Rep. Congo:Armed attack on President of Human Rights Group

URGENT ACTION - THE OBSERVATORY

RDC 001 / 9803 / OBS 020
Armed Attack/ Death Threats / Defamation Campaign
Democratic Republic of CONGO
March 27th, 1998

The Observatory requests your urgent intervention in the following
situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

A brief description of the situation :

The Observatory has received information from the Human Rights Defence
Association (AZADHO) over an armed attack on Mr Floribert Chebeya,
President of the Voice of the Voiceless for Human Rights (a Member of
OMCT), one of the main Human Rights Defence Organisations in the
Congo. Mr Floribert Chebeya was attacked by four soldiers and one
civilian. They entered his house through the roof and bound his hands
and feet . They then took him to the edge of a gutter where they
threatened to kill him. Mr Floribert Chebeya had already been attacked
in December 1997.

These attacks can be placed in context of tension between the state
authorities and human rights defence organisations. The Government has
recently stepped up its accusations and threats against Human Rights
Defenders. The authorities of the Democratic Republic of Congo have
staged a campaign of defamation defamation in what appears to be an
attempt to incite hatred towards Human Rights activists in the
Democratic Republic of Congo.

Likewise, on March 25th and 26th, the government's editorial writer,
journalist Katot Ngwesh, began a national hate campaign on television
and on radio against the AZADHO and its President, Mr Guillaume Ngefa,
accusing  the AZADHO of " (...) having blackmailed the Government in
order to attract western money. This organisation is against
reconstruction......it spreads false information to foreign countries
and as a result of statements made by the AZADHO, President Clinton
was unsatisfied with President Kabila at the Kampala summit (...)
Their president is a Mobutuist who fled the country before the arrival
of the AFDL (Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of
Congo-Zaire) at Kinshasa (..). The fact that they have kept the
acronym AZADHO speaks for itself.

 These accusations came a week after the confiscation of 1,650 copies
 of the AZADHO's annual report by the security services, the
 interrogation of its vice-president, M. Kambale and the sending of
 members of the security forces to the organisation's secretariat to
 intimidate them.

According to the information received, this defamation campaign
coincides with the questioning of individuals who testified before the
United Nations Mission of Enquiry, at Mbandaka.

The Observatory supports the AZADHO in its condemnation of the RDC's
systematically repressive policy towards Human Rights Defenders and
their organisations.

Requested Action:
Please write to the authorities of the Democratic Republic of Congo,
urging them to ;

i	guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of M Floribert
Chebeya and ensure that those responsible for attacking him are
identified and prosecuted in a court of law, in accordance with the
rules for a fair trial.

ii	put an end to the campaigns of intimidation and defamation against
Human Rights Organisations in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and in
particular the accusations against the AZADHO and its members;

iii	adopt urgent measures in order to guarantee The Voice of the
Voiceless, the AZADHO and other non-governmental human rights
organisations the conditions necessary to enable them to carry out
freely their activities for the promotion and defence of human rights
and fundamental liberties;

iv	more generally conform to the provisions of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights and to the regional and international
instruments which deal with Human Rights and with which the Democratic
Republic of Congo is associated.

Addresses

President Laurent-Désiré Kabila. Presidency of the Democratic Republic
of Congo, Kinshasa - Gombé

The Justice Minister, Ministry of Justice, Democratic Republic of
Congo, Kinshasa - Gombé

Mr Mwenze Kongolo, Minister for Internal Affairs, Ministry of Internal
Affairs, Democratic Republic of Congo, Kinshasa - Gombé

Embassy of the Democratic Republic of Congo.


Geneva - Paris, March 27th, 1998

Kindly inform us of any action undertaken, quoting the code number of
this appeal in your reply.

The Observatory, an FIDH and OMCT ventrue, is dedicated to the
protection of Human Rights Defenders and aims to offer them concrete
support in their time of need. To contact the Observatory, call the
Emergency Line Fax :  33 (0) 1 40 39 2 42 Tel. : FIDH 33 (0) 1 48 05
82 46		OMCT : + 41 22 733 31 40	E-mail : observatoire@iprolink.ch

The Observatory, an FIDH and OMCT venture, is dedicated to
the protection of Human Rights Defenders and aims to offer
them concrete support in time of need.

To Contact the Observatory, call The Emergency Line:
Fax: 33 (0) 1 40 39 22 42
Tel: FIDH: 33 (0) 1 48 05 82 46
     OMCT: 41 (0) 22 733 31 40
E-mail: observatoire@iprolink.ch

The Human Rights Action Network, a part of Derechos Human Rights, distributes appeals on behalf of victims of human rights violations. You are invited to join the network. Please check the date of the present action and do not write if it's over a month old.