CPJ Protests Continued Detention of
Journalists in the DRC |
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Ann K. Cooper |
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Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)
330 Seventh Avenue, 12th Floor
New York, NY 10001
phone: +1-212-465-1004 ext 103 fax: +1-212-465-9568
e-mail: africa@cpj.org web: http://www.cpj.org
_______________________________________________________
March 17, 1999
His Excellency Laurent-Désiré Kabila
President of the Republic of Congo
Ngaliema, Kinshasa
Democratic Republic of Congo
VIA FAX: 011-243-88-02120 / 1-202-234-2609
Your Excellency:
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) writes to express its deep concern over the
arrests of Andre Ipakala and Modeste Muntinga, editors for the private daily newspapers La
Reference Plus and Le Potentiel respectively, upon their return from South Africa, where
they had attended a peace conference on the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo
(DRC).
On March 14, 1999, airport security agents arrested Ipakala and Mutinga, at the Ndjili
Airport in Kinshasa upon their return from Pretoria, South Africa, where they attended a
conference organized by the African Center for Constructive Reconstruction of Disputes on
the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
They were interrogated for four hours at the airport, and then turned over to National
Information Agency (ANR) security agents, who transported them to ANR headquarters where
they are currently being held without charge. Ipakala and Mutinga have been accused of
meeting with representatives of the Congolese Rally for Democracy rebel forces and former
officials of the Mobutu Sese Seko regime.
As an nonpartisan organization of journalists dedicated to the defense of our colleagues
worldwide, CPJ strongly protests the arrests of Ipakala and Mutinga.
We are alarmed that Your Excellency's government has equated the journalists'
communication with rebel representatives, as they executed their professional duties, with
subversion. And we condemn your government's efforts to silence journalists who report on
the war in the Democratic Republic of Congo and related efforts to bring about a peaceful
solution to the conflict.
The arrests of Ipakala and Mutinga constitute violations of journalists' right 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.
CPJ urges you to immediately and unconditionally release Ipakala and Mutinga, and to
ensure the right of all journalists in the Democratic Republic of Congo to report the news
freely and without reprisal.
Thank you for your attention to this important matter. We welcome your comments.
Sincerely,
Ann K. Cooper
Executive Director
Mukendi Kabila, Minister-Councilor, Embassy of the Democratic Republic of Congo,
United States
Faida Mitifu, Chargé d'Affaires, Embassy of the Democratic Republic of Congo,
United States
William Swing, U.S. Ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo
Susan E. Rice, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs
Harold Hungju Koh, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights
and Labor
Mary Robinson, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
United States Information Service (USIS)
TransAfrica
World Bank
International Monetary Fund
United States Agency for International Development
African Correspondents Association
Newspaper Association of America
American Society of Newspaper Editors
Amnesty International
Article 19 (United Kingdom)
Artikel 19 (The Netherlands)
Canadian Journalists for Free Expression
Congressional Committee to Support Writers and Journalists
Freedom House
Human Rights Watch
Index on Censorship
International Association of Broadcasting
International Federation of Journalists
International Journalism Institute
International PEN
International Press Institute
National Press Club
The Newspaper Guild
North American Broadcasters Association
Reporters Sans Frontieres
Overseas Press Club
The Society of Professional Journalists
World Press Freedom Committee |
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