DRC violence further complicates national dialogue

DRC President Joseph Kabila blamed the opposition for this week’s deadly protests and again endorsed dialogue. The U.N. human rights chief, however, slammed what he called the government’s “extremely confrontational response” to protesters, saying at least 50 people were killed. Has the violence only further complicated the path to a negotiated solution? With a written […]

DRC President Joseph Kabila blamed the opposition for this week’s deadly protests and again endorsed dialogue. The U.N. human rights chief, however, slammed what he called the government’s “extremely confrontational response” to protesters, saying at least 50 people were killed.
Has the violence only further complicated the path to a negotiated solution?
With a written statement read by a presenter on state media, President Joseph Kabila gave his response to this week’s deadly unrest.
He condemned the organizers of Monday’s march a large opposition group known as Le Rassemblement or The Assembly, saying they had diverted their supposedly peaceful demonstration towards, in his words, “blind violence or worse, bloody riots.
Once more Kabila urged all of the DRC’s political parties to join the dialogue in order to find a peaceful path to elections.