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CAR, Part II: Continued Media Coverage of Bemba Arrest

27 May 2008

Dear all,

Please find below the second of a two-part digest on the arrest of
Jean-Pierre Bemba in the Central African Republic. The digest below
includes further media coverage in primarily the English-language press. There
has been extensive coverage in the Francophone media.

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.

Regards,

Anaga Dalal
CICC Communications

******


MEDIA COVERAGE OF BEMBA ARREST

i. "Protests in DR Congo against former rebel leader's arrest," Agence
France Presse, 25 May 2008,
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5hE16tiKEk8XXbgJF5Zfhmm558pfw

"Thousands demonstrated on Monday in the power base of former Democratic
Republic of Congo vice president Jean-Pierre Bemba to protest his arrest in
Belgium on war crimes charges, the UN and witnesses said... Bemba,45, seen by
followers as a charismatic leader of the main opposition party, was arrested in
a Brussels suburb Saturday on an extradition warrant by the International
Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague to face four charges of war crimes and two of
crimes against humanity... A statement by the ICC Sunday said personnel led by
Bemba were accused of carrying out widespread
attacks against civilians in the Central African Republic including
"rape, torture, outrages upon personal dignity and pillaging" between October
2002 and March 2003... He appeared Sunday before a Belgian magistrate who
ordered that he remain in custody pending extradition proceedings to the ICC in
The Hague."

ii. "Congo-Kinshasa: How Bemba Got Involved in CAR," New Vision
(Kampala), 25 May 2008, http://allafrica.com/stories/200805261066.html

"THE rebel take-over in the Central African Republic (CAR) was described as a
textbook African coup. The president was out of the country, the army was not
paid and the population was embittered by economic hardship.

.. [Patasse's] rule was seriously challenged in October 2002, when
rebels loyal to the former army commander stormed strategic buildings in Bangui.

Patasse regained the upper hand by bringing in hundreds of troops of
Congolese rebel leader Jean-Pierre Bemba from over the border, as well
as Libyan soldiers and mercenaries from Chad.

...The foreign forces... were accused of committing widespread crimes in the
capital and other regions, including summary executions, rape and other sexual
violence, disappearances and looting. Gen. Bozize launched another surprise
attack when Patasse was out of the country in March 2003 and succeeded in
overthrowing the government.

Upon seizing power, he suspended the constitution and named a new
cabinet which included most opposition parties. In May 2005, he organised
presidential elections that excluded Patasse, and won. This, however, did not
end the cycle of violence. Rebels believed to be loyal to Patasse launched a new
insurgency in February 2006 in the north-west of the country, attacking and
looting villages and kidnapping children."

iii. "Bemba arrested for war crimes," Joe Bavier, The Independent (UK), 26 May
2008,
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/europe/bemba-arrested-for-war-crimes-834383.ht
ml

"The arrest for war crimes of Congo's exiled former Vice-President
Jean-Pierre Bemba ends his career as a rival to President Joseph Kabila, and his
supporters denounced the move as a plot to remove him from active politics...

Condemning his arrest, Bemba's Congo Liberation Movement (MLC) party,
his former rebel group, said it had been deliberately timed to take place as
Congo's opposition was preparing to consecrate him as its emblematic formal
spokesman.

'(The MLC leadership) notes with regret the politicisation of the
judicial process undertaken by the International Criminal Court prosecutor,' the
MLC said in a statement. It demanded the Belgian authorities free Bemba, who is
an elected senator.

But some analysts played down Bemba's political influence back home,
saying he had already been sidelined since April last year when he fled his
mineral-rich country into exile. "

iv. "Former Congo Rebel Leader May Face Trial at The Hague," by Howard
Lesser (Voice of America News), 26 May 2008,
http://voanews.com/english/Africa/2008-05-26-voa5.cfm

"Former Congolese rebel leader Jean-Pierre Bemba has been arrested in
Belgium for serious crimes allegedly committed in the Central African
Republic (CAR) six years ago. Bemba, a former Congolese vice president, has
been in self-imposed exile from the DRC since April of last year when he fled
the country. Although he continued to serve as a senator representing the
capital Kinshasa, Bemba remained in Europe after charging that he and his
Movement for the Liberation of Congo rebel group (MLC)were being targeted by the
government of President Joseph Kabila. DRC Ambassador to the United Nations
Christian Ileka says that the International Criminal Court (ICC) charges stem
from alleged atrocities committed after former CAR President Ange-Felix Patasse
had invited in Bemba's MLC forces to help put down a coup plot...

