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To: IFEX Autolist (other news of interest)
From: World Association of Newspapers (WAN), [email protected]

His Excellency President Joseph Kabila
Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo
C/o HE The Ambassador
Email: [email protected]

7 January 2003

Your Excellency,

We are writing on behalf of the World Association of Newspapers and the World
Editors Forum, which represent 18,000 publications in 100 countries, to express
our grave concern at the detention of journalist Kadima Mukombe.

According to reports, on 31 December 2002 seven soldiers claiming to be from the
Congolese Armed Forces' Military Intelligence Branch (DEMIAP) arrested Mr
Mukombe, a journalist from Radio Kilimandjaro in Tshikapa. Mr Mukombe, who hosts
a radio programme focusing on development issues in the region, was first taken
to the DEMIAP post, before being transferred to Tshikapa central prison on 2
January.

Mr Mukombe is accused of 'insulting the army'. In his 30 December programme, he
criticised a number of local military officials who are allegedly involved in
the diamond trade and have allowed their troops to steal from the local
population. He also interviewed diamond miners who denounced the harassment they
face from certain military officials. Eyewitnesses reported that Mr Mukombe
received 50 lashes at the time of his arrest and had his head shaved with an old
razor blade.

Intelligence agents from the National Intelligence Agency's Tshikapa office
previously arrested Mr Mukombe on 23 December, after the broadcast of a
programme in which he denounced local poverty in the diamond-rich city. Before
his release that same day, Mr Mukombe was forced to sign a document in which he
agreed to no longer 'set the population against the established authorities'.

We respectfully remind you that the jailing of Mr Mukombe constitutes a clear
breach of his right to freedom of expression, which is guaranteed by numerous
international conventions. Furthermore, the United Nations Commission on Human
Rights considers that 'detention, as punishment for the peaceful expression of
an opinion, is one of the most reprehensible ways to enjoin silence and, as a
consequence, a grave violation of human rights'.

We respectfully call on you to ensure that Mr Mukombe is immediately released
from jail. We urge you to do everything possible to ensure that in future your
country fully respects international standards of freedom of expression.

We look forward to hearing from you at your earliest convenience.

Yours sincerely,

Seok Hyun Hong
President
World Association of Newspapers

Gloria Brown Anderson
President
World Editors Forum

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WAN**