I've done some 'investigative reporting' myself into this issue,...

I've done some 'investigative reporting' myself into this issue, as a result I've written the following, with subsequent attachment, to the ABC 4 Corners email address. I suggest we counter attrack, they've left plenty of rope to hang themselves.


Good Morning,

I'm writing in complaint of the ABCs 4 Corners 'investigative' piece on Anvil Mining.

The story at the time and subsequent news items that are based on this piece contain, in my belief, serious misrepresentations of the circumstances surrounding the Kilwa event and substantial factual anomalies.

Attached is a document that details contradictory evidence that has been seemingly ignored or misrepresented in pursuing what one can only conclude was a predetermined, and extremely defamatory agenda.

Based on the huge amount of contradictory information easily available the cynical amongst us could be led to the conclusion that the story, as it was presented, was reliant on a few selective sources of information that promotes the agenda of law firm Slater and Gordon rather than rely on any form of ‘investigative journalism’ that the show implies.

I trust this issue will be looked into and my concerns addressed.

Regards

The document is long and contains many hyperlinks, not sure how it will appear on this site but I'll give it a go. If you want a copy email me at [email protected].



Distortions of Fact

On Monday June 6, 2005 the ABC 4 corners program aired a documentary that accused Anvil Mining as complicit in the mass murder of innocent civilians.

The story at the time and subsequent news items that are based on this piece contain, in my belief, serious misrepresentations of the circumstances surrounding the event and substantial factual anomalies.

The documents that are currently circulating on the internet include:

The unattributed ABC News Online June 6th article ‘Aust Mining Company Implicated in Congo Massacre’.

And the article written by Richard Meeran with contact details for Sally Neighbour (Four Corners). ‘Anvil Mining's Complicity in Congolese Massacre Exposed by Australia's Flagship Current Affairs Program’;
Groups Call on World Bank to Withdraw Support for Dikulushi Copper/Silver Mine.

I don’t need to tell you the seriousness of these accusations nor the negative impact these accusations will have on Bill Turner, his family, Anvil mining, the shareholders or the employees of the company. As such I find it extremely disturbing the cavalier way in which these very serious accusations were presented with extremely little tangible proof of wrongdoing and with little apparent concern to the many documented and easily obtainable facts that dispute what was presented.

I am no investigative journalist, but a mere perusal of the internet provides a huge amount of documentation that seriously questions the accuracy of the story that has been presented.

The cynical amongst us could be led to the conclusion that the story as it was presented seemed to be overly reliant on a few selective sources of information that promotes the agenda of law firm Slater and Gordon rather than rely on any form of ‘investigative journalism’ that the show implies.

I believe this issue needs investigating and would like to know why the program was presented with little or no reference to the below contradictory elements.

I shall detail my concerns to the facts as they were (and currently are) presented in point form:

1) The Kilwa incident was some sort of internal uprising :
This is demonstratably inaccurate, all news services from the time (Oct 15 – Oct 20) indicated in one form or another that an external armed group had captured Kilwa.
Examples of actual news headlines from the time:
• Militiamen capture town in Katanga Province (IRIN)
• Armed men capture DR Congo town (BBC)
• DR The Congo: armed group conquest city in Katanga (Warnews)
• Rebels Overrun Congo Town and Nearby Mine (Politinfo)
• Militia seize lakeside village (24news)
• Gunmen take Congo town (Scotsman)

“An armed group that seized control of the town of Kilwa on Friday, in the mineral-rich southeastern Congolese province of Katanga, is widening its control of the area, one of its commanders has said”
Source : http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=43701

“An unknown number of heavily armed gunmen has seized a southeastern Congolese town and a nearby copper mine.”
Source : http://www.politinfo.com/articles/article_...10_15_1756.html

“Militia fighters seized a lakeside village on Congo's southeastern border with Zambia.”
Source: http://www.news24.com/News24/Africa/News/0...1605935,00.html

"We have been told by aid agencies on the ground that heavily armed men last night marched into and took the town of Kilwa," Alexandre Essome, a spokesman for Congo's United Nations mission, said by phone from Katanga's capital Lubumbashi.

"There was some shooting but we don't know if anyone was killed," he added. "But the staff from the mine have been evacuated."
Source : http://www.monuc.org/NewsPrint.aspx?NewsID=3979



2) The taking of the town was peaceful :
The indications in the 4 corners program was this event was rather peaceful, when in fact it was rather violent…

“Witnesses say the heavily armed gunmen took the town and a nearby copper mine with ease, as government forces fled.
The United Nations has said there were reports of shooting, but they have no information about any casualties.”
Source : http://www.politinfo.com/articles/article_...10_15_1756.html

“A group of about 200 traditional tribal fighters known as the Mayi Mayi easily overran the village of Kilwa early on Thursday, chasing out a handful of government soldiers deployed there, said Chikez Diemu, deputy governor of Katanga province.”
Source : http://www.news24.com/News24/Africa/News/0,,2-11- 1447_1605935,00.html

“The attack on Kilwa started around 2 a.m. on Thursday, creating panic among its 6,000 inhabitants. Employees at Anvil Mining, an Australian company mining copper and cobalt, have been evacuated.”
Source : http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=43701


3) There were only 6 rebels:
All available on-line sources that cite the number of rebels that were involved, (7 articles so far, including Anvils company statement issued on the 15th) cites a number between 50 to 200 rebels. The remaining 10+ articles I managed to find didn’t specify a number or specified the number was unknown or used terms such as ‘group’.
The only source available for the 6 rebels figure is a single report generated by the UN and appears to be uncorroborated with any other available documentation.

