ituri: “covered in blood” - Human Rights Watch

Lendu, of giving them weapons, and wanted to know why I had opened my doors to them. It was
absurd. 196
On February 14, 2003 the UPC gave Father Deneckere 48 hours to leave Ituri. The expulsion order gives the
reason as “secretly hosting displaced people with the intention of tarnishing the UPC movement and of being in
contact with negative forces against peace and reconciliation.” 197
UPC soldiers threatened and actually attacked priests and aid workers in other areas as well. On January 15,
2003, the UPC attacked the parish in Nioka where a feeding center for malnourished children had been set up
with the assistance of an international nongovernmental organization. They arrested and beat the priests, accusing
them of helping the Lendu. They looted the parish and then destroyed the warehouse where the food for the
feeding center was kept. A witness said:
There were four UPC soldiers who came with a Hema civilian called Jabu. They accused us of being
with the APC and having weapons. They said they were could do anything they wanted to us. They beat
me for nearly thirty minutes. They accused me of being with the Lendu and said they would kill me like
they were killing the Lendu. They took some of the Lendu from the village, men named Njangu and
Kpatchuma, and they executed them behind the prison. I had to sleep outside all night long.
They looted the parish, shot into the ceiling and tied up Father Mario, one of the white priests. They
accused him of helping the Lendu because he was working at the feeding center for malnourished
children. They took him to the prison in Nioka and asked him for money. They beat him. They made
another priest carry water for them all day long. He was kept for two days and hit with a stick. I
managed to escape to the forest where I stayed for four days.
All we were doing was helping starving children - Lendu and others as well. Now all that is finished
which is exactly what they wanted. 198
The increase of attacks by armed groups has caused humanitarian agencies to reduce their activities in the area,
despite the desperate need of tens of thousands of people for assistance. According to a relief worker, the results
have been catastrophic, “Thousands of people will have died because of political games.” 199
UPC authorities have also intimidated and in one case expelled UN personnel. On November 23, 2002, UPC
President Lubanga declared persona non grata a UN officer from the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian
Affairs (OCHA) who had protested against the arrest and intimidation of humanitarian workers. The official
reasons for his expulsion were “arrogance, malicious intervention, spreading of false rumors and discourteous
language to UPC officials,” charges which Lubanga declared to be “very serious for the security of the territory
controlled by the UPC.” 200 Another OCHA representative and a MONUC staff member had previously left
Bunia after intimidation by Hema leaders.
The Murders of ICRC Staff
The most serious attack on humanitarian workers in Ituri was the murder of six staff members (four Congolese
and two expatriate) of the International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) on April 26, 2001. 201 Local police
began investigating the killings under the authority of the Congolese Liberation Front (FLC) which controlled
196 Human Rights Watch interview, Father Mark Deneckere, Kampala, February 20, 2003.
197 Process Verbal de Refoulement against Marc Deneckere, signed by Saba Aimable, UPC Judicial Officer, February 14,
2003.
198 Human Rights Watch interview, Paidha, February 2003.
199 Human Rights Watch interview, Kampala, February 2003.
200 Process Verbal de Refoulement, signed by Saba Musanganya, UPC General Administrator of Security, November 23,
2002.
201 They were Aduwe Boboli, Julio Delgado, Rita Fox-Stuecki, Jean Molokabonge, Véronique Saro and Unen Ufoirworth.
Human Rights Watch
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July 2003, Vol. 15,No. 11 (A)