Amnesty report slammed

The DRC has slammed a recent report by Amnesty International on the human rights situation in the country, describing it as “misguided”. According to AFP, the DRC embassy in Washington said the report “reaffirms the West’s misguided notions of the strife in the Congo”. It failed to take into account the nature of the war in DRC. “The Amnesty report alludes to the conflict but doesn’t seriously consider its implications,” the embassy statement said. “It disregards the principle that governments are justified in adopting heightened security measures when civilians and the state are threatened by foreign forces.” The Amnesty report, released on Monday, accused the DRC authorities of “brutally curtailing” the activities of peaceful political opponents, journalists, human rights defenders and trade union activists.

“Although the armed conflict has exacerbated the situation, the government is using the war against armed opposition groups and foreign military forces as a pretext to subject the Congolese to unwarranted repression, despite the fact that most of the victims are themselves opposed to the insurgency,” the report said.