Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Bukavu (Agenzia Fides) - The Xaverian Missionaries operating in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have expressed dismay for the journalistic indiscretions in regards to the confidential report prepared by a team of experts, commissioned by the UN Security Council, about their alleged complicity in the war in Kivu (eastern Congo) (see Fides 1/12/2009).
"This document, which is supposedly 'strictly confidential and not for dissemination,' as its home page says, has inexplicably already been put into the hands of all the international media," said a statement from Xaverians living in Congo, a copy of which was sent to Agenzia Fides. "And this has occurred with a well-established procedure that removes the power to make legitimate demands for the verification of any charges, transferring the media to the public square where every accused is already in itself guilty. It is in rejection of this method that the Xaverian Missionaries have avoided responding immediately to allegations proceeding from what is considered an unofficial draft. On the other hand, those who know us well, especially the people with whom we work, have already learned to judge the veracity of the allegations themselves.”
The Xaverians also complain that the UN has not confirmed or denied the allegations raised by the press against two of their fellow brother missionaries. "With reference to articles that appeared in the national press, re-launching accusations against two brothers in a report from UN experts on the application of Resolution 1533 of 2004 made by the UN Security Council, the Xaverian Missionaries did not consider having to respond immediately to allegations against some of them, awaiting for the UN's confirmation or disapproval of the charges. However, seeing as the UN is delaying in taking a position and the allegations are being taken up by other newspapers," the missionaries have decided to indicate their position.
In particular, the missionaries denied having financed the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), as claimed in some excerpts from the report published by some media sources. After reviewing the messages that were exchanged by some missionaries and then placed in the report as evidence of alleged links with guerrillas, the Xaverians state: “We feel entitled to conclude that the UN experts have based their conclusions on e-mails that were obtained in a dishonest manner, without verifying the accuracy of the content.” (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 2/12/2009)
