Belgian prince faces criticism over unsanctioned DR Congo trip

Mar 30, 2011, 15:19 GMT

Brussels - Belgium's Prince Laurent faced criticism Wednesday after the newspaper reports that he travelled to the Democratic Republic of Congo earlier this month - despite being asked by his country's government not to do so.

The visit was organized by the Global Renewable Energy and Conservation Trust, of which the prince is president.

But Prime Minister Yves Leterme requested that the youngest son of King Albert II postpone the 'politically risky' trip ahead of November presidential elections in the DRC, the daily La Libre Belgique wrote.

A meeting with DRC President Joseph Kabila was on the agenda for the mid-March visit, according to the newspaper.

Unnamed officials in the premier's office were quoted as saying that the postponement would have been justified since the prince had not run the trip by the federal government or the palace and thus had not undergone the appropriate preparation.

But Pierre Legros, the trust's lawyer and a member of the group that travelled to the DRC with Laurent, argued that the prince had participated as a private individual.

'He of course didn't hide his identity once there, but we can't just stop him from working,' Legros was quoted as saying Wednesday by the Belga news agency.

Legros declined to comment on whether any meetings with 'high-ranking Congolese political figures' had taken place.

He said canceling or postponing the trip would have been 'an unimaginable insult' toward the Congolese associations who had requested a visit by trust officials.

Laurent, whom La Libre Belgique on Wednesday branded the black sheep of the royal family, had previously landed in the spotlight three years ago following accusations that illegal funds were used to renovate his villa.

The prince at the time testified that he had not known that the funds could have been illegal.

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