Opposition leader attacks “repressive” regime

Opposition political leader Joseph Olenghakoy of the Innovative Forces for Union and Solidarity (FONUS) has denounced Kabila’s “repressive system”. Interviewed by Radio France Internationale he described the regime as “a system which respects no-one, a system which uses violence and lacks ideas”. Earlier, he addressed a news conference at his house in Kinshasa saying Kabila was “a major obstacle to peace and national unity”, and called for the UN to deploy rapidly in support of the Lusaka agreement, Reuters reported.

The FONUS leader echoed last week’s demand from the national consultation meeting in Kinshasa that foreign troops should leave the country, saying that the Zimbabwean and Rwandan armies, in particular, should quit gold and diamond-mining areas where they were “pillaging Congolese resources”. He also called for a general strike if foreign troops had not left DRC by 1 April. Olenghakoy was released from prison in June 1999 after serving one year of a 15-year sentence for defying a ban on political activities.