[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 185 (Monday, November 13, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1554-E1555]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 RESOLVING THE POLITICAL CRISIS IN THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, November 13, 2017

  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, last week I held a hearing on 
the political crisis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The DRC 
was supposed to conduct elections one year ago this month in order to 
achieve the required transition of political power by December 19. 
However, after years of stalling on making preparations for elections, 
the Government of the DRC failed to hold elections last year and relied 
on a constitutional provision that President Joseph Kabila could not 
step down until an election was held to select a replacement.
  This interpretation is in apparent contradiction to other 
constitutional provisions requiring elections to be held on time and 
limiting Kabila to two terms. The election commission has just 
announced that elections cannot be held until sometime in late 2018, 
with an inauguration in early 2019. The prolonging of the Kabila regime 
has ratcheted up tensions in the country.
  Polling has indicated that a majority of Congolese want the Kabila 
government to end and be replaced by a transitional government until a 
new one can be elected.
  Enduring conflict hotspots in eastern DRC have seen recent flare-ups, 
while new hotspots have emerged in previously relatively stable areas, 
such as the central Kasai region and southeastern Tanganyika province. 
The conflicts in Kasai and Tanganyika alone have caused the 
displacement of nearly 2 million people since mid-2016, giving DRC one 
of the highest rates of human displacement in the world. Political 
unrest in urban centers, a string of large prison breaks, and violent 
attacks in Kinshasa by members of a religious sect that has declared 
itself in opposition to Kabila have further contributed to worsening 
insecurity.
  The conflict in Kasai, which reportedly was first sparked in 2016 by 
the murder of a traditional leader by state security forces, has become 
a catastrophic humanitarian crisis, featuring severe atrocities and the 
widespread recruitment and abuse of children. Meanwhile, the ongoing 
conflict in eastern DRC at one time saw violent activity by two dozen 
militia groups and an out-of-control national army, resulting in the 
systematic rape of about 50 women and girls each hour.
  The hearing intended to look at possible solutions to a political 
stalemate that could very well lead to further violence and upheaval in 
a large African country bordering on nine neighbors. It followed a 
successful resolution on DRC that I introduced and was passed by the 
House last year and new legislation that Ranking Member Bass and I are 
introducing soon.
  We understand that there are no easy solutions to the current crisis 
in DRC. A negotiated transition likely could be achieved if President 
Kabila were convinced that neither he nor his family would be 
prosecuted for human rights violations or corruption. However, that 
would reward them for abusing their citizens and plundering the 
country's resources, and that is even if members of his government were 
not covered.
  A palace coup might take place to oust Kabila. That is not unknown in 
the DRC. Kabila's father, Laurent Kabila, was assassinated in office in 
2001. Mobutu Sese Seko, who the elder Kabila had overthrown, had 
himself overthrown an elected government in 1965. He was chased from 
power and fled into exile in 1997. However, a coup would not support 
international efforts to instill democratic practices in the DRC and 
could lead to protracted in-fighting and national chaos.
  The status quo, as detailed earlier, is already leading to growing 
violence and will not lead to a peaceful solution the longer a 
transition is delayed. In fact, it is more likely violence could 
escalate and spill over into neighboring countries as did conflict in 
1996 through 97 and 1998 through 2003.
  Over the past year, we have heard many promises by the Government of 
the DRC about when elections would be held. There have been several 
dates given for when voter registration would be completed during this 
past year. The current government timetable calls for voter 
registration to extend to a point at which elections couldn't be held 
in the DRC until late 2018 with an inauguration early in 2019. That 
would mean that Joseph Kabila would have had an extra half-term in 
office, when the constitution precluded him from going past December 
2016.
  Consequently, we heard last week from the State Department on our 
government's diplomatic efforts to resolve the transition stalemate and 
the U.S. Agency for International Development on our government's 
programs on the ground to promote democracy and free and fair 
elections.
  Our second panel last week consisted of scholars and activists who 
gave us their informed suggestions on how we can break this political 
stalemate and prevent more bloodshed in the DRC.
  Again, no solution will be easy or without cost, but non-action would 
have an even higher cost in human lives. That we must not tolerate

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