<<previous | index | next>> Repressing Political ProtestSeveral political leaders and parties, including the popular Union Démocratique pour le Progès Social (UDPS), have criticized repeated delays in holding elections, which were originally set for the end of the transition period, June 30, 2005, but with the possibility of a one-year extension to June 30, 2006.19 In late June2005, UDPS supporters demonstrated in various cities across the DRC, protesting the government decision to extend the period of transition for one year. In Mbuji-Mayi, the capital of Kasai Oriental and the UDPS stronghold, security forces opened fire during demonstrations, killing fifteen demonstrators and injuring another twenty-six. Several people, including some UDPS leaders, were arbitrarily arrested and held for days or weeks, and some of them were ill-treated in detention. After an investigation, the United Nations Mission in Congo (MONUC) found that Congolese forces had used excessive and unjustified force in dispersing the demonstrators.20 Clamping down on political opponents, MarchJune 2006In other more recent cases, police officers have used excessive force against demonstrators, and other forms of intimidation against supporters of the UDPS and other political parties, making it more difficult for Congolese to express their opinions through peaceful protests.
[19] The Accord global et inclusif sur la transition en République Démocratique du Congo permitted the postponement of the end of the transition period by one year in total (Chapter IV). The newly-adopted Constitution, however, lifts the time limit, by stating that political institutions will remain in place until new institutions as foreseen by the Constitution are put in place (Art. 222). [20] MONUC Human Rights Section, Rapport sur les événements de Mbuji Mayi, province de Kasai Oriental, Juin 2005, [online] http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/RMOI-6F67WA?OpenDocument (retrieved June 2, 2006). The report found that security forces summarily or arbitrarily executed fifteen persons and shot another twenty-six in an attempt to summarily or arbitrarily execute them during the demonstrations. [21] Kinshasa: une marche pacifique de lUDPS violemment étouffée par la police, Radio Okapi, [online] http://www.radiookapi.net/article.php?id=4116 (retrieved June 2, 2006). [22] Comité des Observateurs des Droits de lHomme (CODHO), RD Congo: Réquisition illégale du matériel de la Radio Télé Message de Vie, Press release, May 24, 2006.
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