AFRICA - House Foreign Affairs Committee Democrats

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On September 13, in Gbadolite, MLC troops arrested journalist Franklin Moliba-
Sese in connection with a Radio Okapi report on the living conditions of MLC child
soldiers; Moliba-Sese was released after 6 days.
During the year, in Kisangani, RCD/G authorities severely criticized journalists
and peace activists on the radio and at rallies, calling them traitors and allies of
hostile foreigners (see Section 2.c.). After Radio Amani, which was owned by the
Catholic Church, broadcast programs that criticized the RCD, the Department of Security
and Intelligence abducted and severely beat the clergyman who headed the
Catholic Justice and Peace Commission.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.—In areas under government
control, there was no legal protection for freedom of assembly, and the Government
continued to restrict this right. The Government considered the right to assemble
to be subordinate to the maintenance of ‘‘public order,’’ and continued to require all
organizers to inform the city government before holding a public event. According
to the law, organizers automatically had permission to hold an event unless the city
government denied permission in writing within 5 days of receiving the original notification.
Some NGOs reported that in practice the city administration sometimes
denied permission for the event after the 5-day period by backdating the correspondence.
Government security services generally dispersed unregistered protests,
marches, or meetings.
During the year, opposition parties held private meetings without government
harassment; however, the Government prevented some public political activities
such as marches and press conferences.
Security forces forcibly dispersed political party press conferences and rallies on
several occasions, usually on the grounds that the party had not registered with the
Ministry of the Interior after promulgation of the May 2001 law on political activity
or had not notified city authorities of the event. The Government required political
parties to apply for permits to hold press conferences; such permits frequently were
denied.
On April 14, police dispersed PALU party activists when they tried to hold a rally
in the Kimbanseke neighborhood of Kinshasa; 11 party members were detained for
several hours.
On September 26, DEMIAP units forcibly dispersed a march organized by members
of the UDPS ‘‘parlementaires debout,’’ a movement that conducts street-side debates
on current events and political figures, ostensibly because they had not notified
the city government of the march as required by law. According to the UDPS,
51 of their members were detained for several hours, and 12 were beaten seriously.
Police also forcibly dispersed labor demonstrations. For example, on June 3, police
in Kipushi forcibly dispersed a march organized by workers at Gecamines, a copper
and cobalt mining parastatal, and SNCC, a railroad parastatal.
There were fewer government-sponsored demonstrations than in the previous
year, and unlike in the previous year, there were no government-sanctioned violent
demonstrations against foreign embassies or U.N. offices.
On October 8, in Kisangani, university students erected a barrier on the airport
road, stopped a MONUC vehicle from leaving the airport, forced the passengers out,
and burned the vehicle. After the students had stopped a second MONUC vehicle,
a third MONUC vehicle arrived, and the MONUC soldiers inside fired into the air
to disperse the crowd. RCD/G soldiers who had just arrived at the scene also fired
into the air. One MONUC soldier and one student were injured.
The law provides no explicit protection for freedom of association, and the Government
restricted this right; however, there were fewer instances of such restrictions
than in previous years. The May 2001 law on political activity allows anyone to form
a political party by registering with the Minister of Interior. NGOs and religious
groups also were permitted to form freely, provided that they registered with the
Minister of Justice and filed copies of internal regulations and descriptions of their
organizational structure. According to the Government, more than 100 political parties
have registered under the May 2001 law. Some longstanding parties, notably
the UDPS, have refused to register under this law on the grounds that they already
registered under the Mobutu government and that the Kabila government was illegitimate.
The Government responded to this refusal by treating the UDPS as an illegal
organization and arresting or dispersing UDPS members who attempted to
hold public functions.
Political parties and civil society groups were highly active during the year in
preparation for and participation in the ICD. The Government generally did not
harass political parties, with the exception of the UDPS.
In areas not under government control, rebel forces and foreign troops continued
to restrict severely freedom of assembly and association. Groups critical of the authorities,
especially in RCD/G or RDF controlled territory, were subject to severe re-
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