Ex-DRC leader's war crimes trial begins

THE HAGUE, Netherlands, Nov. 22 (UPI) -- A tribunal Monday began hearing the case of Jean Pierre Bemba, an ex-Democratic Republic of Congo leader charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The prosecutor at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands, accused Bemba, a former Congolese vice president, of murder, rape and pillage in the Central African Republic, the ICC said in a release.

"Jean-Pierre Bemba used an entire army as a weapon to rape, pillage and kill civilians the Central African Republic. Today he is brought to account for deliberately failing to prevent, repress or punish mass atrocities committed by his men in CAR," ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said.

Moreno-Ocampo said justice meted out by the ICC "is the fate of military commanders who allow their troops to carry out such command tactics out of strategic considerations."

Bemba. 48, is the most high-profile figure to face trial at the ICC since the court came into existence eight years ago, the BBC said. The trial is expected to last several months.

At a news conference before the trial began, Silvana Arbia, the court registrar, said, "(Only) through a fair trial can the law play its proper role in establishing lasting peace and fighting effectively against impunity for crimes which are … of concern to the international community as a whole and which deeply shock the conscience of humanity."