By Nicholas Bariyo
Police in the Democratic Republic of Congo fired tear gas to
disperse hundreds of protesters near the capital on Tuesday, as
security was tightened following violent protests over a proposed
law that could delay next year's election and extend President
Joseph Kabila's stay in power.
The demonstrators were confronted by police as they marched from
Kinshasa University to the parliament building about nine miles
away, where the country's Senate was debating the legislation,
Information Minister Lambert Mende said.
By late Tuesday, the demonstrations had fizzled out, witnesses
said, as police succeeded in blocking protesters from reaching the
city center and Parliament, where debate on the proposed law
continued.
Kinshasa, especially key government buildings and the airport,
has been draped in heavy security since the clashes between
government forces and protesters on Monday that left two police
officers and another person dead. Mr. Mende said the government had
the situation under control, adding that a couple thousand
protesters "cannot topple any government."
Authorities ordered all telecommunications operators late Monday
to switch off the Internet and messaging services as Mr. Kabila
battled to prevent antigovernment protests from swelling.
"All DRC mobile operators and Internet service providers
received an order from the DRC authorities' [Monday] afternoon to
suspend Internet services," Richard Boorman, the spokesman for
South Africa-based Vodacom Group Ltd. told The Wall Street Journal.
"All companies complied."
An official in Congo's far eastern North Kivu province said the
suspension was permitted under the country's telecommunications
law. The official said the measure has helped prevent opposition
leaders from rallying more protesters.
Protesters in North Africa and the Middle East have used social
media to rally mass protests that toppled several regimes across
the region.
As the streets of Kinshasa simmered, controversy continued over
Monday's antigovernment protests, which flared as far east as the
city of Goma, on Congo's border with Rwanda.
Martin Fayulu, a protest leader, said police in the capital
fired live rounds to disperse the throngs of protesters, which some
human-rights activists estimated at 5,000 people. He denied
assertions by Mr. Mende and other government officials that some of
the demonstrators were armed and that some security forces opened
fire only quell rioting and stop looting.
Security forces sealed off offices of several political parties
to prevent opposition leaders from joining the protests. They also
blocked demonstrators from entering the Senate chamber and
presidential palace and made dozens of arrests, according to
witnesses.
Mr. Fayulu and other critics of the government are angry over
what they view as the president's attempts to prolong his rule.
Under the country's constitution, he is required to step down next
year at the end of his second and final five-year term in
office.
Congo's lower house of parliament, dominated by Mr. Kabila's
allies, on Saturday approved the legislation that would, if
approved, require a national census before presidential and
parliamentary elections scheduled for early next year. Such a
survey in this impoverished country of 77 million people would take
as long as a year, government officials said.
Mr. Kabila's opponents see such moves as a possible prelude for
an attempt to amend the constitution to allow Mr. Kabila another
term as president.
"We are determined to make sure that Kabila doesn't remove term
limits from our constitution" said Mr. Fayulu, president of the
opposition Engagement for Citizenship and Development party. "We
shall keep pressing until he goes."
Mr. Mende, the information minister, denied any such intent. He
said a population census would help the government organize a more
credible election.
Mr. Kabila was 29 years old when his father, Laurent, was
assassinated and he succeeded him as president. From eastern Congo
the elder Kabila had led an uprising, supported by neighboring
Uganda and Rwanda, that toppled longtime ruler Mobutu Sese Seko in
1997.
Joseph Kabila spent those years of rebellion in Tanzania, Rwanda
and Uganda and never learned Lingala, Congo's main language. After
his father seized power, he appointed his son as head of the
military.
The United Nations, which has a peacekeeping force in eastern
Congo, urged Mr. Kabila's government to honor the schedule for
elections and adhere to the constitution, saying the unrest
underlines "the need for a credible, peaceful, timely and inclusive
electoral process, in accordance with the tenets of the
constitution."
Heidi Vogt contributed to this article.
Write to Nicholas Bariyo at nicholas.bariyo@wsj.com
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