Interview with Lambert Zokoezo, chairman of national rights body

Many human rights violations were perpetrated during the fighting that accompanied the sixth armed uprising in the Central African Republic (CAR) since the election of President Ange Félix Patassé in September 1999. Most of the latest fighting took place in the northern suburbs of the capital, Bangui. In an interview with IRIN on 9 November, Lambert Zokeozo, the chairman of the Observatoire Centrafricain des Droits de l'Homme (OCDH), explained what happened. Here are some excerpts from that discussion. QUESTION: Did the OCDH note any violations of human rights during the rebel army's invasion of Bangui from 25 to 31 October? ANSWER: It was not the first time that such things happened. After the failed 28 May 2001 coup attempt by [former President] Andre Kolingba, we issued a statement drawing the international community's attention to human rights violations during that period. The same sort of violations reoccurred during Bozize's coup attempt - exactly the same sort of violations, [only that these] occurred on the other side of the city. This time it was in the north. It is the part of the city where President [Ange-Felix Patasse] has most of his supporters. This time round, OCDH did not issue a statement, because it realised that the same violations [as in May 2001] had reoccurred. I read the declarations of the Ligue Centrafricaine des Droits de l'Homme [LCDH], one of the opposition parties and the newspapers that unanimously condemned the murders and rapes of children aged between nine and 10 years. Women were also raped, and leading personalities were mistreated. What must be mentioned is the presence on the ground of many actors, namely the rebels who came from Chad [to support Bozize] and entered Bangui unopposed, and the presidential guard, backed by Libyan troops and the rebels of [Jean-Pierre] Bemba [of the Mouvement de libération du Congo, MLC, from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, DRC]. They were responsible for many cruel acts against the population. It must also be said that the FACA [Forces Armées Centrafricaines] are not actually armed. They [the authorities] say the FACA drove the rebels out of the city, but this is not true because the FACA, whose chief of staff was [Gen Francois] Bozize [until October 2001], are unarmed; the head of the state having no confidence in them. Q: As a lawyer and head of a human rights NGO, what is your opinion on the presence of foreign troops in CAR? A: The OCDH joins opposition parties, [other] human rights organisations, and the media in condemning it. The CAR people have been taken hostage and it is time to think about ways of protecting them. We, the OCDH, have drawn attention ... to the need for emergency relief aid for the population. Some who left their homes and went farther than 150 km [away] are returning to their homes, which were looted by the rebels from the DRC. Concerning human rights violations, we demand that the government assume its responsibility. The leaders were unable to protect the population, so political, economic, social and cultural rights were violated. Q: One of the conclusions of the LCDH report asserts that Chadian cattle herders were killed. What is the OCDH's position of this? A: The OCDH's position is the same as that of the LCDH. We have the same information, because our members live in all the suburbs and districts of [Bangui]. In PK 12, where the massacre took place, there are many members of the OCDH who [blamed these acts] on Abdoulaye Miskine and his special battalion in charge of the [CAR] president's security. The problem now is to establish the number of casualties, which will be very difficult... Moreover... there's no meat in Bangui's market any more. Perhaps there are some [cattle herders] who fled into the bush, but what is true is that many of them were killed. Q: There are also 750 Congolese who fled to their embassy fearing possible retaliation by the population angered by the deeds of Bemba's rebels. What is your comment? A: Our position concerning the threat on the DRC citizens is that the government should issue a statement demanding that Bemba withdraw his forces, because the CAR people believe that his forces include shoe-shiners [job commonly done by Congolese]. Many Congolese come to Bangui to shine shoes. Some people said they saw these shoe-shiners, armed and uniformed, participating in looting and rape. These troops [Bemba's] have to pull out, especially as the CEMLAC [Central African Economic and Monetary Community] force is coming, so those troops have no reason to stay here. Many human rights organisations called on the population not to harm those foreigners whom we know and who have come here legally. Attacking them was a mistake, since there are many [peace-loving] Congolese coming from Zongo [northwestern DRC] every morning. They should not be harmed. Q: Where there any human rights violations in the suburbs controlled by Bozize's supporters? A: We are putting in place investigative teams. We are distributing questionnaires to the population, and at the end we will write a report with our findings. Q: Since it is certain that there were human rights violations, what does the OCDH propose so that the perpetrators can be brought to justice? A: The United Nations has a human rights section here in Bangui. All the reports are sent to that section. We demand that the special rapporteur on the human rights in the CAR come and see for himself what happened. Q: Will those to be brought to justice include leaders of the October 2002 coup attempt? A: Yes, but the responsibilities are shared. There were at least four actors on the ground - Bozize's supporters, the presidential special battalion, Libyans and the MLC rebels. The authors of human rights violations coming from UN member countries will be prosecuted in accordance with international law. The new proceedings in penal matters spare nobody. Q: How do you see the October 2002 coup attempt? Do you agree with the analysts who say it was a result of a long period of political, economic and social malaise? A: This analysis is correct. The real problem is that of bad governance. Democratic rules are not respected. We held many conferences and seminars to denounce this. We know that dialogue between the authorities and the population no longer exists. We have the impression that they have forgotten they were elected and given a precise mandate. They forget their mandate, and that they are accountable to the population. Q: On 7 November, human rights NGOs met with the Representative of the UN Secretary-General. What was your meeting about? A: Any time there is a crisis, human rights NGOs meet BONUCA [the UN Peace-building Office in the CAR] human rights section. The Representative of the UN Secretary-General sometimes seeks the views of human rights organisations before holding talks with the authorities, for at times the man in power considers human rights organisations as being in the opposition. This is a misconception, because we are more like a dog that barks to warn his master that something is wrong. Q: What was concluded at that meeting? A: It was concluded that each NGO conduct a humanitarian needs assessment and make proposals on relieving the needy population. As for us lawyers, we will support victims wanting to file charges against human rights violators. I think there will be joint action by humanitarian NGOs to sustain this move.