Cannibalism case is ICC’s first

Published March 12, 2003

NAIROBI: Jean-Pierre Bemba, whose Movement for the Liberation of Congo (MLC) controls much of northern Congo, has been referred to the international criminal court by Congo’s government and the International Federation of Human Rights (FIDH), a French non- governmental organisation.

The Congolese government complaint follows a UN investigation into MLC attacks in the province of Ituri, which found evidence that Mr Bemba’s men had massacred — and eaten — civilians. The second deals with the MLC’s incursion into the Central African Republic last year, at the invitation of Ange-Felix Patasse. The FIDH has accused both Mr Patasse and Mr Bemba of sponsoring war crimes and crimes against humanity, including the massacre of civilians outside the Central African Republic’s capital, Bangui.

The MLC’s alleged crimes in Ituri were reported by UN investigators in language framed to suggest genocide: in an operation codenamed “Clean the Slate”, its fighters swept through the province, murdering, raping and putting more than 150,000 people to flight.

“The operation was presented to the people almost like a vaccination campaign, envisioning the looting of each home and the rape of each woman,” said Patricia Tome, a spokeswoman for the UN ceasefire monitoring mission in Congo.

“They cut out the hearts and other organs of their victims and forced families to eat them. One little girl was executed, cut into little pieces and then eaten.”

With Congo’s government exerting little control outside the capital Kinshasa, and its legal system incompetent, Mr Bemba’s case may seem a perfect curtain raiser for the new international criminal court.

Yet Congo analysts remain sceptical. Few of the nine national armies, six main rebel groups, and hordes of local militias who have fought in Congo’s four-year war have avoided accusations of similar atrocities — raising questions over why Mr Bemba should be singled out. Moreover, even if charges are filed against Mr Bemba, it is unclear who would bring him to justice.—Dawn/The Guardian News Service.

Opinion

Editorial

Border clashes
19 May, 2024

Border clashes

THE Pakistan-Afghanistan frontier has witnessed another series of flare-ups, this time in the Kurram tribal district...
Penalising the dutiful
19 May, 2024

Penalising the dutiful

DOES the government feel no remorse in burdening honest citizens with the cost of its own ineptitude? With the ...
Students in Kyrgyzstan
19 May, 2024

Students in Kyrgyzstan

BEING stranded on foreign shores is hardly an agreeable experience. And if the environment is hostile — as it...
Ominous demands
Updated 18 May, 2024

Ominous demands

The federal government needs to boost its revenues to reduce future borrowing and pay back its existing debt.
Property leaks
18 May, 2024

Property leaks

THE leaked Dubai property data reported on by media organisations around the world earlier this week seems to have...
Heat warnings
18 May, 2024

Heat warnings

STARTING next week, the country must brace for brutal heatwaves. The NDMA warns of severe conditions with...