Belgian senators denied access to eastern cities

Pro-Rwandan rebels in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have denied seven Belgian senators access to rebel-controlled cities in that part of the country, the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Wednesday. The senators were due to fly from Goma to Bukavu and Kisangani, but after a meeting with leaders of the Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie (RCD) leaders in Goma, they were told to leave RCD-held territory immediately. "We do not understand their decision, as the Belgian embassy in [the DRC capital,] Kinshasa, which prepared our mission, obtained all the needed authorisations," Senator Georges Dallemagne told Belgian radio from Lubumbashi. "The rebels leave us no choice but to believe NGOs and a number of accounts about the very disturbing situation in the eastern territories," he added. The senators, whose tour included Rwanda, are members of the Belgian Senate's commission of inquiry into the exploitation of the DRC's mineral resources. Their mission is to make their own assessments and collect new data. After their expulsion, the senators flew directly to Beni, North Kivu, which is held by the rebel RCD-Mouvement de liberation, then on to Lubumbashi. A senior Belgian embassy official was accompanying them. The mission is planned to end in Kinshasa on Monday. The Senate commission was set up on 23 November 2001 for an initial six months, renewable once. Its task is to investigate the alleged involvement of Belgian and non-Belgian companies in the illegal trade in the DRC's natural resources, and to search for ways of preventing the proceeds of such activities from fuelling war in the region. The delegation's members are Andre Geens (chairman), Sabine De Bethune, Marie-Jose Laloy, Marcel Colla, Georges Dallemagne, Jacky Morael, and Michiel Maertens.