The political situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) continues to deteriorate at an alarming rate. The last opposition demonstration organized last Saturday, May 20, was brutally repressed by the police. Political leaders, demonstrators including minors were arrested and mistreated, some even being targeted by live ammunition. The Condérence Episcopale Nationale du Congo (CENCO) denounces the complicity of the police and their militias who distributed weapons and were authorized by the government to act in a violent manner with complete impunity.
In a press release, CENCO said: “Worse still, some elements of the National Police were carrying the same tools of violence that they visibly exchanged with individuals in civilian clothes, some of whom were wearing the B.S.U or Special Brigade of the ‘UDPS, Strength of progress. With such publicly displayed complicity, one wonders if this Special Brigade is not an officially maintained militia. This sad reality reveals a violent and highly problematic government response to peaceful opposition protests against political failures and corruption.
CENCO strongly condemns this violence and urges the competent authorities to take concrete measures to put an end to this series of abuses committed by easily identifiable thugs. It also calls on the Congolese people not to give in to fear and to use their power to punish all those incompetent responsible for this violence.
Will this escalation of violence push the Congolese to take action and oppose the government more radically? Or will this only strengthen the determination of the opposition to continue demonstrating for freedom and democracy? The answers to this question are difficult to predict in a context of political uncertainty. What is certain is that now is the time for the government to put an end to this violence, to investigate the abuses committed and to ensure the safety of all citizens of the DRC.