'Warlord' trial to test international court's credibility

The International Criminal Court began a key test of its credibility on the first day of a trial against the most prominent government figure ever to be put in the dock at The Hague.

Jean-Pierre Bemba, a millionaire Congolese politician, businessman and alleged warlord, denied charges of rape, pillage and murder in central Africa.

The prosecution is using the trial to define a commander's responsibility for his troops' actions. The ICC's chief prosecutor, Luis Moreno Ocampo, badly needs a win to shore up the reputation of the court set up to deal with large-scale atrocities.

"The judges' definition of the responsibility of the commander will be a warning for all the military commanders in the world," he said.

There was surprise in the Democratic Republic of Congo two years ago when the 48-year-old Bemba was arrested during a visit to Belgium.

The former Vice-President of the DRC was thought untouchable but yesterday was charged with two counts of crimes against humanity and three counts of war crimes relating to rape and killing campaigns carried out by forces under his control. Bemba's lead defence lawyer, Nkwebe Liriss, denied each of the five charges.

The charges centre on the actions of Bemba's MLC militia which in 2002 crossed into the neighbouring Central African Republic to help the President there put down a coup. It is alleged his men went on a murder spree and raped 400 women and children.

Bemba's supporters have accused the ICC of allowing itself to be used to remove the political rivals of President Joseph Kabila. In 2006, Bemba was the runner-up to Kabila, and retains a powerful support base.

"We are not saying Bemba committed crimes personally, that he raped women," Ocampo said. "But he did not stop them and that is the responsibility of a commander."

JEAN-PIERRE BEMBA
* Born into wealth in 1962 in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)
* Became a millionaire with interests in air cargo, mobile phones, coffee and wood
* In the early 1990s, he was personal assistant to DRC's (then Zaire's) self-appointed leader Mobutu Sese Seko before his overthrow in 1997
* Seized vast areas of land by force as head of the Ugandan-backed Congolese Liberation Movement (MLC) while war raged in DRC between 1998 and 2003
* The MLC became a political party in 2003 and Bemba was sworn in as Vice-President after declaring that he would lay down his arms
* Was defeated in DRC's first democratic presidential elections in 40 years in 2006 and his fighters were accused of associated waves of violence, though Bemba denies this.

- INDEPENDENT