“A group of about 200 traditional tribal fighters known as the Mayi Mayi easily overran the village of Kilwa early on Thursday, chasing out a handful of government soldiers deployed there, said Chikez Diemu, deputy governor of Katanga province.”
Source : http://www.news24.com/News24/Africa/News/0,,2-11- 1447_1605935,00.html

"There was fighting yesterday and 30 rebels were killed. We captured six of the rebels," he said by phone from the provincial capital Lubumbashi, adding 10 civilians had drowned in a nearby river as they tried to escape the fighting.
The rest of the rebels, thought to number about 100, fled into the bush, Ngoy said.
Source : http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L16541542.htm

“Troops from the army of the Democratic Republic of Congo have retaken a town in the south of the country seized by about 100 fighters..”
Source : http://worldnews.xignite.com/xWorldNews.as...P20041016000080

Even in May 05 Reuters is still using the 100 gunmen number as evidenced below, c/o alertnet.
“A mysterious group, thought to number around 100 gunmen, briefly seized the mining town of Kilwa in Katanga in October..”
Source : http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L0936741.htm




4) The townspeople only started to flee upon rumors the military was arriving out of fear of being massacred.
From the information available it seems the rebels took over the town at 2am on Thursday, October 14th 2004 and were confronted the next day. It appears the villages started running away immediately;

“Diemu said nine civilians died the night militiamen seized the town. He said the civilians had tried to flee on a canoe, which capsized on Lake Mweru.”
Source : http://news.estrong.com/strongfunds5/NewsS...16/290w8800.xml

Other available documentation seems to indicate the population left town due to an imminent conflict between two armed parties. Far from being rumored as stated by the 4 Corners program, the arrival of the FARDC forces seems to have been announced beforehand.

Excerpts from UN sponsored Radio Okapi:
“… Radio Okampi states that the general staff of the FARDC forces confirms this information (the town has been over run) and asks the population of Kilwa to stay calm. In an official statement made on Thursday (14th) on public television it was announced that the forces loyal to the state have arrived and the situation will be restored shortly…. In a second bulletin broadcast a little after 4pm the radio announced that the governor and local authorities had been replaced by the rebels and that a great part of the population had left the city including humanitarian workers and the international employees of the mining company.”
Source : ttp://www.psi.iqhei.ulaval.ca/default.asp?groupe=3&niveau=4&page=67
United Nations dispatch translated from French.

The BBC corroborates portions of the Radio Okampi statement:
“UN-sponsored Radio Okapi reported that the insurgents had replaced the local authorities in Kilwa, a mining town on the shores of Lake Mweru, which borders Zambia.
Source BBC : http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3745602.stm


None of the articles available specified the townspeople fleeing out of fear of the FARDC forces, most either indicated they simply fled or they fled after the town had been attacked by the rebels:

“The rebels attacked Kilwa on 15 October causing at least half the town's population of 6,000 to flee to neighbouring Zambia, officials there said.”
Source : http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=43765


5) The rebellion was about dissatisfaction with Anvil Mining.
The slant of the 4 Corners program was to portray the rebels as being dissatisfied with perceived exploitation of the countries mineral resources by an evil multinational. This also seems to be evidently doubtful based on reports from that time.

From the sources available the rebels seem to be a combination of two groups, each with a different agenda although at the time details were admitted to be sketchy. One group, the Katangian Tigers is interested in the succession of Katanga, the second, Mai Mai tribesmen are unhappy with there exclusion from the unification process and a lack of pay. The Mai Mais were not even mentioned in the documentary and yet seemed to have constituted the largest number of combatants.

“On Thursday, traditional Mayi Mayi militia fighters seized Kilwa, a lakeside village on Congo's southeastern border with Zambia, demanding they be integrated into the country's new national army and given official ranks and salaries, military officials said.”
Source: http://news.estrong.com/strongfunds5/NewsS...16/290w8800.xml

"We are in the process of taking other towns and cities," Prince Mulala, who identified himself as a "colonel" and the Pweto sector commander of the Mayi-Mayi militia in the area, told IRIN from Kilwa.

Mulala said his men were fighting because they had not been integrated into the unified army in accordance with the April 2003 power sharing agreement between the government, several rebel factions and political organisations.

