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CAR: Latest News on Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo

30 July 2008

Dear all,

Please find below the latest media articles relating to the
investigation by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Central
African Republic (CAR). This message specifically covers news relating
to the recent arrest and transfer to The Hague of Congolese opposition
leader and former rebel chief, Jean-Pierre Bemba who faces war crimes
charges. A Confirmation of Charges Hearing for Mr. Bemba is scheduled
to begin on 4 November 2008.

This message includes one news article covering the seizure of Bemba's
assets in Portugal on request of the ICC with links to further
articles; excerpts of a recent FIDH report on the ICC and its
situation in CAR; and one opinion piece.

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.

Best regards,
CICC Communications
[email protected]


*****

I. SEIZURE OF BEMBA'S ASSETS

i. "Portugal seizes booty of suspected Congolese war criminal:
report," 22 July 2008, AFP,
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jt1EhlsZP32O-4HU1f_cw7JMkyvQ

"Portuguese authorities have seized a yacht and a private plane
belonging to a former Congolese rebel leader accused of war crimes and
crimes against humanity, a report said Tuesday.

Other property confiscated from Jean-Pierre Bemba included a house in
southern Portugal worth an estimated 2.5 million euros (3.9 dollars)
and two expensive cars, according to the Portuguese weekly Sol.

All his bank accounts in Portugal, including one containing 1.75
million euros (2.7 million dollars) had also been frozen, the report
added.

`At the request of the International Criminal Court (ICC), the known
property of Jean-Pierre Bemba was seized in June,' a spokesperson for
the public prosecutor's office told AFP without elaborating.

... Bemba heads a vast business empire and had been living in exile in
Portugal, where he fled under United Nations protection following a
shoot-out with the presidential guard in Congo which killed more than
200 people in March 2007.
That followed defeat to his fierce rival and current DR Congo
President Joseph Kabila in 2006 elections. … "

See also:

i. "Bemba's property seized in Portugal at ICC request," Afrique en
Ligne (Pana) 23 July 2008,
http://www.afriquenligne.fr/bemba's-property-seized-in-portugal-at-icc-request-2
00807239448.html


ii. "A la demande de la CPI : Les biens de JP Bemba saisis au
Portugal," 23 juillet 2008, Kongo Times,
http://afrique.kongotimes.info/news/423/ARTICLE/4917/2008-07-23.html
(in French)

iii. "Les avoirs de Jean-Pierre Bemba au Portugal sont frappés de
saisie judiciaire à la demande de la Cour Pénale Internationale," 23
juillet 2008, digitalcongo, http://www.digitalcongo.net/article/52625
(in French)

iv. "Saisie des biens de Bemba au Portugal," 22 juillet 2008, Le Vif,
http://www.levif.be/belga/generale/78-6-58258/saisie-des-biens-de-bemba-au-portu
gal.html
(in French)

II. FIDH ISSUES REPORT FOCUSING ON BEMBA

"FIDH and the situation on the Central African Republic before the
International Criminal Court: The Case of Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo,"
FIDH published on 3 July 2008,
http://www.fidh.org/IMG/pdf/RapportGAJ_RCA-CPI-Bemba_juillet08.pdf (in
French)

This latest report from FIDH on the Central African Republic will be
made available in English. The report is broken down into five
categories: 1) FIDH's Judicial Action Group; 2) FIDH lifts the veil on
international crimes committed in CAR; 3) FIDH examines the lack of
will and capacity of national justice system to pursue crimes
committed in CAR; 4) FIDH advocates for the fight against impunity
before the ICC; 5) The Bemba Case before the ICC: Who is Jean-Pierre
Bemba Gombo, Alleged crimes committed under his responsibility, The
ICC arrest warrant. Below is a translated excerpt of this report.

"… One year after opening his investigation into crimes committed in
Central African Republic in 2002 and 2003, the International Criminal
Court issued an arrest warrant against Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo. In its
numerous mission reports, FIDH had stigmatized (among other things)
the criminal schemes of the Mouvement de Liberation du Congo's
president's right-hand men, and in this way made clear his
responsibility as a superior.

