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Republic of Congo: Situation of the Roman Catholic Church and other organized churches in the Republic of Congo; and whether Catholic priests are considered to be potential activists; and incidents indicating that Catholic priests are at risk from the régime and other parties

Six Roman Catholic priests, who were part of a mediation committee set up by the Congolese Ecumenical Council of Christian Churches in order to restore peace in the Pool region, and 45 members of the local Catholic congregation were killed on 14 November 1998 at Mindouli, 150 km south of Brazzaville (All Africa News Agency 23 Nov. 1998; PANA. 16 Nov. 1998; RFI 16 Nov. 1998). A spokesman of the "Ninjas" militia affiliated with former Congolese prime minister Bernard Kolelas, who were accused of the killings, denied any implication and blamed Sassou Nguesso's government for the killings (All Africa News Agency 23 Nov. 1998; RFI 16 Nov. 1998). The           47-member mediation committee included religious leaders, parliamentarians, top army officials and other dignitaries (PANA 30 Oct. 1998).

Polish Roman Catholic priest Jan Czuba was killed during the 31 October - 1 November 1998 weekend by unknown assailants in the Pool region, 60 km west of Brazzaville (AFP 3 Nov. 1998).

In 27 July 1998, French Roman Catholic priest Michel Halbecq was shot dead in Brazzaville by unidentified assailants (PANA 28 July 1998).

In May 1998, Roman Catholic bishops at their annual conference in Kingala, 150 km south of Brazzaville, issued a statement calling for the removal of the armed group leaders from politics and the loss of their political rights (AFP 27 May 1998). President Sassou-Nguesso reacted to this statement by accusing the bishops of "seeking to jeopardize" the peace process (RFI 31 May 1998).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

References

All Africa News Agency. 23 November 1998. "Congo Brazzaville: Setback in Congo-Brazzaville Reconciliation." (Africa News/NEXIS)

Agence France Presse (AFP) [Paris, in French]. 3 November 1998. "Congo Brazzaville: Congo - Polish Priest Killed in Pool Region." (FBIS-AFR-98-307 3 Nov. 1998/WNC)

_____. 27 May 1998. "Congo Brazzaville: Congolese Bishops: Militia Chiefs Should Lose Civic Rights." (FBIS-AFR-98-148 28 May 1998/WNC)

Panafrican News Agency (PANA). 16 November 1998. "Congo-Brazzaville: Six Mediators Killed in Congo." (Africa News/NEXIS)

_____. 30 October 1998. "Churches Set up Group for Peace, Security in Pool Region." (BBC Summary 5 Nov. 1998/NEXIS)

_____. 28 July 1998. Congo-Brazzaville: French Catholic Priest Shot Dead." (Africa News/NEXIS)

Radio France Internationale (RFI) [Paris, in French]. 16 November 1998. "Congo Brazzaville: Congo - Kolelas Blames Government for Mindouli Incident." (FBIS-AFR-98-321 17 Nov. 1998/WNC)

_____. 31 May 1998. "President Sassou-Nguesso Says Bishops Jeopardizing the Peace Process." (BBC Summary 3 June 1998/NEXIS)

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