By Jennifer M. Haralambides
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa
THE HAGUE, Netherlands – The trial against two former Congolese rebel leaders accused of authroizing the attack on civilians, the rape of women, and the enlistment of child soldiers in “the greatest armed conflict” since Word War II is set to begin tomorrow.
Germain Katanga, 31, and Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui, 39, are to appear before the International Criminal Court (ICC) tomorrow. They are accused of an attack on the village of Borgoro in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) northeastern region.
Katanga is a senior commander from the group known as the Force de Resistance Patriotique en Ituri (FRPI). Ngudjolo is a former commander of the rebel National Integrationalist Front (FNI).
The men are faced with ten counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Katanga and Ngudjolo are both of Lendu ethnicity, and the the Bogoro residents were mostly Hema. Chief prosecutor of the ICC, Luis Moreno-Ocampy described that “[t]he women of the Hema community were raped before they were killed. They pillaged the entire village. They kept some women as sex slaves.”
“This specific attack was part of a widespread and systematic attack against the civilian population in Ituri,” continued Moreno-Ocampy. This attack is said to have killed over 200 people in February 2003.
Defense council reports that both of the accused men have denied the charges against them. The men have been described as relieved and happy the trial will begin on Tuesday. Both men have also wished to express their sympathies to the victims.
“The victims have the right to know the truth and the defense has the right to a fair trial, so we are all seeking the same thing. We are all seeking the truth,” says Katanga’s lawyer, Andreas O’Shea.
Jean-Pierre Kilenda, defense council for Ngudjolo said, “At no time did he [Ngudjolo] concoct a criminal scheme to raze Bogoro village. He disputes the fact that he was ever the supreme commander of the FNI.”
The defense council also contends that the war in these regions had its roots in the Rwanda conflict. He believes the international community failed to prevent a genocide there and allowed armed groups to take control, supported by Rwanda and Uganda.
Victims of these horrible events can participate in the trial by expressing their views and concerns, provided it is done in a manner consistent with the rights of the accused and a fair trial. Ten child soldiers will be among these 345 people authorized to take part in the trial.
This is the second trial to be held at the ICC with regard to the situation in the DRC. The first was that of Thomas Lubanga Dyllo, a Congolese warlord accused of recruiting child soldiers, whose trial began in January 2009.
The DRC’s information minister, Lambert Mende, says that the countries official radio and TV stations will provide live coverage of tomorrow’s trial.
“[w]e are also prepared to dispatch it by our national radio and national television. So that every Congolese in Kinshasa and all the eleven provinces and Ituri where the atrocities have been committed can follow it and see that we are very committed to punish everybody who violates human rights in our country,” said Mende
For more information, please see:
AFP – ICC Trial of Congolese Militiamen to Reveal “The Truth” – 23 November 2009
ReliefWeb – DR Congo: Press Conference on the Opening Tomorrow of the Second Trial Before The International Criminal Court – 23 November 2009
Reuters – PREVIEW-Congolese Warlords to Stand Trial at World Court – 23 November 2009
VOA – DRC Government to Broadcast Live ICC Trial – 23 November 2009
UN News Centre – International Criminal Court Trial of Two Former Congolese Leaders Opens Tomorrow – 23 November 2009