Who is Jean-Pierre Gombo?
… Presidential candidate in October 2006, he reached second place in
the first round, behind Joseph Kabila with over 20% of the vote. He
achieves high ratings in his region of origin, Equateur, but also in
Kinshasa, especially in the poorer neighborhoods as well as in the
Bas-Congo. In the second round, he was the winner in Kinshasa,
Equateur, Bas-Congo, in Bandundu and in both Kasai regions. However,
at the national level he only received 42% of the vote. He introduced
several appeals to the Supreme Court, but did not succeed.

On 19 January 2007, Bemba was elected Senator.

In March 2007 there occurred violent confrontations between Bemba's
militiamen and Kabila's army. Bemba's soldiers had not obeyed an
ultimatum, whose term was fixed at 15 months, to accept their
incorporation into the regular army. Bemba called for a cease-fire and
found refuge in South Africa's embassy. With the continuation of
fighting on 23 March, an arrest warrant was issued against Jean-Pierre
Bemba on the charge of high treason. These confrontations resulted in
over 200 casualties in Kinshasa. Bemba left DRC on 11 April 2007 for
Portugal, officially in order to treat an old leg wound. Bemba was
arrested in Belgium on 24 May 2008, under an arrest warrant issued by
the International Criminal Court. … "

Translation is unofficial and provided by the CICC Secretariat.

III. OPINIONS

i. "The Bemba Case: In trying to escape the ICC, suspects take refuge
in Libya," Digitalcongo.net, 15 July 2008,
http://www.digitalcongo.net/article/52477 (in French)

"Nobody knows just how far Luis Moreno-Ocampo's roller compressor will
go, although
those involved in the Jean-Pierre Bemba affaire are attempting to find
refuge in safe havens.

… The first appearance of Jean-Pierre Bemba before the ICC gave
insomnia to those close to the former President Ange Félix Patassé.
These alert souls prefer to seek refuge in safe havens or sneak away.
Meanwhile, Libya as much as Sudan count among those African countries
having not yet ratified the Rome Statute…A forewarned Abdoulaye
Miskine has no intension of giving himself up so easily. He is in
Libya where he can rest easy and where the arrest warrants of the ICC
won't have any effect. ..."

Translation is unofficial and provided by the CICC Secretariat.

ii. "At Large: Bemba Eruptions," by Erin Wildermuth (The American
Spectator), 28 July 2008,
http://www.spectator.org/dsp_article.asp?art_id=13589

"… The al-Bashir incident is the latest example of irresponsible ICC
indictments in the face of volatile predicaments in Africa.

The ICC has indicted Africans involved in conflicts in Uganda, the
Democratic Republic of Congo, and the Central African Republic. In
each of these situations, the indictments interfered with national
attempts to build and keep fragile peace. …

Other cases of ICC bull-headedness:

…In 2004, the new CAR president, Francois Bozize called upon the ICC
to investigate war crimes committed during the 2002 coup, which opened
a whole new kettle of cod. In 2006, Bemba received the second largest
number of votes in the DRC presidential elections. When his opponent,
Joseph Kabila, took the presidency, Bemba settled for the Senate.

The new Senator fled the country in 2007 after a clash between
government forces and Bemba supporters. Kabila has since accused Bemba
of high treason. Though local law mandates that Senators automatically
have immunity, Kabila was hoping to overturn this. The ICC saved him
the trouble.

… The MLC, which has become a legitimate political party, has called
for the ICC to respect national laws. They have been largely ignored.
Congolese troops were dispersed to `quiet' Bemba supporters, who took
to the streets to demand his release.

Though prosecuting war criminals seems a very natural and harmless
thing for an international criminal court to do, it is not always a
benign activity. The ICC is completely disregarding national
sovereignty and putting peaceful resolutions in jeopardy.

Leaders in these regions need to make difficult decisions. Sometimes
this results in horrible men walking free. It isn't justice. They
drink margaritas on yachts despite their history of mass murder,
torture, and other heinous acts. And it isn't always effective.
Charles Taylor of Liberia was accused of meddling in local politics
despite being sent away on amnesty.

But oftentimes difficult compromises are necessary to staunch
bloodshed. Bad men walk free but people's lives are saved. Perhaps the
price of justice can be too steep. This should be a question that
countries wrestle with themselves without the ICC imposing an answer."