"It is a normal reaction when combatants have not had their pay for a very long time,"
Source : http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=43701


“It is still not yet clear who the armed men are, or why they took the town, but some officials and local experts say they likely include local Mai Mai militias, as well as provincial rebels known as Katangan Tigers.”
Source: http://www.politinfo.com/articles/article_...10_15_1756.html


“The identity of the men is not clear: local sources have indicated they could be local groups, like the ethnic military services Mayan-Mayans or Katangan Tigers, ... Some witnesses have stated some of the militia speak in Portuguese, which could make them Angolans.”
From War News – Google translation from French, my paraphrasing
http://www.warnews.it/index.php/content/view/1258/29/


“A Mayi Mayi commander reached by telephone in the nearby town of Kitwa confirmed the militia had seized the town.
He said they had done so because they wanted to be integrated into the country's new national army, which was formed in December as part of a peace deal that ended a 1998-2002 civil war that split the country into several rival fiefdoms.
"We're moving to other towns and cities," Mulala said, giving no details. "It's a normal reaction when fighters haven't been paid in a very long time."
Source http://www.news24.com/News24/Africa/News/0...1605935,00.html

“There is still a great deal of speculation surrounding the identity of the gunmen. The governor said that some of the gunmen had demanded independence for Katanga but many had been young men that were recruited in the town once it had been seized earlier in the week.“
Source: http://www.politinfo.com/articles/article_...10_17_2407.html

“The gunmen are thought to include local militias and Katangan Tigers, rebels fighting for secession in southeastern Congo. “
Source : http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=390&id=1201192004
“Humanitarian sources quoted by the same radio station reported that the insurgents were former paramilitary police from Katanga who had recently been expelled from mining areas in Angola and had joined a Mai Mai militia led by a warlord known as Gedeon for an assault on Kilwa.”
Source : http://worldnews.xignite.com/xWorldNews.as...P20041016000080
Anvils own 15th Oct ASX release is in direct contradiction to the claims made on the ABC:
“The group in Kilwa is thought to comprise somewhere between 50-100 people… in discussions with the leader in Kilwa yesterday, it was clearly stated that the rebel group had no issues with Anvil, Anvil expatriate personnel, nor the Diklilushi mine. The rebel group seems to be a small band of disaffected individuals seeking representation”



6) President Kabila or members of government only wanted the situation resolved due to financial interests in Dikilushi.
The ABC insinuated that the only reason that president Kabila would personally involve himself in ordering the situation to be resolved was due to a profit motive. Once again this demonstrates extreme bias and naivety to a complex situation, especially considering the country was in the very early and fragile stages of reunification and the President was desperately trying to show the world (and his own people) the country was unified.
Following is a number of quotes from articles that give far more relevant reasons why this incident would be of great concern to the President.

“Congo's president kicks off the campaign for the first real election since 1960
FIFTEEN months after the civil war ended, Congo's president finally plucked up the courage this week to visit Kisangani, one of the main towns in the east of the country. Joseph Kabila touted his trip as proof that the country was united and calm again under his leadership
… Despite a power-sharing deal between government and rebels last year, the country is still divided. The army controls the west; various former rebel groups the east. Clashes still erupt. A southern town called Kilwa, for example, has changed hands twice in recent days.”
Source The Economist: http://www.publicinternationallaw.org/docs...NW.25Oct_04.htm

“The BBC's Arnaud Zajtman in the capital, Kinshasa, says Katanga has continued to attract foreign businessmen, but this military development is a setback for Congolese economic development. “
Source: BBC : http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3745602.stm

“These are shocking developments, all the more so given that Katanga remained under Government control throughout the recent conflict, and the international community has so far considered this province to be stable”, said Emily Bild of Global Witness. “If the Government can’t control resource exploitation in Katanga, what hope is there for other areas of the DRC?”
Source : http://www.globalwitness.org/press_release...lay2.php?id=264

“The reports of a fresh rebellion had raised concerns in the capital as President Joseph Kabila embarked on a symbolic tour of the former rebel-held east of the country.”
Source: http://www.politinfo.com/articles/article_...10_17_2407.html

“President Joseph Kabila arrived Saturday in the northeastern city of Kisangani, his first visit to territory formerly held by rebels since he came to power in 2001, his spokesman said.
Government troops meanwhile claimed to have retaken a lakeside village on Congo's southeastern border with Zambia, killing at least 20 militiamen, officials said Saturday.
Kabila's symbolic trip is "a strong sign that the country is now unified," presidential spokesman Kasongo Kudura told The Associated Press by telephone from riverside Kisangani.”
Source : http://news.estrong.com/strongfunds5/NewsS...16/290w8800.xml



7) A massacre was inevitable and Anvil should have known that innocent people would be executed.

From reading these news articles the only thing that seemed apparent was the convergence of two armed forces were inevitable.

The supposition that locals were to be targeted seems absurd once the actual situation has been laid out in perspective. Furthermore the question arises why wouldn’t a company assist in facilitating the restoration of order to a town overrun by gunmen?



I trust you will do your uttermost to clarify how such a distorted report, that’s seemingly uncorroborated by any other major media sources, actually made it to air.

Regards