11 May 2001
A prominent human rights organisation in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has expressed concern at the detention or disappearance of at least 200 political prisoners and others in government-controlled territory.
In a report on the human rights situation in government-controlled DRC in the first 100 days of the new president Joseph Kabila's rule, the African Association for the Defence of Human Rights (ASADHO) said there had been little improvement so far. Noting the president's promises of change, ASADHO nevertheless condemned the "inquisitorial and secret character of the inquiry [into the late president's Laurent-Desire Kabila's assassination] conducted entirely by the army and security services without any intervention by the judiciary".
The association recommended the release of "innocent" detainees held in connection with the inquiry. "We know of several people who are being held simply because they appear in family photos belonging to suspected persons," said ASADHO's president Amigo Ngonde.
At least 30 people have been detained by the commission of inquiry into the assassination, according to ASADHO. The association has published a list of these detainees but declined to name those it believes to be innocent.
The association also condemned the continued use of secret jails by the authorities despite an order by the president in March - on the eve of a visit by the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in the DRC, Roberto Garreton - to close them down. It also recommended publication of the results of the inquiry into the late president's assassination, and the publication of a new law liberalising political activity.
ASADHO called on the government to reveal the whereabouts of its local representative in the southeastern city of Lubumbashi, Golden Misabiko, whom it believed had been "kidnapped". Government officials contacted by IRIN were not available for comment.
Observers note that ASADHO's report comes a week after European foreign ministers signalled their support for Joseph Kabila by approving a grant of US $110 million dollars over two years in development aid for territory under his control. Rebel-held territory will not benefit from the grant, which is nearly twice the level to the DRC over the past two years.
The European Union (EU) ambassador to DRC, Henry Sprietsma, said this week that the international community could not wait until the Congolese had solved all their political problems before helping them. "We have to respond to a catastrophic situation," he said. "We have to save what still exists if we wait longer the cost will be even greater."
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