WRITTEN QUESTION E-0425/01

by Olivier Dupuis (TDI) to the Council

(20 February 2001)

Subject: Situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the abduction of Mr Jacques Depelchin by the Ugandan army

For several years now, the Democratic Republic of Congo has been undergoing a very serious institutional crisis. The most recent illustration of that phenomenon was the establishment of a semi-monarchical regime when Joseph Kabila took power as President, a post previously occupied by his father in a country at the mercy of civil war.

A number of African armies have moved troops into Congo. Rwandan and Ugandan troops, in particular, occupy important areas, respectively in the east and in the north-west of the country. There, they indulge in military and paramilitary activities without any supervision or any legal basis which might justify them. The Ugandan army recently committed acts of violence against the local population and undertook terrorist operations against local political representatives. That culminated in the abduction of Professor Wamba dia Wamba and his colleague, Dr Jacques Depelchin, by Colonel Muzoora Edison, Commandant of the Bunia sector, Major Gureme, Captain Medi Baguma, Lieutenant Tinka Godfroid and six other ranks of the UPDF. Mr Depelchin was taken to Colonel Muzoora's HQ in Bunia and then transferred to Kampala after being held in solitary confinement for seven hours. For several days now, Mr Depelchin has been on hunger strike in an attempt to persuade the Ugandan authorities to inform him of the charges brought against him and to secure restoration of his rights in full.

This action by the Ugandan army is only one of a series of acts of intimidation and terrorism perpetrated by Ugandan soldiers against the people living in the region occupied by the Ugandan army and, in particular, against activists belonging to the Congolese Democracy Alliance Liberation Movement (Rassemblement congolais pour la Démocratie Mouvement de Libération).

What information does the Council have about Mr Depelchin's plight? What measures has it taken, or does it intend to take, with a view to securing his immediate and unconditional release by the Ugandan authorities? In more general terms, what is the EU's position, if indeed it has a position, on the establishment of a semi-monarchical regime in Congo? What measures will the EU take to help resolve the crisis which has been has been plaguing the country and the region for many a long year?

Reply

(30 May 2001)

The Congolese Rally for Democracy-Liberation Movement (Rassemblement congolais pour la Démocratie Mouvement de Libération, RCD-ML) is a Congolese rebel group backed by Uganda.

Besides the information given by the Honourable Parliamentarian and news reports corroborating this information, the Council does not dispose of any information concerning the RCD-ML official Mr Depelchin's plight.

According to some sources, the abduction of Mr Depelchin is linked to the hema-lendu conflict in the Uganda controlled part of the DRC. Another development in the region, which might have had an influence, has to do with the merger between the Congolese Liberation Movement (MLC) and parts of the RCD-ML, a merger imposed by Uganda according to some sources but not supported by all members of the RCD-ML. The Council issued a declaration on the first of February this year concerning the hema-lendu conflict in north-eastern DRC,

where it expressed its concern over the continued violent clashes between the hema and lendu groups and the massacres in the Bunia region of north-eastern DRC's Oriental Province. A situation, exacerbated by the continued military presence of the Uganda army in this part of DRC, which hampers the efforts to re-establish peace there.

In this context, the EU also called on the Ugandan authorities, responsible for upholding the respect for human rights in areas under their control, to do their utmost to put an end to these massacres, and to use their influence on the DRC rebel movement in the area to likewise concur with this objective.

Concerning the succession that took place in the DRC, the Council condemned the assassination of President Laurent Désiré Kabila and reaffirmed that lasting peace in the DRC can only be achieved through a negotiated peace settlement which is fair to all parties and through respect for democratic principles and human rights in all States of the region.

The Council (General Affairs) has discussed the situation in the DRC both at its meetings in January and in February, each time adopting conclusions expressing support for peace in the DRC and in the region in accordance with the Lusaka Agreement and the Kampala and Harare Agreements and in conformity with relevant UN Security Council Resolutions. It has likewise welcomed the adoption of UNSC Resolution 1341 approving the updated concept of operations for MONUC to which the EU has offered continued political and material support.

The Council reiterated the importance of an early start to the National dialogue and the EU's readiness to continue to support its institutional framework.

The Council welcomed the provisions in Resolution 1341 urging the parties to the conflict to co-operate with the MONUC in the elaboration of a plan for disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration of all armed groups referred to in Annex A, Chapter 9,1 of the Lusaka Agreement. The EU is willing to work with the international community, in particular the UN specialised agencies on the modalities of such a programme. It has also mandated the European Union's Special Representative to engage in a reflection on how to pursue this question.

The Council (General Affairs) on 26 February 2001 also expressed deep concern at the continuing serious human rights violations in the DRC and reminded the governments concerned of their responsibility and accountability for upholding the respect for human rights by their own armed forces as well as by the armed forces under their de facto control.