October 18, 1999
His Excellency Laurent-Désiré Kabila
President of the Democratic Republic of Congo Ngaliema, Kinshasa
Democratic Republic of Congo
VIA FAX: 011-234-88-02120 / 1-202-234-2609
Your Excellency:
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is once again writing to protest the continued detention of journalist Joseph Mbakulu Pambu Diana, who has now spent one year in prison without trial.
Pambu Diana, director of programming for the private station Radio-TV Matadi (RTM), as well as president of the local chapter of the Congolese Press Union, was first arrested by agents of the National Information Agency (ANR) in Matadi on October 24, 1998. His arrest was prompted by a chain of events that began in August 1998, when the town of Matadi was taken over by rebels of the Congolese Rally for Democracy. The rebels seized local state radio and TV stations and forced journalists to work for them.
RTM and other reporters were “required” to cover several of the rebels’ rallies, including one held at Matadi stadium during which the rebel leaders outlined the ideology of their armed struggle to the local population.
At the end of August, the pro-government Congolese Armed Forces (FAC) regained control of Matadi and ordered their intelligence agents to raid RTM’s studio and seize any film that documented the station’s collaboration with the rebels. Then in September, two of Your Excellency’s ministers visited the newly-liberated Matadi, and accused those who had collaborated with the rebels of treason. RTM was specifically singled out.
One week later, the head of RTM illegally sacked Pambu Diana, on the grounds that he had refused “to temporarily close down the RTM station and for his collaboration with the rebels.”
On the day of Pambu Diana’s arrest in October 1998, he was flown to Kinshasa, where he was placed in solitary confinement at ANR headquarters. On November 27 the Court of Military Order (COM) charged him with conspiracy against the state. He was subsequently transferred to the Kinshasa Penitentiary and Re-education Center (formerly known as Makala Central Prison). Since then Pambu Diana has appeared twice before the Court of Military Order: once on December 5, 1998, and once on February 16, 1999. However, he has never been formally tried or sentenced.
The conditions in which Pambu Diana is being held are said to be horrendous. There is no medical care or even food available. Prisoners are completely reliant on family members who bring food from outside. Pambu Diana’s wife and five children live in Matadi, and can only afford to make the 350km trip to Kinshasa twice a month. This leaves Pambu Diana dependent on the erratic assistance of colleagues and relatives.
The imprisonment of Pambu Diana is a clear violation of the internationally recognized right of journalists to seek, receive, and impart information and ideas of all kinds. These rights are guaranteed by Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and Article 9 of the African Charter of Human and People’s Rights, to all of which, we respectfully remind Your Excellency, the Democratic Republic of Congo is a signatory.
As we wrote on July 29, CPJ demands that Your Excellency order the immediate and unconditional release of Joseph Mbakulu Pambu Diana. Moreover, we urge Your Excellency to denounce restrictions on press freedom in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and to commit your government to creating an environment in which journalists are able to work freely, without fear of reprisal.
Sincerely,
Ann K. Cooper
Executive Director
Join CPJ in Protesting Attacks on the Press in Democratic Republic of Congo
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His Excellency Laurent-Désiré Kabila
President of the Democratic Republic of Congo Ngaliema, Kinshasa
Democratic Republic of Congo
VIA FAX: 011-234-88-02120 / 1-202-234-2609