AFRICA - House Foreign Affairs Committee Democrats

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ports that security forces raped women during these raids. The police often raided
opposition party leaders’ residences, made arrests, and seized files (see Sections 1.c.
and 1.d.). For example, on November 26, a group of armed government soldiers
searched and robbed the house of Athanese Matenda Kyelu, the manager of the
Chamber of Commerce, in the Ngaliema district of Kinshasa (see Section 1.c.).
On January 9, 7th Military District soldiers forcibly entered the home of
Christophe Kalonji Ntambwe in Kinshasa’s Barumbu commune, ransacked the
home, and arrested Kalonji (see Section 1.d.). The soldiers reportedly were working
as agents of Joseph Mbuyi Lusambo, who wished to expropriate land owned by
Kalonji. On January 13, the soldiers returned to Kalonji’s home, searched his files,
and destroyed furniture.
On January 29, a group of soldiers ransacked the home of Christophe Gbenye,
president of the political party Congolese National Movement/Lumumba (MNC/L),
for 2 hours while Gbenye was absent. The soldiers were searching for weapons; however,
the soldiers confiscated much of Gbenye’s personal property before leaving.
On May 2, a group of soldiers ransacked the home of Somwe a Somwe, situated
in the Selembao district of Kinshasa.
On the night of June 10, in the Masina district of Kinshasa, there were
unconfirmed reports that soldiers forcibly entered the home of Reverend Placide
Tshisumpa Tshiakatumba, the president of the International Society for Human
Rights (ISHR). Under the pretense of searching for ‘‘suspicious’’ documents, the soldiers
searched Tshisumpa’s belongings and stole jewelry, money, and a camera. The
soldiers blindfolded and bound Tshisumpa, threw him in their jeep, and drove him
around for several hours.
ANR security agents monitored mail passing through private express delivery
companies as well as through the largely dysfunctional state mail service. The Government
widely was believed to monitor telephone communications.
There were credible reports that government forces used forced conscription, and
that many of those forced to enlist were children (see Sections 5, 6.c., and 6.d.). On
June 9, President Kabila issued a decree to reduce the Government’s use of child
soldiers and curtail forcible conscription of children during the year; however, the
decree was not implemented by year’s end. There was no general demobilization of
child soldiers during the year, and many children already in the armed forces continued
to serve in them. In addition government military commanders allegedly
used child soldiers to inflate the ranks of troops under their command in order to
acquire additional food and pay, which the commanders would confiscate. Commanders
reportedly often concealed child soldiers during visits by human rights
NGO’s and other monitoring groups (see Section 5). There were credible reports that
the FAC forcibly conscripted homeless boys.
Some Mai Mai and Hutu militia units fighting on the side of the Government routinely
seized private property and looted homes to supply themselves. Mai Mai and
other progovernment groups also regularly recruited children from the areas in
which they operated.
Antigovernment forces subjected civilians to arbitrary interference with privacy,
family, home, and correspondence of civilians in the areas that their forces dominated
(see Sections 1.a. and 1.c.).
In the provinces of North and South Kivu, RCD rebels and other antigovernment
groups regularly recruited children from the areas in which they operated. In 1999
rebel forces stated that they would reduce their use of child soldiers, and the problem
reportedly continued to diminish during the year; however, there were no reports
that they generally demobilized child soldiers, and many child soldiers reportedly
continued to serve in rebel armed forces.
g. Use of Excessive Force and Violations of Humanitarian Law in Internal Conflicts.—Throughout
the year, war continued with external intervention on both
sides. The war began in August 1998, when Kabila tried to expel from the country
Rwandan military forces that had helped him overthrow Mobutu. Congolese Tutsis
and the Governments of Rwanda, Uganda, and Burundi relied on these Rwandan
forces for protection from hostile nongovernmental armed groups operating out of
the eastern part of the country. These groups included: The Interahamwe militia of
ethnic Hutus, mostly from Rwanda, which fought the Tutsi-dominated Government
of Rwanda, and Hutu members of the former Rwandan armed forces, two groups
whose members are believed to be responsible for the 1994 genocide of Tutsis in
Rwanda; the Mai Mai, a loose association of traditional Congolese local defense
forces that is growing in both popularity and numbers; the Alliance of Democratic
Forces (ADF), consisting of Ugandan expatriates and supported by the Government
of Sudan; and several groups of Hutus from Burundi fighting the Tutsi-dominated
Government in Bujumbura. Kabila’s attempt to expel the Rwandan armed forces
was frustrated by the outbreak in August 1998 of a rebellion, led by the RCD. The
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