Pursuit of Bemba in order to send him to trial at the court in the Hague was
begun a year ago by ICC chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo. His arrest comes
after 14 months of self-imposed exile from the DRC, which he left in April, 2007
to travel to Portugal to seek medical treatment for a broken leg. Bemba has not
returned home since then, voicing concerns for his personal safety. After
insisting that he was being targeted by the Kabila government, Bemba has
remained in Europe.

Although he continues to hold a Kinshasa Senate seat that he won after
losing a 2006 presidential election run-off to Kabila, he holds no
immunity from being prosecuted for international crimes. Ambassador
Ileka says the DRC is playing no part in the charges filed against Bemba and
that the transfer from Belgium to the Netherlands court can be carried out if
the charges hold up for prosecution."

v. "Mixed reactions over Bemba's arrest," by Joyce Joan Wangui (Africa
News), 26 May 2008, http://www.africanews.com/site/list_messages/18486

"Following the arrest of veteran DRC politician Jean-Pierre Bemba in
Belgium, Saturday, a cross section of DRC nationals have reacted
differently.

The one time Presidential candidate and former Vice President was
arrested on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity in the
Central African Republic. A statement by the International Criminal
Court (ICC) published on its website said that it holds him responsible for four
counts of war crimes and two counts of crimes against humanity.

To this effect, DRC nationals both in the country and abroad have
reacted differently over Bemba's arrest. Though there has been no formal
reaction from the sitting government, civilians think that it is good riddance
for a man who robbed them of peace and caused too much unrest in DRC and its
environs. However others feel that the present government of President Joseph
Kabila should also be tried over war crimes."

vi. "Supporters of Congo's Jean-Pierre Bemba Say He's Not a Criminal,"
by James Butty (Voice of America News), 27 May 2008,
http://www.voanews.com/english/Africa/2008-05-27-voa3.cfm

"In the Democratic Republic of Congo, supporters of former presidential
candidate Jean-Pierre Bemba have accused the International Criminal Court of
politicizing Bemba's arrest. Belgian officials arrested 45-year-old Bemba late
Saturday in a Brussels suburb on four charges of war crimes and two crimes
against humanity.

In 2002, Bemba's Movement for the Liberation of Congo (MLC) was asked by then
President Ange-Felix Patasse of the Central African Republic to help put down a
coup attempt. But once that was achieved, the one thousand strong MLC force was
accused of installing a reign of terror.

Nadia Mika is the wife of Mika Pere Perry, inspector of Kinshasa for
Bemba's former MLC. Interpreting for her husband, she told VOA that
Bemba supporters are planning a nation-wide protest Tuesday to show that he is
not a criminal.

Perry said the International Criminal Court and the Belgium government
were politicizing Mr. Bemba's arrest. She said then Central African Republic
President Ange-Felix Patasse should have been the on arrested and not Bemba."

vii. "Congo-Kinshasa: Bemba Arrest Selective Justice?" New Vision
(Kampala), 26 May 2008, http://allafrica.com/stories/200805270044.html

"Congolese opposition leader Jean-Pierre Bemba was arrested in Brussels on
Saturday night on an International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant for war crimes.

Bemba is accused of having led a campaign of mass rapes, torture and
pillage six years ago in the Central African Republic (CAR), where he
had been called in by then president Ange-Felix Patasse to quell an
attempted coup d'etat. The arrest is likely to be seen as politically-inspired,
both in the DRC and the Central African Republic.

In the DRC, it removed the main challenger to president Joseph Kabila at a time
when a strong opposition is badly needed to stem rampant corruption and
increasingly authoritarian rule.

In the Central African Republic, it has paved the way for President
Francois Bozize to deal a final blow to the elected president he
eventually overthrew in a military coup in March 2003.

