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UN condemns violence against opposition ahead of DRC vote
GENEVA, Dec 14, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – The UN rights chief on Friday denounced
violence targeting the opposition by DR Congo’s security forces, just days
before a vote marred by an increasingly tense campaign.
“I am deeply worried about the reports of excessive use of force,
including live ammunition, by security forces against opposition rallies,”
the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet,
said in a statement.
She called on the authorities in Kinshasa to ensure that “the rights to
freedom of expression and peaceful assembly — essential conditions for
credible elections — are fully protected.”
Tensions are rising in the vast, chronically unstable country ahead of the
December 23 election when voters will choose a successor to President Joseph
Kabila.
On Thursday, a teenager was shot dead in the central Kasai region as party
faithful gathered ahead of a rally by Felix Tshisekedi of the UDPS, one of
the leading opposition candidates.
And five other opposition supporters were shot dead earlier in the week as
they gathered to welcome rival opposition candidate Martin Fayulu as he
campaigned in the southeast.
“In an already tense electoral environment, I urge the government to send
a clear signal that threats and violence against political opponents will not
be tolerated,” Bachelet said, urging credible probes into all apparent
aggressions by the security forces.
DRC, a mineral-rich country long plagued by unrest, has never known a
peaceful transition of power since independence from Belgium in 1960.
BSS/AFP/ARS/1732 hrs