Democratic Republic of Congo
08.01.03
Urgent Interventions
DRC: 30 death sentences pronounced by the Court of Military Order
Case COD 110901
The International Secretariat of the OMCT requests your URGENT INTERVENTION in the following situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Brief description of the facts
The International Secretariat of the OMCT has been informed by “La voix des sans voix des droits de l'homme” (VSV), a member of the OMCT network, of the abduction of two employees of the Hotel Tanko. Mr. Nkolongo, the owner of the hotel, and its administrative director, have also received serious threats.
According to the information received, Mr. Nkolongo, the owner of the Hotel Tanko in Mbuji-Mayi in the province of western Kasaï, has been lodging members of the Congolese and Zimbabwean armed forced for the last three years; their rent was to have been taken care of by the mining company Minière de Bakwanga (MIBA). However, the hotel had been obliged to give them three months notice requiring them to settle an outstanding debt of US$ 961.00. In 1998 about a hundred members of the armed forces moved into the hotel and Mr. Nkolongo had allowed them credit based on guarantees provided by the MIBA because security in this region, which is close to the line of combat, is in fact provided by the massive presence of troops of both countries.
According to our source of information, Mr. Nkolongo decided to expel the troops on Saturday 1 September by closing the establishment. The troops retaliated by abducting the manager, who is none other than Mr. Nkolongo's son, and the receptionist, both of whom were being held in the military detention facilities at Nsele.
According to the latest information, the two prisoners were then transferred to the National Security Agency (ANR) prison.
The hotel has since re-opened and in spite of the return of the troops, there do not seem to be any particular problems. However, Mr. Nkolongo and his administrative director are running the hotel from a distance, for fear of suffering the same fate as their colleagues. They are even afraid of leaving the western Kasaï region for Kinshasa in case the security situation deteriorates.
The International Secretariat of OMCT is gravely concerned for the physical and psychological integrity of the two prisoners who have been abducted, and for the safety and living conditions of Mr. Nkolongo and his administrative director who are obliged to remain in hiding for fear of retaliation.
Action requested
We request you kindly to write to the authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo asking them to :
i. take all the necessary measures to safeguard the physical and psychological integrity of the two abductees and of Mr. Nkolongo and his administrative director;
ii. order the immediate release of the two abductees;
iii. order a complete and impartial inquiry into the circumstances of these abductions so as to identify those responsible and bring them before a competent court, and to apply the penal, civil and/or administrative sanctions as foreseen by the law;
iv. ensure respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms all over the country, according to national laws and international standards.
Addresses
· President Joseph Kabila, Présidence de la République, Kinshasa-Ngaliema, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Fax : (+243) 880 02 120
· Ministry of Justice, POB 3137, Kinshasa Gombé, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Fax (+243) 880 55 21
Please also write to the diplomatic representation of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in your country.
Geneva, 11 September 2001.
Kindly inform us of any action you may take, citing the code of this appeal in your reply.
The International Secretariat of the OMCT requests your URGENT INTERVENTION in the following situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Brief description of the facts
The International Secretariat of the OMCT has been informed by “La voix des sans voix des droits de l'homme” (VSV), a member of the OMCT network, of the abduction of two employees of the Hotel Tanko. Mr. Nkolongo, the owner of the hotel, and its administrative director, have also received serious threats.
According to the information received, Mr. Nkolongo, the owner of the Hotel Tanko in Mbuji-Mayi in the province of western Kasaï, has been lodging members of the Congolese and Zimbabwean armed forced for the last three years; their rent was to have been taken care of by the mining company Minière de Bakwanga (MIBA). However, the hotel had been obliged to give them three months notice requiring them to settle an outstanding debt of US$ 961.00. In 1998 about a hundred members of the armed forces moved into the hotel and Mr. Nkolongo had allowed them credit based on guarantees provided by the MIBA because security in this region, which is close to the line of combat, is in fact provided by the massive presence of troops of both countries.
According to our source of information, Mr. Nkolongo decided to expel the troops on Saturday 1 September by closing the establishment. The troops retaliated by abducting the manager, who is none other than Mr. Nkolongo's son, and the receptionist, both of whom were being held in the military detention facilities at Nsele.
According to the latest information, the two prisoners were then transferred to the National Security Agency (ANR) prison.
The hotel has since re-opened and in spite of the return of the troops, there do not seem to be any particular problems. However, Mr. Nkolongo and his administrative director are running the hotel from a distance, for fear of suffering the same fate as their colleagues. They are even afraid of leaving the western Kasaï region for Kinshasa in case the security situation deteriorates.
The International Secretariat of OMCT is gravely concerned for the physical and psychological integrity of the two prisoners who have been abducted, and for the safety and living conditions of Mr. Nkolongo and his administrative director who are obliged to remain in hiding for fear of retaliation.
Action requested
We request you kindly to write to the authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo asking them to :
i. take all the necessary measures to safeguard the physical and psychological integrity of the two abductees and of Mr. Nkolongo and his administrative director;
ii. order the immediate release of the two abductees;
iii. order a complete and impartial inquiry into the circumstances of these abductions so as to identify those responsible and bring them before a competent court, and to apply the penal, civil and/or administrative sanctions as foreseen by the law;
iv. ensure respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms all over the country, according to national laws and international standards.
Addresses
· President Joseph Kabila, Présidence de la République, Kinshasa-Ngaliema, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Fax : (+243) 880 02 120
· Ministry of Justice, POB 3137, Kinshasa Gombé, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Fax (+243) 880 55 21
Please also write to the diplomatic representation of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in your country.
Geneva, 11 September 2001.
Kindly inform us of any action you may take, citing the code of this appeal in your reply.