The Hague, March 30, 2011 (FH) - Thomas
\nLubanga's trial before the International Criminal Court (ICC) resumed on
\nWednesday after a four-month break with the hearing of a defence witness.
\nThe
\nformer Congolese rebel is charged with crimes against humanity for enlisting
\nchildren under 15 in his troops. <\/p>\n
\nBed
\nNgorkaba Lambi Lonja was an initiator and a member of the Union des patriotes
\ncongolais (UPC), Thomas Lubanga militia in Ituri (East of the RDC). He told the
\nCourt that he had met Lubanga in 1984, and then again in 2000 when they decided
\nto create the UPC.\n<\/p>\n
\nTestifying
\nin French, Lonja explained that the UPC was a political movement created to
\nfight the domination of a rebel movement, RCD-Kis, who had taken control of the
\nIturi region "but was not doing anything to ensure the population's
\nsecurity and well-being".\n<\/p>\n
\nHe
\nfurther said that feeling threatened, Lubanga sought he could find help in Uganda. He was
\nactually arrested in Kampala and extradited to Kinshasa. where he was
\nsent to jail for a few weeks.\n<\/p>\n
\nIn
\nAugust 2002, after many twists and turns, UPC finally took control of Ituri
\nwith the help of Ugandans.\n<\/p>\n
\nDefence
\ncounsel Jean-Marie Bikou-Duval asked the witness if the UPC then tried to
\ndemobilize children under 18. "Yes, after the UPC assumed responsibility
\nfor managing Ituri and restructured the army, Lubanga as president of the UPC
\nand secretary of national defense issued a decision to demobilize all soldiers
\nunder 18 years of age", Lonja answered.\n<\/p>\n
\nApparently,
\nthe military did not fully implement it as Lubanga issued the decision twice
\nmore - in November 2002 and January 2003.\n<\/p>\n
\nLubanga
\ntrial opened on January 26, 2009. The accused had been incarcerated in Kinshasa since March 2005 before being transferred to The Hague in March 2006.\n<\/p>\n
\nSM\/GF<\/p>\n
\n©
\nHirondelle News Agency<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Hague, March 30, 2011 (FH) - Thomas Lubanga's trial before the International Criminal Court (ICC) resumed on Wednesday after a four-month break with the hearing of a defence witness.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":64,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[555],"tags":[],"ji_location":[],"class_list":["post-23223","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-hirondellenews"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n