UDPS opposition party leader Felix Tshisekedi gestures to supporters as
he arrives to address a rally in Kinshasa on April 24, 2018, the first
opposition rally authorized since September 2016. AFP PHOTO | JUNIOR D.
KANNAH
The first authorised mass rally by the Democratic Republic of
Congo's opposition in nearly two years passed off peacefully on Tuesday,
months ahead of a key presidential election in the vast, mineral-rich
state.
Thousands of members and supporters of the Union
for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS) gathered in the capital
Kinshasa to hear their leader, Felix Tshisekedi, outline some of his
party's electoral aims.
In a major climbdown from the
government, Tuesday's rally was given the go-ahead by authorities after
several opposition protests in recent months were met by a deadly
security crackdown.
"We applaud the police's restraint.
They are going to have to learn to treat us like citizens and not like
adversaries," Tshisekedi told the crowd.
The mood at the rally, in a UDPS stronghold district of the capital, was upbeat amid a discreet police presence.
Public
demonstrations have been officially banned in the country since
September 2016, when dozens of demonstrators were killed in Kinshasa
after calling for the departure of President Joseph Kabila, whose second
and final mandate ended in December 2016.
A new vote is due to take place on December 23 after two postponements that have stoked fears of renewed unrest.
Kabila
should have stepped down at the end of 2016 but has remained in office
under a provision allowing him to retain power until a successor is
chosen.
In addition to a deepening political crisis,
DR Congo is struggling with armed conflict in its vast, lawless east,
which is under the sway of multiple rebel groups.
'A new beginning'
The
date of Tuesday's rally was significant as it came 28 years to the day
that a multi-party system was first introduced when former dictator
Mobutu Sese Seko lifted a ban on opposition parties.
But
the country has never had a peaceful transfer of power. Recent banned
opposition demonstrations have seen dozens killed, according to the UN,
many near the headquarters of Tshisekedi's party.
The
opposition leader Tuesday addressed a recently signed agreement with the
government to repatriate the body of his late father, Etienne
Tshisekedi, a historic opposition figure, who died in February 2017 in
Brussels.
But he firmly denied rumours that he was in discussions with Kabila to be appointed prime minister.
"Apart
from the discussions around the funeral, there are no other
discussions," said Tshisekedi, who was chosen as the UDPS's presidential
candidate in March.
"You chose me as a presidential candidate so why would I want to be prime minister?" he asked.
Voting machines
He also repeated his opposition to the proposed use of electronic voting machines during the December 23 vote.
UDPS Christian Mokonkole told AFP that Tuesday's rally represented "a new beginning for our leadership".
"If
we have elections organised at the end of this year, we are supporting
him (Tshisekedi) to win this election and to start our project to
develop this country," Mokonkole added.
DR Congo — home
to the world's largest UN peacekeeping force — has vast mineral wealth
and natural resources but decades of chronic unrest has severely
hampered development.
Meanwhile, Lumuna Sando, a former
spokesman for Mobutu and government heavyweight, said "nothing much has
changed" since Mobutu lifted the ban on the opposition.
"There are similarities in the debate, the behaviour and the positions taken by Congolese politicians," he said.
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