DRC journo's life 'in danger'
2004-01-10 14:33
Kinshasha - Former rebels running part of the northeast of Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have threatened to kill a journalist who accused them of ruling by terror, Reporters sans Frontieres (RSF) said on Saturday.
"Threats hang heavily over Nicaise Kibel'Bel Oka, managing editor of the weekly Les Coulisses," RSF (Reporters without Borders) said in a statement sent to AFP, asking the Kinshasa government to protect him.
Since a war in the vast central African country ended last year, the former rebels of the Congolese Rally for Democracy-Liberation Movement (RCD-ML) have become a political party, led by Mbusa Nyamwisi.
Mbusa has become minister for regional co-operation in an interim government under an agreement signed in the South African capital Pretoria on December 17.
Les Coulisses, which is published in the northeastern town of Beni, in December denounced RCD-ML troops in the area for reportedly lending support to Ugandan rebels from across the border.
The aim of resulting clashes was "to create a climate of terror, allowing local leaders to maintain a strong military presence in the region", which remains one of the most volatile parts of DRC, the paper claimed.
RSF general secretary Robert Menard described said the death threats against Kibel'Bel Oka "should be taken very seriously... The government should swiftly intervene... to calm people down".
The non-governmental watchdog organisation called on Mbusa, Interior Minister Theophile Mbemba Fundu and Press and Information Minister Vital Kamerhe, "to do all in their power to ensure that Mr Kibel'Bel Oka's life is no longer threatened, and that he can pursue his work safely". - AFP
- SAPA