Bemba's arrest is also likely to be seen as selective justice. Both
Bozize's forces and Kabila's army have been accused of widespread and
systematic human rights abuses in recent years."

viii. "Hundreds in Congo protest arrest of Jean-Pierre Bemba on war
crimes," The Associated Press, 27 May 2008,
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/05/27/africa/AF-GEN-Congo-Bemba-Protests.php

"Kinshasa - As many as 1 000 people marched down a main boulevard in the
Democratic Republic of Congo's capital on Tuesday, calling for Belgian
authorities to release warlord-turned-political leader Jean-Pierre Bemba.

"Free Bemba! Free Bemba!" the crowd shouted as they pushed toward the
parliament building, blowing whistles and brandishing posters of the man who was
the runner-up in the Central African nation's 2006 presidential election.

Belgian police arrested Bemba on Saturday on war crimes charges stemming from
his time heading a militia that allegedly committed atrocities in Central
African Republic's 2002-2003 conflict.

The International Criminal Court in The Hague had issued the arrest
warrant on charges of rape and torture that were kept secret until he
was captured.

Officials with Bemba's political party said the arrest was unjust and
unnecessary.

"Bemba isn't a hoodlum," said Francois Muamba, the secretary-general of Bemba's
party. "If they want to talk to him, they can present themselves wherever they
want."

Muamba said he planned to present a statement on the situation to
parliament on Tuesday. He refused to provide details about the statement in
advance, but said the party was united in demanding Bemba's release."

ix. "Bemba's arrest hailed as victory to his victims," afrol News, 27
May 2008, http://www.afrol.com/articles/29068

" The apprehension of the exiled former Vice-President of Congo
(DRC) Jean Pierre Bemba could perhaps spell new era of peace to the war torn
Central African country, after his banishment a year ago left
hundreds of people dead in the capital Kinshasa.

The 46 year-old former rebel warlord was arrested near Brussels, Belgium last
Saturday, on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

However, Mr Bemba's loyalists condemn the arrest, which they called a
gambit to oust their leader from active politics as well as rid the
mineral rich state opposition. In a statement, his party, the former
rebel militia the Congo Liberation Movement Party (CLM) demanded his immediate
release, adding, "The CLM notes with regret the politicisation of the judicial
process undertaken by the International Criminal Court."...The International
Federation of Leagues of Human Rights (FIDH) along with its member organisations
the Central League of Human Rights (LCDH) and the Organisation for compassion
and development of families in distress (OCODEFAD) have hailed the arrest.
Reports show that they in fact were the
first to investigate the tragic events of 2002 and 2003.

"The arrest of Jean Pierre Bemba is a great victory for the Central
African victims, whose courage and selflessness are welcome today. For
six years, despite threats and stigmatisation, these victims have continued to
demand justice. The International Court finally made this right. This is a
tremendous step forward in the fight against impunity in Africa and the world,"
said the President of FIDH, Souhayr Belhassen."

x. "Head of DRC Opposition, Bemba, arrested in Brussels," by Stephanie
Maupas (Le Monde), 27 May 2008,
http://www.lemonde.fr/archives/article/2008/05/26/jean-pierre-bemba-chef-de-l-op
position-en-rdc-a-ete-arrete-a-bruxelles_1049698_0.html (in French only)

The article quotes CICC member the Federation of International Human
Rights (FIDH) as calling this a "strong statement against impunity for
grave crimes." It also quotes Francois Muamba, the secretary general of the MLC,
in Kinshasa as denouncing the politicization of the Court,
stating that the timing of this arrest was no accident since Bemba was
about to be elected leader of the opposition party.

Informal translation provided as a courtesy by the CICC Secretariat and is not
intended for official documents, or broader dissemination.

xi. "Bangui hails arrest of Jean-Pierre Bemba," Afrique en Ligne, 27 May 2008,
http://www.afriquenligne.fr/news/africa-news/bangui-hails-arrest-of-jeanpierr
e-bemba-200805275021.html

"Bangui, Central African Republic - The government of the Central
African Republic (CAR) on Monday hailed the arrest in Belgium of the former
vice-president of DR Congo, Jean-Pierre Bemba, describing it as a "first
victory" of the Central African people against impunity.

Addressing a news conference in Bangui, the minister of justice, Thierry Maleyom
bo, said the government would do its best "to fight impunity in all its forms" a
n d fully cooperate with the International CriminalCourt(ICC) for the total clos
u re of crimes committed by Jean-Pierre Bemba's Banyamulengues," the name given
by CAR to mercenaries from DR Congo."

*****

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