, a former commander of the Fronts Nationalistes et
Intégrationnistes (FNI) rebel group, whose ex-fighters were recently integrated
into the national army, was on 7 February flown from Kinshasa to The Hague for
trial, according to Paul Madidi, ICC's spokesman in the DRC capital.

'He is accused, among things, of having played a key role in the planning and
implementation of a massacre in the village Bogoro, attacking civilians of the
Hema ethnic group and recruiting children under the age of 15,' said Madidi. He
is also alleged to have murdered about 200 civilians and carried out arbitrary
arrests.

'Ngudjolo will also be charged with the sexual enslavement of many women and
girls,' Madidi added. ..."

viii. "Congo Says War Crimes Suspect Sent To International Court," Lloyds, 7
February 2008, http://www.lloyds.com/CmsPhoenix/DowJonesArticle.aspx?id=380668

"Democratic Republic of Congo authorities have sent a former militia chief
accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity to the International Criminal
Court in The Hague, the government said Thursday.

Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui, former head of the Nationalist and Integrationist Front,
was accused of carrying out offenses against the local population in 2003 in the
northeast Ituri region of the central African nation.

He was arrested Wednesday and sent to The Hague, according to a statement
released by Justice Minister Symphorien Mutombo Bakafwa. The court in The Hague
confirmed his imminent arrival in a statement.

'The date of Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui's first hearing will be announced shortly,'
it said...."

*******************

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
(potential and current), or situations under analysis 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.



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2500 CM The Hague
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