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DRC Opposition Takes Hard Line Against Kabila Extending Term

by William Clowes

   KINSHASA --

   The Democratic Republic of Congo's main opposition coalition, Le
   Rassemblement, on Tuesday announced the conclusion of a two-week
   conclave. Among agenda items was their response to President Joseph
   Kabila's intention to stay in power beyond the end of his second term
   and a clarification of the platform's position on talks it has so far
   boycotted.

   Several hundred Congolese delegates of the Rassemblement, a platform
   comprising most of the DRC's opposition parties, began arriving for the
   ceremony held in the capital, Kinshasa, Tuesday morning. They were
   there to hear how leaders plan to respond to the delay of elections,
   which were supposed to happen in November, and President Joseph
   Kabila's intention to stay in office beyond the end of his second term
   on December 19.

   Etienne Tshisekedi, leader of Le Rassemblement, or the Assembly, is a
   veteran Congolese opposition politician.

   Tshisekedi spoke of protests organized by the Rassemblement on
   September 19 in which more than 50 people died, saying it had been a
   warning to Kabila.

   He said on October 19 the Rassemblement would gather again and give a
   yellow card" to Kabila.

   And on December 19, he said, the opposition would give the president a
   red card, continuing the soccer analogy for penalizing a player.

   The Rassemblement, which has been meeting behind closed doors for
   several weeks, gave its final report before Tshisekedi closed the
   ceremony.

   If Kabila stays beyond the end of his second term, the group said it
   would consider the president guilty of high treason. The report also
   condemned ongoing talks between supporters of Kabila and a smaller
   opposition platform, dismissing it as a "pseudo dialogue" and "a
   monologue to legitimize the president's strategy of conserving power
   and violating the constitution."

   The Rassemblememt said it was willing to commit to talks if a number of
   condtions were met, including the liberation of all political
   prisoners, the end of politically motivated legal cases against
   opposition leaders, the end of intimidation and threats against
   opposition members, and the reopening of shuttered opposition media
   outlets.

   The opposition groups also called for the removal of Edemo Kodjo, the
   current mediator of talks. Kodjo is a former Togolese prime minister
   who was appointed to the position by the African Union.

   Freddy Matungulu, a senior figure in the Rassemblement, told VOA that
   he hope Kabila's alliance and the opposition groups can come to
   agreement for new talks.

   "What do we do to avoid the country going into a legal limbo beyond the
   19 December, the date when President Kabila's second and last term in
   office ends. We need to go into the inclusive dialogue and this one
   will involve people from President Kabila's alliance and those from the
   Rassemblement coming together and putting ideas together and developing
   a consensus so that the difficult political situation is sorted out in
   the best way possible for the country.

   Kabila's presidency ends on 19 December and I think the constitution is
   extremely clear, very unequivocal. As the president of this country you
   are elected for a term of five years renewable only once and this is
   the situation in which President Kabila is. So there is no possibility
   for the president to continue being head of state beyond 19 December.
   We want a mediator who has the right kind of moral stranding
   internationally within the continent here. Our preference would be
   someone who has been head of state before and has proven democratic
   credentials and I think it is possible to find such people. I am
   thinking about former President Abdy Diouf of Senegal or President
   Kikwete of Tanzania and why not the former Secretary-General of U.N.
   Mr. Kofi Annan," he said.

   Also Tuesday, Kabila spoke about the country's electoral difficulties,
   an issue he last discussed publicly in August.

   During a visit to Tanzania, he told reporters that Congolese
   authorities had decided to delay the elections to avoid preventing a
   huge number of unregistered people from being able to vote.

   Opponents acknowledge the importance of updating the electoral roll but
   claim that it is the fault of the government that voter registration
   only recently got underway.