Two days ago, at the International Day for the Support of Torture Survivors, June 26, 2008, Mr. Guy Kitwe Mulunda
has been arrested in the night just after a special Radio & TV
program on the situation of torture and impunity in the Democratic
Republic of Congo (DRC).
At the moment we don’t know exactly where he has been detained.
Here is a translation Mr. Kitwe Mulunda's message given on 26 June 2008 at the Radio and TV station:
"Despite widespread optimism following the 2006 elections in the
Democratic Republic of Congo, violence against civilians, political
repression, and impunity has continued. More than 300 persons linked to
the opposition including journalists and members of civil society have
been tortured brutally in the DRC in 2008.
In the Eastern area in the DRC, armed groups are accused of serious
human rights violations, particularly on women and continue to kill
civilians.
According to the UN Mission in the DRC (MONUC), recruitment and
re-recruitment of children has been ongoing from early 2007 and has
continued throughout the mixage process in 2008. The newly established
mixed brigades killed scores of civilians and committed rapes and other
abuses in their operations against the Forces for the Liberation of
Rwanda (FDLR). A further 350, 000 people joined the hundreds of
thousands already displaced.
According to Human Rights Watch, soldiers and police killed more than
100 persons protesting corruption in the Bas Congo provincial elections
in Western DRC. The soldiers and bodyguards of opposition leader Jean
Pierre Bemba clashed with government soldiers in the heart of Kinshasa,
leaving hundreds of civilians dead.
There is absence of a mechanism for demanding accountability and
punishing rights violations in the DRC because the Congolese judicial
system is characterized by political interference and corruption.
As a State which has ratified the UN Convention against Torture and
Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the
Democratic Republic of Congo should prevent torture and fight against
ill treatment of civilians in the DRC territory.” (For more information see original in French)
Mr. Guy Kitwe Mulunda is a health professional and human rights activist.
Since 2005 he has been Executive Director for SAVE CONGO,
http://www.savecongo.populus.org,
in the DRC. Medical Care service for refugees is colaborating with SAVE
CONGO within the international Network "Justice heals", http://www.justice-heals.org.
Furthermore Mr. Guy Kitwe Mulunda is a council member for the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT), http://www.irct.org.
Also he is a member of the Network Against Torture and the
International Federation of Health and Human Rights Organizations
(IFHHRO).
He is married and he is father of a son.
He has given several lectures and presentations on torture and impunity
at the local and international level including in the DRC (Kinshasa,
Matadi, Boma, Lubumbashi, Tshikapa), South Africa (Cape Town), Germany
(Berlin) and USA (New York, Washington DC, Boston).
Medical Care Service for Refugees is deeply concerned about Mr. Guy Kitwe Mulunda's fate and demands his immediate release.
We kindly request you to protest against his detention to the addresses listed below.
Adresses – République Démocratique du Congo
Présidence de la République:
Son excellence Major-Général Joseph KABILA
Président de la République
Présidence de la République
Palais de la Nation
Avenue de Lemera
Kinshasa-Ngaliema
République Démocratique du Congo
Fax : +243 880 21 20
Courriel: pr@presidentrdc.cd; pp@presidentrdc.cd; cabinet_president@yahoo.fr
Salutations: Son Excellence Monsieur le Président de la République
Premier ministre:
Mr Antoine Gizenga
Premier Ministre
La Primature, Avenue Roi Baudouin
Commune de la Gombe
Kinshasa
République Démocratique du Congo
Affaires intérieures, décentralisation et sécurité
Monsieur Denis KALUME NUMBI
Ministre l’Intérieur, Décentralisation et Sécurité
Ministère de l’Intérieur
44, av. de Lemera
BP 7949
Kinshasa / Gombe
République Démocratique du Congo
Fax: +243 88 02 042
Courriel : mininterieur@yahoo.fr
Salutations: Monsieur le Ministre
Justice:
Mr Mutombo Bakafwa Nsenda
Ministre de la Justice et Droits Humains
Ministère de la Justice
228 Avenue de Lemera
BP 3137
Kinshasa-Gombe
République Démocratique du Congo
Tel : +243 999928693
Fax : ( no fax number)
E-mail: min_droitshumains@yahoo.fr
Défense Nationale, Démobilisation et Anciens Combattants
Monsieur CHIKEZ DIEMU
Ministre de la Défense Nationale, Démobilisation et Anciens Combattants
Ministère de la Défense nationale
BP 4111
Kinshasa-Gombe
République Démocratique du Congo
Salutations: Monsieur le Ministre
Botschaften / Embassies / Embajadas
a) Bruxelles
Monsieur Kisonga Manzakala
Ambassade de la République Démocratique du Congo à Bruxelles
30 rue Marie de Bourgogne,
1040 Bruxelles.
Belgique
Tel : + 32 2 375 47 96,
Fax : + 32 2 372 23 48; + 32 2 213 49 81
b) Deutschland / Germany / Alemania:
Botschaft der Demokratischen Republik Kongo
Herrn Pierre Yvon Malamba Osang-A-Bull
Gesandter-Botschaftsrat
Im Meisengarten 133
53177 Bonn
Telefax: 0228-352 217
Observatoire National des Droits de l’Homme (ONDH)
Michel Innocent MPINGA TSHIBASU
Président,
Observatoire National des Droits de l’Homme
Bâtiment Ex-Résidence MALULA
Avenue Sendwe
Commune de Kalamu
Kinshasa
Tel: +243 98313740 / + 243 98271199 / + 243 98407633
République Démocratique du Congo
Associations
Héritiers de la Justice
Service des Eglises Protestantes pour les Droits Humains et la Paix
Avenue Patrice Emery Lumumba, Bukavu
BP 109 Bukavu (RD Congo)
Cooperators
World Coalition Against Torturers (WCAT)
International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT)
Project Management
Bianca Schmolze
Bianca Schmolze
has a Master of Business Administration and works for the Medical Care
Service for Refugees since 2002. After serving as a fundraiser, she
became responsible coordinator of the "Justice heals" campaign in 2004.
Furthermore, she has a mandate in the city council of Bochum.
Tel.: +49-(0)234-9041380
Fax: +49-(0)234-9041381
(Thursday and Friday, 10.00–18.00 Uhr)
Supported by
Manfred
Nowak,
UN Special Rapporteur on Torture