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Call for investigation after head of DRC broadcasting body attacked in Paris
The Head of the broadcasting body in the DR Congo, Christian Bosembe, was attacked in Paris while on a tour to meet with European media and francophone institutions.The Congolese authorities want the perpetrators caught.
Christian Bosembe, president of the audiovisual authority in the DRC (CSAC), was attacked in Paris on Saturday night, 1 April, by members of the Congolese diaspora.
Speaking to RFI on Monday, Bosembe denounced an "attempted kidnapping and assassination" and said he was waiting for French justice to do its job.
“The attack was filmed by the attackers, the perpetrators are known. They must be arrested and prosecuted," he added.
Verbal attack
He said he was returning with his adviser to his hotel in Argenteuil, a town located about ten kilometers north-west of Paris when he was attacked in the parking lot of the establishment by several men, who first shouted at him in the Congelese language of Lingala.
The people who beat him up described themselves to him as “fighters” (combattants), a term that refers to violent militants, opposed to the current Congolese government.
During the assault, they insulted him and called him a “collabo”, the name frequently used for those working with the Congolese regime.
A video recording of the attacks has gone viral on social media and shows Christian Bosembe fighting back. Most of those involved in the attack appear to be Congolese.
Bosembe has been on an official visit of Schengen countries since Friday, 31 March, which started in Paris.
The visit aims to reinforce the relations between the Congolese CSAC with broadcasting bodies and the French-speaking community representative bodies including Canal +, Radio France Internationale (RFI), France 24, and l'Organisation internationale de la francophonie.
Demand for 'clarifications'
In the DRC, the news has been met with dismay and anger.
On Sunday, the CSAC met and issued a statement calling on the French authorities for “clarifications” about the incident.
Serge Ndjibu, of the CSAC, denounced an “attempted murder” and called for investigation.
Speaking to RFI’s correspondent in Kinshasa, Pascal Mulegwa, Ndjibu said:
"That a president of an institution supporting democracy was brutally and cowardly attacked, without any intervention, while President Christian Bosembe is on an official mission, in consultation with the French authorities, is shocking.
“It was an attempted murder on an official of the DRC [...]
“The CSAC demands clarifications from the French was well as the arrest, judgement and condemnation of the perpetrators of these crimes.”
The attack was also condemned by the Congolese Minister of Communication, Patrick Muyaya, who said the DRC authorities would work with France to get justice.
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Melissa Chemam
