The International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague on Monday will start the trial against the Congolese rebel leader Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo, who faces allegations of war crimes committed in the Central African Republic. But even today Bemba enjoys great popularity in the ‘post colonial’ Congolese community in Brussels, who contend that their hero is the victim of a “political conspiracy.”

By Tijn Sadée in Brussels

“Bemba is a great politician, and he is still immensely popular,” says a visitor  at the Flemish African cultural centre Kumba in the Congolese quarters of Matonge in the heart of Brussels. Rows of Jupiler beer bottles are available at Kumba, a popular gathering spot for the ‘post colonial’ Congolese community.

There are lively discussions carried out at Kumba about the court case against Bemba, who is accused of war crimes committed eight years ago in the CAR. Murder, rape and pillage are included in his indictment.

Nevertheless, many in Matonge think of Bemba as their hero. They see him as the person who stood up in 2006 against incumbent President Joseph Kabila, who is seen by many among the Congolese diaspora as a totalitarian leader. “With Kabila, Congo slid back into the dark ages under the dictatorship of Mobutu (Sese Seko),” an elderly Kumba visitor said.

“Bemba sympathisers in Congo do not dare to speak up for him because they don’t feel save there,” says a young African woman who was writing an essay on her laptop. She fled the wars raging in Africa’s Great Lakes region, and ended up in Belgium where she is now studying at Brussels’ Free University.

“Here you can say what you want, because Belgium is a free country,” she said.

After his defeat in the 2006 presidential elections, Bemba fled the country and ended up in Brussels by way of Portugal. Instead of a welcoming committee, awaiting him in Brussels were the Belgian authorities who handed him the ICC arrest warrant. Bemba has since been holed up in a detention centre in The Hague, where his court case will start after two years of legal wrangling.

“Political conspiracy”
Bemba’s supporters call the case against him “a political conspiracy,” in which the international community has been misled by Kabila and other political leaders in the Great Lakes region.

“Why is Bemba at the tribunal, and not all the other warlords? This is a very pertinent question,” says Koen Vidal, Congo expert of the Belgian daily De Morgen.

“Bemba is now alone in his cell, but there should be many more people in there,” Vidal says, referring to others responsible for recent war cruelties in the region.

But that is as far as Vidal’s understanding for the Bemba camp goes, because he is convinced of Bemba’s guilt. “He was at the helm of the military apparatus which was guilty of serious human rights abuses in the Congo as well as the CAR.”

Vidal has spoken to many victims of the wars. “People who were maimed, men who were forced to watch how their wives were raped.”

He has also interviewed Bemba. “He is a sturdy man who exudes power. He is enormously self confident.”

The tribunal in The Hague is only going after Bemba for alleged crimes in the CAR. Vidal: “The war crimes in Congo were committed prior to the ICC’s mandate (which is July 2002), so the Prosecutor cannot do anything about those crimes.”

Vidal hopes that with the Bemba trial, the cruelties of the Great Lakes wars would be revealed. “The war in the Congo was carried out by dozens of parties, and all of them should be held responsible.”

The African student in Matonge’s Café Kumba agrees with this legal scenario.

“The past of all current politicians in the region should be scrutinised,” she said. “Many more should be dragged in front of the Tribunal. I hope this will finally happen.”