WHY THIS PUT BEMBA ON NOTICE THAT TROOPS UNDER HIS CONTROL WERE COMMITTING CRIMES. MEMORANDUMS & PUBLIC ADDRESS In November 2002, Bemba gave a public address to troops in Bangui, the capital city of CAR. Before he gave his address, local leaders in Bangui presented a memo to Bemba. This memo informed him that his MLC soldiers were killing civilians and carrying out mass rape. In his address, Bemba acknowledged the existence of reports of widespread criminal activity committed by MLC troops. WITNESSES & MILITARY SITUATION REPORTS TESTIMONY SUPPORTING THE ABOVE FILMING EXAMPLES OF NOTICE EVIDENCE USED TO PROVE “KNEW OR SHOULD HAVE KNOWN” Witnesses testified that all military and rebel forces had a system of reporting from the battlefield. Specifically, MLC’s operational rules required that the lowest command submit a situation report to the highest command every 24 hours. The report covered aspects such as operations, intelligence, logistics and casualties. Witnesses also testified that Bemba: • Was in constant and direct contact with the military commanders via other various communications devices such as, radio, walkie-talkies, satellite phones and fax machines; and • Visited CAR during the military campaign and spoke with commanders and troops. INTERNATIONAL MEDIA Reports by Radio France International, BBC, Voice of America, etc., put Bemba on notice of his troops’ crimes by reporting on these abuses. NGO REPORTS Reports from NGOs, including Amnesty International and International Federation for Human Rights, that described both previous criminal allegations against Bemba’s troops and that MLC leadership had acknowledged those allegations, as well as crimes committed during the time period at issue. Video is absent from this list of evidence. One key reason is because in 2002–2003, villagers under attack in CAR had few — if any — cameras to record events. If the situation in CAR happened today, here are some ideas on how notice evidence could be documented with video to show that Bemba knew or should have known his troops were committing crimes. TEST YOUR SKILLS If applicable in your situation, consider how you could use video to prove a commander “knew or should have known”. Make a list. 126 VIDEO AS EVIDENCE: PROVING RESPONSIBILITY V 1.0